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US Army vs. Michael Yon
2006-02-02
It is one of the iconic images of the Iraq War.

A U.S. soldier in khaki fatigues gently cradles a bloody Iraqi girl in the muddy streets of Mosul.

Blogger Michael Yon snapped the photo May 2, 2005, moments after a suicide bomber attacked the unit he was embedded with. The little girl, Farah, died on her way to the hospital.

The next day, the picture ran in hundreds of newspapers and TV news shows throughout the world. It hit the front page of the Washington Post. USA Today. Fox News. ABC News. Time magazine.

The exposure should have been a career highlight for an independent journalist trying to get his coverage noticed. While millions of people saw the photo in their morning newspapers — and thousands more logged onto his blog — Yon could barely stand to see the picture.

"I was still upset about the bombing," he said. "There were months I couldn't even look at the photo."

He never wanted it to get out. He told Army officials they could use the photo in internal training manuals. Instead, they put it on the news wires, originally attributing it only as a U.S. Army photo without Yon's name.

The Army's decision to release the photo has Yon, widely considered one of the most pro-military voices covering the war, readying a copyright infringement lawsuit.

In an Oct. 13 letter to Yon denying his request for compensation for the alleged infringement, Army intellectual property lawyer Alan Klein wrote that Yon had given up his right for compensation when he signed the standard liability form all embedded journalists must sign.

The form states that Yon agreed to "release the (military) of any liability from and hold them harmless for any injuries I may suffer or any equipment that may be damaged as a result of my covering combat."

In his letter, Klein argues that an injury to Yon's copyright is the same as an injury to his leg or his camera.

The release frees the Army "from any liability for any injury he may suffer," Klein wrote. "The claimant asserts he was injured by the distribution of his copyrighted works to the news media. This release absolves the Army of any liability for that injury."

The Army contends that because Yon shared the photo with the soldiers in his embed unit, he should have understood the photo could be distributed further.

"(W)hen embedded journalists voluntarily share some of their photos with the Soldiers and units that they live and work with, typically through email, embeds fully understand that those individuals and units may distribute them," Lt. Col. Pamela Hart of Army Public Affairs wrote in an email.

Yon's attorney, John Mason, is trying to regain as much control over the photo as possible. He has asked dozens of news organizations to remove it from their archives unless they were willing to pay a substantial licensing fee.

Mason and Yon granted the Daily Southtown permission to run the photo for free because the paper was writing this article specifically about the photo's back-story.

If Yon moves ahead as planned with his suit against the Army, the photo could become a symbol of press rights in the military embed program.

Alicia Wagner Calzada, president of the National Press Photographers Association, said the Army's rationale for denying compensation appears questionable.

"(Yon) owns the copyright to that photograph," she said. "I would certainly never embed on the grounds of turning over my copyright to the military."

Yon wants people to know that he is not a military shill. He worries that the way his most famous photo got out to the world may have tarnished that image.

"I really am as fiercely independent as the Kurds are," he said. "The only thing I had was my independence. That was it."
Posted by:Anonymoose

#11  What in the hell is the Army thinking? Michael Yon has done what 10^6 public affairs hacks officers could not do: Put out one super favorable and true PR campaign for the Army. The picture embodied what the ideal US Army soldier is: tough but compassionate. It embodies what Americans are.

Then some REMF f*cks it all up. General Honare needs to be called in to have a talk with above REMFs and get them to quit being Stuck on Stupid™.
Posted by: Alaska Paul   2006-02-02 22:13  

#10  It's too bad that Yon is taking this to the courts. It's a battle that neither will win and it taints his work.
Posted by: 2b   2006-02-02 22:06  

#9  Army intellectual property lawyer - My eyes rolled when I read that.

Otherwise, he's dealing with lawyers. What does he expect?
Posted by: phil_b   2006-02-02 21:45  

#8  Oooooo, I was away too long, lol.

Regards the copyrights issue on the photo, well, if Yon signed away his rights to the pic, and they've decided to fuck him regardless of any unwritten / good faith understanding, then he loses - but learns not to deal with JAG fucks. Period. Ever.

As for your remark about Yon, well sheesh, yeah, put it on. I'll stick to the facts, but...

but only a little bit, a singing, perhaps, for being lazy and too quick to become a ring-knocker's stooge.

This is the story you haphazardly referred to. If read in full, it's a no-brainer and clear Yon was directly in the middle of a deadly firefight and was no "loose cannon" or cowboy. Just as the others he was suddenly there, in the middle of it, and acted in a manner -> I <- consider far above reproach - especially from anyone who was not there. You want a piece of him? Get it from the people of that Deuce-Four patrol. If they say he's a bad actor, a loose cannon, I'm good. If not, then you're over the voyeur's line.

About halfway down the entry is where you'll find the picture sequence and narrative of the engagement in question. LTC Kurilla is hit 3 times, including one which breaks his femur in half, but continues fighting back from the ground -- and demonstrates very clearly that this was a deadly encounter and there was no warning for any of the people involved.

Yon, unlike any other embed I know of, doesn't need babysitters - wasting patrol members / resources.

Read on. I think the facts bear out that he was (or should've been unless he's insane) in fear for his own life and for the lives of the people he was with - and acted accordingly - even when some greenies froze. Much advantage in experience.

I don't think your heart is in synch with your posted words, but that's up to you to clarify. What he did is precisely what makes -> ME <- think he rocks. Yeah, I'd go on patrol with him, in a heartbeat. And I'll bet you a month's wages that would go for anyone in Deuce-Four, anytime, anywhere.

Go figure, huh?
Posted by: .com   2006-02-02 20:39  

#7  lotp, what a bad attitude, sheech.

The Army [brass in the rear] should find a clue here.

It's bad enough that the MSM and their fellow travelers are stuck on stupid and tear down our Military everyday, but it galls me to no end when the 'Public relations Div' does such a through job shooting itself in the foot.

Here they've have a tremendous talent in Michael Yon, who along with Duce 4 has captured the immigration of millions all over the world.

How hard would it be for the Army to do the right thing and give him photo rights.

Think, what the film possiblities with Bruce Willis, a known fan of Duce 4 would do for recruting... And what about future work for the DOD, Marines, Air Force, Navy etc.

The DOD let SLA Marshall profit from his books, Army maps etc..
Posted by: RD   2006-02-02 20:18  

#6  I think both sides were right. Yon was obligated to defend himself & the men around him. The Army was obliged to reprimand him and possibly pull him out of his embedded position. Sometimes there's no good outcome.
Posted by: Whutch Threth6418   2006-02-02 19:59  

#5  The previous was me. Don't know what happened.
Posted by: Deacon Blues   2006-02-02 19:56  

#4  lotp, leave the asbestos suit in the closet. Yon forgot he was a reporter and in the heat of the firefight did what any of us military types would do, BUT, he did violate his reporter status. I'm not going to judge him TOO harshly though the bottom line is he did something he wasn't supposed to do. He might very well have saved Kurilla's life but he should not have gotten in the fight.
Posted by: Grick Angimp1809   2006-02-02 19:50  

#3  I like Yon's reporting. But his actions as an embed blurred a couple lines. For instance, IIRC at one point during a firefight he picked up a rifle and began shooting. His agreement allowing him to embed specifically forbids that -- and as an ex- soldier he knows why that is: the local commander CANNOT have people who take it upon themselves to join in but who aren't under his command. No matter how serious the fight - in fact, precisely due to the intensity of the fight - Yon's unilateral actions were out of line and he was reprimanded for them, as I recall.

I doubt it endeared him to the command chain or them to him. Whether or not this brouhaha over the pic is part of a larger bickering, I don't know. But while I can sympathize with his desire to control that photo, he does sound like a bit of a loose cannon.

FWIW - and I suppose I should just go put on my asbestos suit at this point. I hate when I have to do that - the damn thing is itchy ....
Posted by: lotp   2006-02-02 18:19  

#2  Yes, but he has a bright future in the claims department of some HMO.
Posted by: VAMark   2006-02-02 16:28  

#1  This lawyer must be looking for an early discharge.
Posted by: Nimble Spemble   2006-02-02 16:10  

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