As the brave men and women in the U.S. military put their lives on the line to protect our freedoms, the Shelby County Reporter stands in full support of our troops and our President.

Our brave defenders overseas have made an extreme sacrifice to assure the safety of our ideals, our way of life and in fact, our very lives.

We are proud of the men and women who risk their lives for ours. It is with utmost gratitude that we honor those who have made the ultimate sacrifice &045; their lives.

We also offer our support and prayers for the coalition troops who have been captured by Iraqi soldiers.

Our thoughts and prayers remain with each of the soldiers and their families in this, their time of sacrifice.

While we are disturbed to see their fear and pain, we are confident their spirits have not been broken.

Local news media should refrain from repeatedly showing video of the captured American soldiers.

While a major national network can claim a responsibility for revealing the horrors of the war and perhaps justify airing footage of captured American soldiers, local news programs should refrain from doing so.

Iraqi military personnel were in violation of the Geneva convention when they interrogated our soldiers on video.

However, a local television station cannot claim to carry the burden of revealing this violation &045; that is one carried by the national and international networks.

Continuing to air these disturbing images on local news outlets serves no purpose, except to benefit the particular station doing so.

The purpose of a local station is not to break world news but rather to localize its impact