On his MSNBC broadcast Monday, Dan Abrams tackled some complaints that Bob Woodruff‘s injuries are receiving too much attention:
| Now many are also asking why is his injury getting all this coverage when this…and worse…is happening everyday to our troops. Now that is a fair question. And the answer is not entirely satisfying. In fact, Woodruff would almost certainly agree that there is something troubling about it. The reality is, Bob Woodruff is also a public figure. If he were robbed in the U.S. or quit his job, it would also be news. But let’s also remember why Woodruff is there. It’s to tell the troops’ story…It’s so the rest of us who are back at home can appreciate what the brave men and women fighting for our country are enduring every day…So everyone from loved ones to the public at large can have a better sense of what is really happening in this war. His injury serves as an important reminder about the level of danger our troops face every day. When former NFL star and Army Ranger Pat Tillman died fighting in Afghanistan, it received far more media attention than other deaths. Often the media tells broad stories by focusing on individual people known to the viewers. If a lesser-known reporter was injured in Iraq, it would not have received much coverage either. Look, it’s easy to bash the media, and it’s sometimes hard to defend them, but when it comes to one of the good guys like Woodruff, doing important work to show us what our hardworking men and women are facing everyday…It’s easy. Bob, we are hoping to see you soon. |
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