'Media Fail: Kimberly Munley Did Not Bring Down Fort Hood Killer' (HuffPo)

[Jackeens]

With the publication of an interview with Sgt. Mark Todd, the actual cop who gunned down the killer at Fort Hood -- following its account of an unnamed eyewitness last night -- the New York Times finally underlined what some of us noticed from nearly the start: the media fell hook, line and sinker once again for a military account of what happened during the tragedy.

First, it was the "death" of Major Hasan, not corrected for many hours. Then, for days, the story of how a white female cop brought down the shooter, even as she was receiving serious wounds. Yet I noticed just hours after the attack that scattered eyewitnesses, via the Web and Twitter, were saying that the killer re-loaded after Kimberly Munley went down.

How could he have done that if she had just plugged him four times, supposedly ending the rampage? Some of those witnesses said they yelled at the second cop to shoot Hasan--which he did, and then went up and kicked his gun away. Yet for days the media rarely questioned the military's "official" story of Munley as savior. The New York Times was one of many who put Munley on the front page and declared, on Nov. 7, that she was the person who nailed Hasan. Its headline: "She ran to gunfire, and ended it." It said flatly that she "brought down the gunman."

....Most news outlets for days labeled Munley "the" (singular) Fort Hood hero. She was the "Mighty Mouse." It wasn't until two days ago that Sgt.Todd got feature billing, although in a secondary role. Now, in the past day, he is finally getting his due as the original account begins to fall away. The cop who saved the day is a black man, not a white woman.

What else will turn out false about Fort Hood claims from military, e.g. the "Allahu Akbar" shouts by Hasan? Was there any reason that the military deliberately boosted Munley and slighted Todd? Yes, Munley is a hero for facing the bullets. And, no, this isn't another Jessica Lynch case, but it does have some disturbing similarities. Fool me once this past week, blame the military. Fool me twice, blame the media. What happens next?


More: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/greg-mitchell/massive-media-fail-female_b_355600.html


When will we ever learn? Rest in peace, Pat Tillman.

[thunder rising]

1. Jessica Lynch was a hero IMHO because she came out and disclaimed the story. I really respected that

Kimberly Munley needs to to the same if indeed that is the case.

[Barack_America]

2. You really expect someone who was shot 4 times to have the details straight?

I don't expect her to set anything straight.

I expect the army to set it straight.

[Merchant Marine]

3. To be honest, the lady did get shot in the line of duty

Gunfights are confusing things, and she was in the hospital for awhile, presumably on pain meds. Maybe she thinks she got some shots in, maybe not. But she was there, in the fight and did contribute. She got Hassan to expend rounds and fumble the reload.

No comment on the media angle. I've read enough poorly conceived anti-gun stories to know that the media is utterly unreliable for anything more complex than "X happened on Y day".