Media Fail: Kimberly Munley Did Not Bring Down Fort Hood Killer

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 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 Sgt. 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."

The Associated Press talked to Sgt. Todd later that day and he described his actions, but Munley's role remained murky. To its credit: The Times much later did help bring out the truth.

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 most responsible for saving the day, it turns out, 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?

UPDATE: For response from Bill Keller, executive editor of The New York Times, go to E&P article.

Greg Mitchell is editor of Editor & Publisher. His most recent book is "Why Obama Won." His twitter feed is @GregMitch and he blogs here.

 

Follow Greg Mitchell on Twitter: www.twitter.com/GregMitch

Comments

[realitytrumpsbull]

I think this is at least partially a goofball argument. They stopped the guy who was on a rampage. Did 'the media' screw up, by failing to be thorough? The basic job of a reporter is to find out: Who, what, when, where, and why, and try to be as accurate as possible. But, in the age of NOW! reporting, how often does that happen?

[November9]

The Jessica Lynch case should have thought something to the hyper and rush to find a hero for anything in America. There is an obsession with finding "Heros" in any situation. Of course this is a media creation to get more points. I wonder what the REAL heros thing about that. You cross the street, and you are a hero, because you knew you could get hit by a car, but you did it anyway.

[Ohio9]

Except in this case it seems the media was correct. They did credit the right person. Their only error was not crediting the second one, which was soon rectified.

[yogandclimber]

There is no conspiracy here. It was breaking news and they report what they hear and you already know it can be wrong just like the bubble boy story. They weren't trying to cover it up or change the story because the news is going to get out eventually. They heard it was the lady so they reported it and when they heard it was wrong they weren't very open to admit they made a mistake.

[Ohio9]

Race had nothing to do with errors in the story. When it was first published, the races of both cops were not even included. I didn't even know Sgt. Todd's race until I read this.

There is a simple explination here. In the early stages of an investigation into a mass shooting, the facts are usually not clear at first. The media simply wen with what they had.

The fact remains that both cops deserve equal credit for taking down the shooting. They both took him down without any regard for anyone's race or religion. No one else should make an issue out of it either.

[stagebandman]

It's not the source, it's not racism, it isn't even ego, it's a need to have an instant story, above getting the facts, just be first. That is partially the fault of the immediacy of 24 hour news (although actual news there is now, basically, non-existent), and partially the fault of the fierce competition among media outlets.

Wouldn't it be nice just to get the story right? Who cares if we have to wait a couple of days? All the garbage that has come out of every story in the last 20 years could have been avoided, from the Oklahoma City bombing to the Ft. Hood tragedy. We watch TV shows that place such importance on getting all the details of a crime right, but we lose all reason when something actually happens.

[Ifticar2]

The media should sit around for a week or two waiting for allt he facts to come and a get verified before publishing stories of intense national interest? I don't think so.

[BADRALDUJA]

why are sgt todds pictures not pasted on every front cover...if i did not read this i would never know who sgt todd was.

[provgrays]

The media and the military love petite, attractive "heroes", don't they?

[cbat]

I think the media got it wrong because they wanted to get ti wrong. It is a better story to have a white woman as a hero, than a black male. It is easier to protray black men as criminals than heroes.

[zell]

I am not going to fault the media on this one. The military installations are a closed society and the media does not have free and open access to the bases/posts all over the world. So, naturally, the media took the word of the military officials about the account of what happened when the major was shot down. All I can say is that, the military officials now have egg on their faces.....­...When will they ever learn? When......­will......­they.....e­ver......l­earn!!!!!!

[provgrays]

Paging Jessica Lynch...

[coolchange]

Why anyone would be surprised that the media got it wrong once again is a surprise in itself.

Remember, people.

We're talking about some in the same media who, instead of asking the tough questions they didn't ask, helped the Bush administration sell most Americans on the Iraq war and WMD's.

[rancone]

It is not about her, it is not about him. It is about the media - and its lack of professionalism. When this is the best the NYT's can do Fox can be said to be "Fair & Balanced".

[thepoliticalcat]

Logic, please. Just because the NYT gets stuff wrong doesn't mean that an organization that repeatedly makes mistakes has suddenly verified its claim to be what it is most definitely not.

[provgrays]

No, it's about media profits and the truth be damned.

[Parthenolide]

The public cannot trust anything presented by the main stream media (MSM). The MSM doesn't care the accuracy of what is presented. The MSM has two major concerns about how and which current events it presents. First, there is the entertainment value. If it bleeds, it leads. Second, how does the event promote MSM sponsors.

Just who are the MSM sponsors, and what is their agenda that is being promoted by the MSM? The agenda is simple, unregulated capitalism. The sponsors: big pharma, big oil, investment firms, insurance companies, and defense contractors. Precisely, the same industries that have a stranglehold on congress.

[Jeweleye]

It's unfortunate that BOTH of these cops cannot share hero status. Why does it have to be either/or? They went in as partners, they supported each other, they succeeded together in bringing the guy down. Yes, the media jumped too quickly on the headline, but women are not the enemy here.

[RruffPaw]

The point that you're completely missing is that accuracy in reporting was totally lax in the press reports. It is not acceptable to say something along the lines of "Oh well, yeah we may have messed up some details, so lets just split the difference and give them both credit". That's not responsible journalism. No one is making women here the enemy. The story would have been in fact even more compelling if she were given her proper due. If anything the ones who did women a disservice were the ones who came up with that embellished account.

[mjc]

Tried posting a comment on this analysis but apparently either the moderator or others thought it was too out of sync with their wisdom. I heard and saw both Todd and Munley interviewed TOGETHER at least twice on tv and it was very clear from what they said that the plan was for them to work together, one entering on one side of the building and the other entering on the opposite side. There was none of the carping that Mr. Mitchell has about the black MAN being slighted. He left the scene after it was clear that the perpetrator was down and the shooting was done. Munley couldn't leave, because she was shot three times and at the end was losing a lot of blood. But she didn't think she was the lone rangerette and referred to him constantly as "my partner". So what is the point of this stupidity about Todd being snubbed? The media DO, often, make snap judgments in such a scene of chaos but one the dust clears the reality will come out. Are we supposed to have the BLACK American point of view and the WHITE American point of view from the media and the pundits? Truth is in the EAR of the listener.

[toypiano]

Then why did Munley accept all the praise heaped on her for being the one and only hero? Everyone, including Pres. Obama, called her the hero of Ft. Worth and I didn't hear her refute that. She was definitely brave in carrying out her job, no question about that. However, she took credit for something that apparently wasn't true.

Early on I heard a military spokesperson say that we shouldn't assume all the people who were killed were shot by Nadal, implying that some may have been shot by the police during the chaos. But that story was quickly replaced with the story that Munley alone was solely responsible for saving lives. Did she decide to accept the praise knowing it wasn't true, or was she pressured by the military to do so? I don't think the media acted alone in obfuscating the truth.

[provgrays]

Why did Jessica Lynch accept praise claiming she fired her weapon at the enemy until it was empty? The press wants a good story, the military a good "narrative" and the truth is left by the side of the road.

[davidariley]

jessica lynch all over.

it's not the women at fault for this. but is anyone REALLY surprised?