Well here is another opinion...
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Media cooperation over the SAS compromises us all
The Chief of Defence force Jerry Mataparae has called for greater cooperation between the media and the defence force in the wake of the publicity surrounding SAS soldier Willy Apiata's presence in Afghanistan.
Now, Mataparae is a man of integrity and I think his call was made with the best of intentions. He accepts there is a public interest in the actions of the SAS but his paramount responsibility is to do what he can from these shores to protect their safety. No one would want to compromise that. The SAS has a job to do. But so does the media - and there is a natural conflict between those two roles that can not, and should not, be compromised by complete cooperation.
There's an old saying that where the papers are full of good news, the jails are full of good men. The same applies to countries where the media reports what the military and the government want them to.
Was a photograph of Victoria Cross winner Willy Apiata walking down a public street in Kabul, decked out in full battle gear, newsworthy? Of course it was. Should the photograph have displayed in the media? Absolutely.
If the SAS and the government was so worried about Willy Apiata being identified in Afghanistan then they have had plenty of time to consider what to do about it. Remember that back in 2007 it was Prime Minister Helen Clark and Defence Minister Phil Goff who publicised the battlefield deeds which won Corporal Apiata the Victoria Cross. The military was all too ready to oblige back then, wheeling out their hero for press conferences and documentaries. In fact the defence force spent $35,000 on media training for Apiata.
To then cry foul when Apiata is photographed decked out in full military kit walking down a public street where the international media is covering the world's biggest war, seems to me naïve.
I'm sure General Mateparae would prefer it if the media had "cooperated" with the defence force: that is, publicised his award of the Victoria Cross and war zone heroics and kept the public in the dark about the SAS's role in Afghanistan. But then that's not how the media works in a democracy and nor should it.
I know that majority of public opinion will probably be against me here. Willy Apiata is seen as a hero, doing a courageous job for his country. The media occupies the opposite space in terms of public esteem and are at best seen as messengers of gloom. Both of those things might be true.
But if the media signs up to a 'cooperation' deal with the defence force are we also signing up to the purpose of the war and the way that war is conducted? It is a war that has now dragged on for nearly a decade - nearly as long as World War 1 and II combined - with no end in sight.
New Zealand combat troops are again fighting in that war and are not doing so in a covert operation. The SAS may often be a clandestine force but right now they are fighting in New Zealand's name in the capital of Afghanistan.
I applaud the government for opening the door - if even just a little - on what the SAS is doing in Afghanistan. But reporting on this should not be on the government's terms alone.
The news media should continue to find out what it can about New Zealand's involvement in the war, even if what it comes up with is outside the comfort zone of the military or their political masters.
http://tvnz.co.nz/politics-news/media-cooperation-over-sas-compromises-us-all-3343500