Campaign Media Watch - Media AWOL on Major Story that's Missing In Action

Ned Barnett (c) 2004

Here's a potentially major story that's "missing in action" - a filing by Judicial Watch (filed on August 18, more than a week ago) to request that the US Navy review Senator John F. Kerry's medals in light of the allegations made by many of his senior officers about the integrity of those medals, and in light of actions then Lieutenant j.g. Kerry took while still in the inactive US Navy Reserve that were unbecoming an officer.

In the press release is a link to the actual filing, which seems both factually accurate and incendiary in it's implications to the Senator.

This adds a dimension to the Swift Boat Vets' story, but only if it gets media attention. So far, the mainstream media seems more interested in slamming the Swifties - "soft targets" and relatively easy to "discredit" - and have ignored the media-savvy Judicial Watch's actions.

Judicial Watch, Inc. was established in 1994, as a non-partisan, non-profit foundation based in Washington, to serve as an ethical and legal "watchdog" over our government, legal, and judicial systems to promote a return to ethics and morality in our nation's public life.



http://www.judicialwatch.org/3794.shtml

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For Immediate Release
Aug 18, 2004 Contact: Press Office
202-646-5172

Judicial Watch Calls For Investigation Into Kerry’s Medals, Anti-War Actions

Formal Complaint Filed Over Senator’s Vietnam Awards, Post-Service Activities

(Washington, D.C.) – Judicial Watch, the public interest group that investigates and prosecutes government corruption, today filed a request with the U.S. Navy and the Defense Department for an investigation into the awards granted to Sen. John Kerry during his service with the U.S. Navy in Vietnam. Judicial Watch also requested that military authorities investigate Kerry’s anti-war activities, including his meeting with North Vietnamese and Viet Cong delegations in Paris, while a member of the Naval Reserve.



Judicial Watch also is requesting an investigation of Kerry’s anti-war activities. After he was released from active duty but while he was a commissioned officer in the inactive Naval Reserve, Kerry joined the anti-war group Vietnam Veterans Against the War and traveled to Paris to meet with delegations from North Vietnam and the Communist Viet Cong. He held a press conference in Washington, D.C., following the meeting and advocated the “peace proposal,” which included war damage reparations, put forth by the North Vietnamese and Viet Cong.




To see a copy of the complaint, click here.



About Ned Barnett:

Ned Barnett, the owner of Barnett Marketing Communications (http://www.barnettmarcom.com), is a 32-year veteran of high-stakes crisis-management public relations, and is a frequent “source” for print and broadcast journalists. Barnett has advised many corporate and personal clients on effective crisis relations – often stopping a crisis in its tracks, even before it gets started.

As a political consultant and speechwriter, Barnett has worked for candidates and officials from both parties, as well as for public interest advocacy groups in areas involving the economy, the environment and healthcare. As a historian, Barnett is widely published in military history magazines, and has appeared a number of times on the History Channel, discussing military technology.

Barnett has taught PR at two state universities, and has written nine published books on public relations, marketing and advertising. He’s earned PRSA’s coveted Silver Anvil, two ADDYs and four consecutive MacEacherns; in 1978, he was the youngest (to that time) person to earn accreditation from PRSA, and in 1984, he became the first person to earn a Fellowship in PR from the American Hospital Association. But mostly, Barnett provides PR counsel to a range of corporations, authors and advocacy groups.




© 2004 – Ned Barnett
Barnett Marketing Communications