THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, July 25, 1996 TAG: 9607250403
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A3 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: THE WASHINGTON POST
DATELINE: WASHINGTON LENGTH: 50 lines
The media inquiry that led to the suicide of Chief of Naval Operations Jeremy M. ``Mike'' Boorda has claimed another victim.
Roger Charles, the reporter who broke the controversial story on Adm. Boorda's right to wear combat decorations, has been fired in the wake of a backlash against his employer, the National Security News Service. The reason, his bosses said, is that donations to the nonprofit group have dropped since the Boorda tragedy in May, leaving the news service with a $60,000 deficit and a questionable future.
``The news service is in real serious danger because of the Boorda story,'' said Joe Trento, the group's bureau chief, who has lost one of his two reporters. ``When you get into independent reporting, this is the price of doing business. If we all have to look for jobs, so be it.''
Charles, a former Marine lieutenant colonel, is the journalist who uncovered records showing that Boorda was wearing decorations to which he apparently was not entitled. Charles brought the story to Newsweek, which sent two reporters to interview Boorda, then the Navy's highest ranking officer. Boorda shot himself just before the appointment, sparking widespread criticism of Newsweek and Charles' group for pursuing what some viewed as a minor matter.
``I'm certainly disappointed and surprised,'' Charles said. ``But when you spend 22 1/2 years in the Marine Corps, nothing really surprises you.''
Ironically, Charles had put off the story about the bronze ``V'' pins for a year because he considered it a minor matter. But he defended the inquiry Wednesday, calling it ``a legitimate story, and time enhances its legitimacy.''
The 6-year-old Washington news service, whose annual budget is about $360,000, has worked with such news organizations as ABC and The Washington Post on military and intelligence matters.
Wayne Jaquith, the news service's founder, said that since May the group had lost a $40,000 grant administered by the Ploughshares Fund and $10,000 from an anonymous donor. Deborah Bain, director of development at Ploughshares, which promotes conflict resolution and an end to nuclear proliferation, said the fund continues to give the news service a separate $30,000 grant. She said the Boorda story was not mentioned in the board meeting at which the second grant was turned down.
Jaquith said Charles was let go because ``he did a lot of things we didn't get explicit funding to do, stories about scandals in the military.'' ILLUSTRATION: Adm. Mike Boorda shot himself to death shortly before
an interview with reporters about combat decorations. by CNB