Gutsy post, Joey. I agree with what you said about how news media and regular Joe’s have forgotten about the war until the “hunky prince” was forced into the headlines. That has appeared to be the case since yours and other networks have pushed the war aside for wall to wall political coverage. Don’t get me wrong, I love politics but some days there needs to be a better balance.

But I disagree with you regarding Prince Harry’s service in Afghanistan. Prince Harry is doing his royal duty, in my opinion. Just because he’s a prince should not stop him from wanting to serve his country. Haven’t there been a long line of royals who have served their country?

Also, I don’t blame the news outlets for making a deal to keep things hush hush for footage. Let’s face, news agencies have made worse deals than this. But I did feel a bit uncomfortable that the footage came out the second Drudge opened his mouth. That did seem kind of odd to me but I guess that is the news business.

I think that you are wrong about Harry. He has every right to serve his country just like everyone else does! Didn’t his dad and the other men of the family do it? Why should he be any different? Maybe he thinks that it is his duty to do it. That he has to because it is what has always been done from generation to generation. That doesn’t mean he is self indulgent. Anyone that will go and fight in a war is brave and deserves respect. If you are a prince or a regular Joe.

Cynthia, Covington, Ga.

There really is no reason to elevate what Harry is doing in Afghanistan over the thousands of others who are serving without the praise and attention.

It might be true that people are tired of hearing about the war, but I certainly hope that 360/CNN will continue to give us the information we need to know regarding Iraq and Afghanistan despite the ratings–this is what sets CNN apart from other news organizations, afterall.

The ratings dip when you cover the war in Afghanistan …. and so we viewers get some “news” served up about Britney or some other failed star. Hmmmm, that’s not my decision, I’d rather get informed about world news. But it’s CNN that CHOOSES what they inform their viewers about. If CNN chooses to be a slave to ratings, than that’s disappointing and not true to real journalism.

Prince Harry is as brave as any American or other soldier out there!
He’s risking his life, when he could have easily avoided that. His service is not “self-indulgent” and “asinine” , but courageous and self-less.
Asinine was the reporter who leaked the story.

Also, Prince Harry’s service and the images of it, are probably encouraging a lot of young people in England to do the same.
Is a boozing Harry a better role model ?

Only because you are mad that CNN chooses not to cover Afghanistan that much, doesn’t justify you belittling Prince Harry’s tour of duty.

Dude, take a chill pill.

Also, CNN doesn’t HAVE to just chase ratings. You COULD report on actual important news, like war updates, more frequently. That’s kind of what you’re *supposed* to do, but I know, celebs in trouble and true crime stories being in the masses of viewers and easy money. Too bad there isn’t like, a CNN2 a la MTV2 (for its first couple years, MTV2 had only music videos, 24-7) that has only news. HNL doesn’t count–they don’t have news a lot of the time, not in prime time, anyway.

So, you feel that Prince Harry should not be allowed to serve his country even though that’s what he trained to do? Why should he be any different than any other soldier? I agree that if he were puting his fellow soldiers in danger then he shouldn’t be there, but those making the decision obviously did not feel that he was a risk, so I trust their call.

I get that you are concerned that the war in Afghanistan has been forgotten and I completely agree with you, but that is not the prince’s fault. At this point, he is helping to bring attention to it.

If you wan to be angry, aim your anger at Matt Drudge for his selfish arrogance and stupidity. Michael Ware was right on…what a drongo! I’m pleasantly surprised and more than a little impressed that the world’s press were able to keep the secret for so long. Good for them. For once, the story did not come first.

Joey…

I agree with you totally.

Joey, I agree with a lot of your post and appreciate you noting the media’s guilt in all this (including 360), so I guess I’m wondering what you guys are going to do about it. Will you scale back the political coverage a bit and do away with the inane celebrity and sensational true crime stories in order to make room for this forgotten war? Or is it really all about ratings?

Last April the show went to Afghanistan and was turned right back around when Virginia Tech happened. The shooting was absolutely an important story, but was it necessary to scrap the whole trip to go wall-to-wall with the shooting? In cable news it seems the immediate always comes out on top of whatever else might be waiting to get some coverage, even if the immediate is as inane as Britney Spears’ latest antics, and the story waiting to be covered is an entire war being fought by thousands of our brave troops. This time the immediate just happened to take place in the war zone.

Anderson often notes that 360 is a show that does not take sides and lets the viewers form their own opinions. But just remember, while you may not be influencing how a viewer thinks; you are influencing what they think about with your story selection. Afghanistan has been forgotten by the public for a reason.

Wow!! I am totally verklemp. Doesn’t sound like an AC360 post.

It was a stupid move for him to go there but I’m sure the Queen felt it was in the best interest of her household to send him.

He has done quite a few stupid things, not like William or Charles or any of the others in the family….must be stray genes….lol.

It fits with his miliant attitute….the costume, the birds, the partying, the women and now this….’tis fitting somehow.

Yes, he brought needed attention back to the Afganistan war which is often over shadowed by the Iraq war.

Yes, the wars are stupid and we are waiting for them to end.

Yes, the Pop are parisites and need lives of their own..lol.

My ex-fiance was a tank commander in the Israeli army and he told me often how it was the most dangerous job. You are buried deep in the tank and it is cramped. You run over an IED or get hit, you are done for. If the blast doesn’t take you out, then the bleeding and inability for them to retreive you will.

A commoner can fight and be replaced, sadly, should he fall, but they cannot rule. A member of the Royal family is obligated to guard themselves since they are the rulers….they should not fight since they are not as easily replaceable.

Curious don’t you think.

Joey–
Really, it’s ridiculous just how much the media focuses on the rich and the famous. If Brangelina weren’t globe-trotting in search of more children, I doubt a lot of people would care about poverty and hunger. If rock bands didn’t put on “cause concerts,” people wouldn’t know about AIDS, civil war, and child slavery. That’s terribly sad, and completely unfair to the people whose lives are actually affected by these disasters.
I think Harry is trying to get the war back in the spotlight, though, and probably make up for being such a spoiled jerk a few years ago. Unfortunately, it’s completely backfired and turned into yet another case of “celebrities’-pet-projects-gone-fad.”

–Chrissy, NYC

Going to the front lines of a war is “self-indulgence”?

I haven’t seen the Bush twins in Iraq… I think Prince Harry is setting a good example.

It was said of Prince Harry’s mother that she lead photographers to forgotten people and places, giving them public attention for a time. It’s practically the family business. I thought he was being self-indulgent, but listening to some of the things he has been saying, my opinion has shifted a bit. He got something he wanted (a lot) and so did other powerful people. I hope it also did some good.

Why do you mock Prince Harry, when all he’s done is serve his country? What happened wasn’t his fault. I’m sure he’d rather stay there, but now he has to leave, against his will. Sure I’d rather see our troops go home too, but how do you suggest we do that?

It seems that whether he’s stumbling out of a bar or going to the frontlines in Afghanistan, he’s a bad person to you. Just what is it that you want him to do?

WOW, Joey. I think you are way outta line. So, because Harry couldnt help whose son he was, if it was HIS HEART’S DESIRE to be a soldier, you would stop him from this? He is sentenced to life in the royal family, which is NO LIFE AT ALL?

Joey, I think you should be looking at who “OUTTED” him. If he has been there for two months and no one knew, who gave out the info?
You should be angry with your brothers: your media pals.
What a truly non-biased article that was!

Prince Harry is trying to do the right thing.His uncle was in the Fauklands War years back..His grandfather was with the British Navy during WW2..after all the bad boy stuff he is trying to do the right thing and do what he was trained for..I would like to see all our troops come home..Afghanistan has gotten the short stick in this and we are losing ground..Blame it all on that absolute idiot George Bush..As a 21 year Navy veteran myself I admre Harry.

Bravo to the comments from Stacy and S, Minneapolis. Both excellent observations.

Joey, a very interesting post! Stacy, I agree with your post 100%. It is a good one.

You know we can all sit at home and be critical of what is put on the set but we all have choices. I see alot of CNN programming between 9 PM and 11 PM and watch 60 Minutes consistently. That is about it for my TV viewing. Who has time? The rest of my news, magazines and readings come from other sources.

A lot has changed over the years in media and nothing is more ever pressing than budgets and costs. More people are looking at the internet for news. Many people don’t watch the network evening news as much and very few Americans have an understanding about international and foreign relations. Ask some at the grocery store if they know where Latin America is? Ask a person if they know where Prague is located? Do you know the capital of Iceland? Many folks don’t and since they don’t and they feel it doesn’t effect them, they don’t pay attention.

It is pitiful but Americans are becoming less and less informed than ever melting away in front of the set watching “Wife Swap” and the other one about being smarter than a fifth grader.

Seriously, I understand your frustration over the fact that the war in Afghanistan is not covered more. It bugs the hell out of me as well. But then DO something about it. Once in a while toss aside the whole ratings phenomenon and go with what is RIGHT.

When I saw that an AC 360 staffer who would not normally blog had, I was excited to read what you had to say. But I gotta tell you, aiming your anger at a boy who could just sit back and do nothing, or become nothing but a target for gossip rags and paparazzi is not right.

Look back through the history of the Windsor’s, Joey. All of the men served their country. This boy is putting his life at risk. He presents an enormous target to terrorists. Admittedly he may make the risk a tad greater to his fellow soldiers because of who he is; but on the other hand, it is a war, and was IS hell no matter whom you are standing next to.

Attacking him for doing what he feels he needs to do is just wrong. If he sat ensconced in Buckingham Palace all day, what would you have to say then? Would that make the situation more pallatable? At least he is out there contributing. I give him credit for that. He is a good man. And I feel quite certain that the royals did everything in their power to dissuade him from doing this. Think about that. He had to be totally determined.

If you need to rant, choose the person who was completely irresponsible in this situation. HE deserves your ire and vitriol. Prince Harry does not.

And if Prince Harry refused to go off to Afghanistan and fight with his unit, everyone would be screaming how the privileged members of society get a free ride when it comes to war. As I see it, Prince Harry can’t win either way with some people.

As for the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq falling off the news radar, that’s not the viewers fault. If the media only covers news based on ratings, well then the media isn’t doing it’s job.

Joey:
I think you are being a bit hard on the boy. Cut Prince Harry some slack. He’s 23 and finally has a chance to grow up. It’s obvious to me that his experience on the front lines has matured him. I don’t think it was Harry’s idea to be filmed and photographed looking so dashing, that’s the media looking to sensationalize the story and, yes, get the ratings.

I admire the young prince. His mother would have been very proud of him. It just like something she would have done. I really smiled when he said it gave him an opportunity to “feel normal”.

The English royals have a tradition of serving their country in the military. So why shouldn’t Harry serve? Where he was stationed the men are in imminent danger even if he isn’t there because they are on the front lines.

A lot of us regular viewers would like to see more on Iraq and Afghanistan. Some of us have put in feedback to that effect. I much prefer news of substance to that of celebrity news; what the latest is on Lindsay Lohan or Britney Spears does not interest me in the least nor does it fit in a program that is suppose to be a provocative news show.

I noticed that 360 didn’t skimp on their coverage of Prince Harry on the front lines - 18 minutes were devoted to it. 18 minutes in which 360 showed what he was doing, said repeatedly where he was stationed, etc. The only thing you didn’t do was draw a map for the enemy to find him. Even though Matt Drudge broke the story, 360 could have chosen the high road and not reported on it or kept the reporting short and location free.

Annie Kate
Birmingham AL

I have to go with Minou, Katie, and C on this one. I think that Prince Harry truely wants to fight and serve his country. It’s too bad that his cover was blown. He may have been able to make a difference.

Joey,
Maybe you should ask the powers to be at CNN why they have replaced Tom Foreman’s weekend show “This Week at War” with “This Week in Politics”? There were many of us who appreciated those weekly war updates.

Prince Harry should be admired and respected for representing his country in the war in Afghanistan. You should be angry with the media who put his life, and the lives of others, in jeopardy by going public with this information while he is still embedded in country.

We just had 3 U.S. Senators return from Afghanistan. Why haven’t we seen any CNN interviews with them, to get their perspective? There are several well-respected representatives of IAVA who have appeared on other news networks. Why hasn’t CNN done any interviews with them?

By airing the file footage CNN had on Prince Harry in Afghanistan, gave them a way to talk about the war with a bonus “celebrity” twist. Somewhere along the way, in the quest to boost ratings, the lines between news and entertainment have become blurred.

I agree with everything your saying. And also everyone keeps saying “Oh how amazing of him to go to war! What a sacrifice! He’s a Prince for god sakes and here is slummin it like all us common folk! This shows what a selfless person he is!” It really is disgusting and pathetic to watch.
All right fine maybe Harry truly does not want be a soldier and isn’t doing this just for the good publicity, but he is doing the same thing that millions of people have done. I hate the attention and adoration the royal family gets in general. They have no control over the country and are basically their as what…symbols of centuries of aristocracy and oppression? I really don’t undertand their purpose in the first place and to see all of this pro royal propaganda like footage of Prince Harry manly shooting a gun and aw poor baby eating rations gets me irritated.

I meant maybe Harry truly DOES want to be a soldier. Hahaha whoops. This is what all the media is saying, about how upset he is he couldn’t stay longer.

It’s a shame that the media was so intent of getting this story that they no regards to whom they would put in danger just to report it.

It seems to me that Harry’s decision to actually join the military and fight on the front lines does enormous good in promoting the military as an honorable career for the highly educated and wealthy too. I admire those children of leaders who lead by example. I admire those leaders who call us to serve in general, but also support sending their own children into harms way for the nation.

I also admire that McCain has two sons in the military - one on active duty in Iraq - and doesn’t bring attention to it.

Soldiers are in harm’s way whether Harry is there or not. Their opponents want them dead anyway.

Frankly Joey, I’m not sure your self satisfying and distasteful post is worthy of a response. Obviously, this ruffled your feathers a bit too much, is there an unerlying cause here perhaps? Aren’t you blowing this a bit out of proportion? Harry wanted to go and he did so what’s the big deal? Apparently, part of the secrecy was definitely to protect others and unselfish. Disagree with you here and hope you feel better having vented such anger. I found it quite disrepectful as the royal family are our friends and allies, right?

Well,I would hate to see Harry end up as his beloved Mother did. ( media helped that) As to Harry as a human being, I sure hope he does’nt lose that machine gun..All those Pics.. look set up. after all I don’t think you fire a machine a body length away from the thing..He was not pushed into Afghanistan, Harry has wanted the limelight since graduating from Sandhurst. ( where he lost his rifle) hahahaha. Perhaps, he just needs to grow up on his terms,he and William certainly have no proper Male Model to guide them..Philip is a disgrace to the Royal Family…..I pray he will never be King.Suprised not to see the Union Jack on a towering flag pole to pin point his bunk.. Might as well the Meddia has the done all the rest….