At NBC, executives are aware of the turmoil over the truth in the Lynch story and are philosophical. Much of the BBC report has been discredited, said Jeff Zucker, president of NBC Entertainment. "All made-for-TV movies based on fact have some fiction in them." In any case, the lure is unchanged. "She is a heroic figure," he said.
The flap over what happened -- and over who hyped it -- could temper enthusiasm for future Lynch projects. HarperCollins has commissioned a book by Mohammed Odeh Rehaief, the lawyer who tipped Americans to Lynch's whereabouts and then won political asylum in the U.S. Scheduled for publication in October, with a rumored $300,000 advance, the book is tentatively titled "Rescue in Nasiriya: The Untold Story of American POW Jessica Lynch's Harrowing Ordeal and the Iraqi Who Risked Everything to Save Her." Editor David Hirshey told National Public Radio, "We may have been premature in slapping the title on it."
Whatever the title -- A&E named its upcoming movie "Saving Jessica Lynch" -- her story stood out.
In the ambush at Nasiriyah, there was another woman captured by the Iraqis. Shoshana Johnson received a fair amount of attention but not nearly the star treatment accorded Lynch.
A 30-year-old single mother, Johnson left the University of Texas at El Paso four years ago to enlist in the Army and pursue her dream of becoming a professional chef. A cook attached to the 507th, she was shot in both ankles; on video footage aired by Al Jazeera television, she looked terrified of her interrogators. Once released, Johnson got an offer of a scholarship at a culinary school, a call from Oprah Winfrey and a reception by the Congressional Black Caucus.
"The initial stories had Lynch fighting to the last bullet, which makes her useful as a symbol of the new figure in our 'ethnic platoon' of American soldiers -- the Woman Warrior," said Richard Slotkin, a novelist and historian at Wesleyan University in Connecticut. He also said he thinks Johnson, who is African American, was less of a media draw because "her race makes her less eligible for the 'white captive' role." And, he added, she was not rescued first.
Competition for the Lynch story has been so fierce that two of the nation's most influential media companies stooped to name-calling. The New York Times reported that CBS' bid to get the story raised concerns about news independence because it offered to use its Viacom connections -- including a book deal with Simon & Schuster -- to lure the former POW. CBS fired back, citing the discredited reporting of Jayson Blair, the New York Times reporter fired for fabricating, among other tales, a description of Lynch's family home as near tobacco fields.
At Walter Reed Army Medical Center, staffers say Lynch is aware of the media frenzy at her door, which is guarded by military police. Focused on her recovery, she is expected to make decisions later.
When she goes home, which hospital spokesmen say could happen in July or August, she will find life on Mayberry Run Road a bit changed. A renovation project that started out as a way to make the Lynch home handicap-accessible grew as contributions poured in from all over the country. More bedrooms and central air are now part of the plan.
Then there are the tourists. Local officials say 20 or 30 cars drive by daily, sightseers eager for a glimpse of the home where Jessica's story started.
