A New History Of War Reporting

This book takes a fresh look at the history of war reporting to understand how new technology, new ways of waging war and new media conditions are changing the role and work of today’s war correspondent. Focussing on the mechanics of war reporting and the logistical and institutional pressures on correspondents, the book further examines the role of war propaganda, accreditation and news management in shaping the evolution of the specialism. Previously neglected conflicts and correspondents are reclaimed and wars considered as key moments in the history of war reporting such as the Crimean War (1854-56) and the Great War (1914-18) are re-evaluated. The use of objectivity as the yardstick by which to assess the performance of war correspondents is questioned. The emphasis is instead placed on war as a messy business which confronts reporters and photographers with conditions that challenge the norms of professional practice. References to the ‘demise of the war correspondent’ have accompanied the growth of the specialism since the days of William Howard Russell, the so-called father of war reporting. This highlights the fragile nature of this sub-genre of journalism and emphasises that continuity as much as change characterises the work of the war correspondent. A thematically organised, historically rich introduction, this book is ideal for students of journalism, media and communication.

Reporting War and Conflict brings together history, theory and practice to explore the issues and obstacles involved in the reporting of contemporary war and conflict. The book examines the radical changes taking place in the working practices and day-to-day routines of war journalists, arguing that managing risk has become central to modern war correspondence. How individual reporters and news organisations organise their coverage of war and conflict is increasingly shaped by a variety of personal, professional and institutional risks. The book provides an historical and theoretical context to risk culture and the work of war correspondents, paying particular attention to the changing nature of technology, organisational structures and the role of witnessing. The conflicts in Iraq, Afghanistan and Syria are examined to highlight how risk and the calculations of risk vary according to the type of conflict. The focus is on the relationship between propaganda, censorship, the sourcing of information and the challenges of reporting war in the digital world. The authors then move on to discuss the arguments around risk in relation to gender and war reporting and the coverage of death on the battlefield. Reporting War and Conflict is a guide to the contemporary changes in warfare and the media environment that have influenced war reporting. It offers students and researchers in journalism and media studies an invaluable overview of the life of a modern war correspondent.

50 of the world's best known reporters tell the story of what really happened in Iraq in this gripping and gritty narrative history of the war. They discuss the war, the violence they faced and how it impacted their work. But perhaps the most chilling observation is that most saw the disaster unfolding in Iraq long before they were allowed to report it. Includes contributions from New York Times correspondent Dexter Filkins, Pulitzer Prize winner Anthony Shadid and Independent reporter Patrick Cockburn, as well as 21 stunning full-colour photographs.

The War Correspondent looks at the role of the war reporter today: the attractions and the risks of the job; the challenge of objectivity and impartiality in the war zone; the danger of journalistic independence being compromised by military control, censorship, and public relations; as well as the commercial and technological pressures of an intensely concentrated, competitive news media environment. This new edition substantially updates the original, ending with an extended section on the return of history and ideology to the reporting of international conflict, and interviews with prominent war and foreign correspondents including John Pilger, Robert Fisk, Mary Dvesky, and Alex Thomson.

The September 11 attacks produced great changes in journalism and the lives of the people who practiced it. Foreign reporters felt surrounded by the hate of American colleagues for "the enemy." Americans in combat areas became literal targets of anti–U.S. sentiment. Behind the lines, editors and bureau chiefs scrambled to reorient priorities while feeling the pressure of sending others into danger. Becoming the Story examines the transformation of war reporting in the decade after 9/11. Lindsay Palmer delves into times when print or television correspondents themselves received intense public scrutiny because of an incident associated with the work of war reporting. Such instances include Daniel Pearl’s kidnapping and murder; Bob Woodruff’s near-fatal injury in Iraq; the expulsions of Maziar Bahari and Nazila Fathi from Iran in 2009; the sexual assault of Lara Logan; and Marie Colvin’s 2012 death in Syria. Merging analysis with in-depth interviews of Woodruff and others, Palmer shows what these events say about how post-9/11 conflicts transformed the day-to-day labor of reporting. But they also illuminate how journalists’ work became entangled with issues ranging from digitization processes to unprecedented hostility from all sides to the political logic of the War on Terror.

Thousand of reports have visited war zones for a few months or weeks. But some have done much more, crating a tradtion, a genre and a distinctive body of work. Now, for the first time, these pivotal figures and those who knew them tell their own stories in a book that covers all of America's prsent. It is filled with harrowing and revealing tales about the experience of covering war.

The role of war correspondents is crucial to democracy and the publics discovery of the truth. Without them, the temptation to manipulate events with propaganda would be irresistible to politicians of all hues.It starts by examining how journalists have plied their trade over the years most particularly from the Crimean War onwards. Their impact on the conduct of war has been profound and the author, an experienced journalist, explains in his frank and readable manner how this influence has shaped the actions of politicians and military commanders. By the same token the media is a potentially valuable tool to those in authority and this two-way relationship is examined.Technical developments and 24 hour news have inevitably changed the nature of war reporting and their political masters ignore this at their peril and the author examines the key milestones on this road.Using his own and others experiences in recent conflicts, be they Korea, Falklands, Balkans, Iraq or Afghanistan, the author opens the readers eyes to an aspect of warfare that is all too often overlooked but can be crucial to the outcome. The publics attitude to the day-to-day conduct of war is becoming ever more significant and this fascinating book examines why.

“Imagine George Costanza from Seinfeld being sent off to cover the Iraq War . . . Hilarious.” —Michiko Kakutani, The New York Times Chris Ayres is a small-town boy, a hypochondriac, and a neat freak with an anxiety disorder. Not exactly the picture of a war correspondent. But when his boss asks him if he would like to go to Iraq, he doesn’t have the guts to say no. After signing a one million dollar life-insurance policy, studying a tutorial on repairing severed limbs, and spending twenty thousand dollars on camping gear (only to find out that his bright yellow tent makes him a sitting duck), Ayres is embedded with a battalion of gung ho Marines who either shun him or threaten him when he files an unfavorable story. As time goes on, though, he begins to understand them (and his inexplicably enthusiastic fellow war reporters) more and more: Each night of terrifying combat brings, in the morning, something more visceral than he has ever experienced—the thrill of having won a fight for survival. War Reporting for Cowards tells, with “self-deprecating wit”, the story of Iraq in a way that is extraordinarily honest and bitterly hilarious (The New Yorker). “Heartbreakingly funny.” —Anthony Swofford, author of Jarhead “Chris Ayres has invented a new genre: a rip-roaring tale of adventure and derring-don’t.” —Toby Young, author of How to Lose Friends and Alienate People “Darkly entertaining.” —Los Angeles Times “Ayres’s stories of life with Marines are gripping—in part because he’s the perfect neurotic foil.” —People