Reporters Committee Urges Pentagon
To Allow Coverage of Arlington Funerals
MRE members and friends pay tribute to Jim Crawley
CBS correspondent Kimberly Dozier
2008 MRE conference keynote speaker
Award-winning CBS News correspondent Kimberly Dozier, who was seriously wounded in a car bomb attack in Iraq in 2006, will be the keynote luncheon speaker for the 2008 Military Reporters & Editors conference.
Dozier endured multiple surgeries and months of therapy after the attack, which killed her cameraman, Paul Douglas, and soundman, James Brolan, as well as U.S. Army Capt. James Alex Funkhouser and his Iraqi translator, "Sam."
Dozier chronicled the attack and her recovery in the memoir Breathing the Fire: Fighting to Report and Survive the War in Iraq.
"We are honored to have Kimberly address this year's MRE conference," MRE President Ron Martz said. "She has a remarkable personal story to tell and has used her experiences to help others who have been seriously wounded in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan."
The annual MRE conference will be held Friday, Nov. 14, at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C.
For more information on the conference, click here.
For Kimberly Dozier's biography, click here.
Kors named 2008 Galloway Award winner;
Johnston, Maurer win first Crawley Award
Joshua Kors of The Nation magazine has been selected as the 2008 recipient of the prestigious Joseph Galloway Award. The award is given each year by Military Reporters & Editors to the story or series of stories independent judges consider "the best of the best" in reporting on military affairs and defense issues the previous year. The judges cited Kors' for his reporting that uncovered "a scandalous practice" by the Department of Veterans Affairs concerning diagnoses of soldiers wounded in Iraq and Afghanistan. His series of stories resulted in wider media coverage and eventually led to passage of a Senate bill to address the problem.
Kors will be given his award at the Military Reporters & Editors annual conference at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C., Nov. 14.
A new prize this year, the Jim Crawley Award for Regional Reporting, goes to April Johnston and Kevin Maurer of The Fayetteville Observe for their series of stories and multi-media presentation titled "The Last Full Measure." Judges praised the duo for capturing the essence of war and what it means to be a soldier "through imaginative and in-depth reporting back home." The award is named in honor of Jim Crawley, a founding member and former president of MRE who died earlier this year.
For a complete list of the winners, click here.
For additional information on this year's conference, click here.
Appeals court rules Abu Ghraib photos must be released
Previously undisclosed photographs of conditions at the notorious Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq must be released to the public, a federal appeals court in New York ruled Tuesday.
The 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Manhattan upheld a 2006 lower court decision that release of the 29 images would not violate the privacy rights of any of the soldiers or detainees involved nor would it put the lives of the individuals at risk.
Military Reporters & Editors filed a brief as a friend of the court in support of efforts by the American Civil Liberties Union to force the Department of Defense to release the photos.
The full opinion can be found here USCourt Link .
A news release about the decision from the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press can be found here http://www.rcfp.org/newsitems/index.php?i=7028.
MRE Conference Fast Approaching
The 7th annual Military Reporters & Editors conference is fast approaching and now is the time to register and renew your MRE membership.
The conference will be held Nov. 14 at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C., and will be the first major post-election forum in which the new administration's approach to key defense issues will be discussed by experts and analysts.
A complete list of the panels can be found here: http://www.militaryreporters.org/whatsnew.html
Conference registration information can be found here:
http://www.militaryreporters.org/registration08.html
Membership renewal forms can be found here:
http://www.militaryreporters.org/memberapp.html
Our keynote speaker will be announced soon, as will the winners of the 2008 MRE journalism award winners.
Because this year's conference is being held at the National Press Club, we are not designating a host hotel for MRE members. However, for budget-conscious travelers we will shortly be posting on this site information about hotels that have easy access to the Metro system.
In addition lease make plans to attend the 2008 general membership meeting Saturday, Nov. 15, starting at 10 a.m. at Medill News Service offices, 1325 G. Street NW, suite 730, for the election of officers and board of directors. This will be an extremely important election that will determine the future viability of MRE as an organization.
The entire board of officers is turning over this year and we are in need of people interested in serving as president, vice president, secretary, and treasurer. We also are looking for several new members of the board of directors. We need your help in keeping MRE a functioning, vital organization for those who cover military affairs. If you are interested in serving as an MRE officer or on the board of directors, please contact MRE president Ron Martz at ronmartzmre@gmail.com.
Reporters Committee finds access to military court dockets and proceedings limited
The Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press has found that criminal hearings and trials conducted by the United States military around the world often are done with little or no public accountability of the proceedings or the results. A year-long study by the organization revealed the numerous barriers to obtaining information about courts-martial and Article 32 hearings. For the full report go here: Reporters Committee finds barriers to accessing military court dockets and proceedings
See related story from the North County Times: http://www.nctimes.com/articles/2008/08/24/military/ze8b01c82cc320f65882574ac005bc3d8.txt
2008 MRE Conference to focus on new administration and the military to be held Nov. 14th
Whether it is John McCain or Barack Obama who will be the president-elect after the November general election, significant changes are anticipated in the defense policy of the new administration. Military Reporters & Editors is uniquely poised with its 2008 conference to provide the media, lawmakers, military officials, teachers, and students the first substantive discussions dealing with defense issues that will face the new president and his cabinet.
Click here for full story
Reporters Committee Urges Pentagon
To Allow Coverage of Arlington Funerals
The Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press urges Army Secretary Pete Geren to allow journalists to cover military funerals at Arlington National Cemetery when a service member's family has given permission for such coverage.
"The new unofficial policy, enforced with apparent whimsy by cemetery officials, reeks of politics," said Reporters Committee Executive Director Lucy A. Dalglish. "It does not serve the best interests of the American public or the interests of military families who want the public to know about the sacrifices made by their loved ones."
Read the full news release here: http://www.rcfp.org/newsitems/index.php?i=6861
A gentleman of the press in Iraq war
Click here for full story
Forget the mail -- MRE applications, dues now online
Military Reporters and Editors proudly announced Jan. 9, 2007, its new convenient online application and dues payment system.
Prospective members and current members can now conduct the entire application process and dues payments online without faxing or mailing application forms, checks or cash.
This new service, created by Brian Murphy, our web producer from SignOnSanDiego.com, which hosts the MRE website, brings added convenience to our members and increased information to MRE officials, which will boost member services in the future.
In addition to collecting name, address and affiliation information, the new online application form allows prospective and current members to describe their military coverage experiences, journalism skills and offers the opportunity to volunteer their services to assist MRE.
Because information from the application is now more easily stored, MRE will have better awareness of membership status, renewal dates and dues payments. In turn, this will help MRE better serve the entire membership. Of course, MRE has a policy of not releasing any membership information without prior approval of members.
MRE President James W. Crawley urged every member to use the form for renewal and to tell potential members about the new membership option.
The new application form can be reached via www.militaryreporters.org. Click on "Membership Application" in the left-hand navigation bar.
Of course, if someone wants to use the old-fashioned stamped envelope or fax machine, that option is still available.
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