About David Tate
Jul 25 at 11:11pm by admin
I was born and raised in Keego Harbor, Michigan and have been an avid history buff my entire life. I joined the US Marine Corps at 17 (1985) and spent three years as a member of 1st FSSG, I MEF. I attended Indiana University-Bloomington from 1989 - 1994, studying Political Science and Public and Environmental Affairs.
In 1996, I began my career as a videojournalist, working at WSLS-TV (NBC) in Roanoke, Va. as a reporter/photographer. Following the 9/11 attacks on America, I began working as a freelance international journalist.
In February 2003, I began my milblog, A Battlefield Tourist, which essentialy was a journal documenting my trip to southeastern Turkey and pre-war northern Iraq. While there, I was one of about 300 unilateral journalists to cross the Turkish-Iraqi border for the final opposition conference held near Arbil, Iraq.
In 2004, I spent seven months in Afghanistan, a majority of it in the local population. During that time, I completed more than a dozen embeds with US, Afghan, Romanian and Canadian forces. In August of that year, I participated in the first independent embedment in the history of the fledgling Afghan National Army. I also reported on the historic presidential election from Kandahar and was with strongman Ismail Khan when he was overthrown in Herat.
In 2005, I signed two long term contracts with Getty Images, in regards to my war footage, and returned to WSLS-TV as a videojournalist.
In 2007, I joined the independent journalist non-profit cooperative, Public Multimedia, Inc. I then embedded for nearly three weeks, on their behalf, in several areas just south of Baghdad: Mahmudiyah, Haswa (Lutifiyah), Arab Jabour and Doura. I also contribute written work and analysis to The Long War Journal.
The inspiration for my trips is motivated by educational purposes and my reports are apolitical. My goal is to report what I see, which is just a slice of life out of a very complicated pie. To date, 97% of all funds expended have been personally provided, something I hope to change. Currently I am looking for sponsorship that will allow me to do this full time; it can come in the form of straight-forward tax deductable donations (I have non-prof status), advertisement or documentary sponsorship.
There are several ways to support me that cover EVERYONE… so pick your preference:
1. Buisnesses - Right now I am looking for 5 $3,000 sponsors that will help me upgrade to high definition and take a trip out in 2008.
2. Individual Donations - If you like my site, chip in $10 and I’ll be forever grateful.
3. Spread the word to your contact list. This is free and easy, just forward my link to your friends with a nice note.
4. Make me a favorite at http://www.milblogging.com . Make an account, search me out, then list me as a favorite. The higher up the list I go, the more traffic I get.
Many people want to be involved in the efforts overseas, but can’t for various reasons. I have the ability, experience and drive to provide this coverage, just not the funding. Let’s work together. Whether you have thousands of dollars, ten dollars or nothing but time, you can help!
Contact me: dtate38@cox.net
If you have PayPal, you can donate online using the email address above.
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