INSTANT Fame

What makes a journalist a top reporter and best in the business? What keeps him/her on the correct side of the morality line while still revealing breaking footage sure to bring fame and fortune to his/her career?

When I did my report on Ahmed Ali, I was really on edge about whether or not to further my notoriety with my journalism hobby and be sensational in what I said about Ahmed or whether to conduct myself in a fair, balanced, and moral way. It was tough. I could have had a lot more views on this story I spent months on if I had exploited my relationship with Ahmed. However, it would not have brought me nearly as much satisfaction, and it would have hurt my relationship with him and any future opportunities to interview others.

I chose to do the right thing and use the raw material given to me by my trusting acquaintance, Ahmed.

I reflected and pondered this experience heavily as I came across this somewhat older story that splashed across every media headline in the world recently. The story of a marine who died in combat. A man named Lance Cpl. Joshua Bernard.

The story, as you probably already know, reflects upon a journalist few of us knew, but now everyone has heard of, who chose to display the young lad's dying last breathes in combat, the gory truths of war, the aftermath that one country's freedom resulted from another family's sorrows.

The photo shows Lance Cpl. Joshua M. Bernard of New Portland, Maine, who was struck by a rocket-propelled grenade in a Taliban ambush Aug. 14 in Helmand province of southern Afghanistan, according to The AP.

Defense Secretary Robert GatesDefense Secretary Robert Gates and the man's family pleaded for AP to not air the photo, as it was a desecration to their young son's life. However, the AP decided to throw caution to the wind and angered many in this country who believed that was a huge error and came with a price of short lived fame.

I will not link you to the photo. You can google it yourself. It was the highest ranking search word as of today. Please pray for the family's well-being and recovery of their loss, as another man/woman paid the price for our freedom, the freedom we all too often take for granted.