Midnight Rambler said:
Canadians don't have a clue what a counterinsurgency is. Neither do most military members.
Roger that. I am getting sick of explaining things to civies, should it be my job? Yes and no. I talk about my experience and it blows peoples minds. And explaining it to military members? It blows
my mind how ignorant some folks in the forces are about the mission. Most folks in the forces are on the same page, but I've met several (one or two who actually
did deploy) who are borderline idiots when it comes to their understanding of the mission, and they talk to the public too. I don't think any individual soldier has a crystal clear image of the "big picture", and thats why we higher up types who have a bead on the big picture to be honest and frank with the public through the media.
I believe strongly that the next phase of journalism is the blogger, who has a command of a multitude of mediums and the ability to make as much raw or processed information at the disposal of the public on demand. Look no further than
The Torch as an example. You've got news articles, a news aggregator, video, maps, relevant links to official websites, photos, technical data etc. A blogger can now embed with a military unit if they choose, and they won't be tied down by a production entourage, or limited by political caveats imposed by MSM corporate puppet masters.
Bloggers typically specialize on a niche news market, you can seek out the news
you want as opposed to getting the entertainment news, sports scores, and weather from the same talking head. I often observe the "telephone game effect" in the MSM, where you have a field reporter filing a story to a news agency, which is picked up by network, and regurgitated downwards to a local channel or paper and lost context, accuracy, and clarity along the way.