Journalists Under Fire

Journalists Under Fire: Information War and Journalistic Practices is the first book to combine a conceptually audacious analysis of the changing nature of war with an empirically rich critical analysis of journalists who cover conflict. In this book, authors Howard Tumber and Frank Webster explore questions about Information War and journalistic practices. In the era of multi-national journalism, of the Internet and satellite videophone, the book highlights central features of media reporting in contemporary conflict. Drawing on more than fifty lengthy interviews with frontline correspondents, the authors shed light on the motivations, fears, and practices of those who work under conditions of journalism under fire. is the first book to combine a conceptually audacious analysis of the changing nature of war with an empirically rich critical analysis of journalists who cover conflict. In this book, authors Howard Tumber and Frank Webster explore questions about Information War and journalistic practices. In the era of multi-national journalism, of the Internet and satellite videophone, the book highlights central features of media reporting in contemporary conflict. Drawing on more than fifty lengthy interviews with frontline correspondents, the authors shed light on the motivations, fears, and practices of those who work under conditions of journalism under fire.

A healthy democracy requires vigorous, uncompromising investigative journalism. But today the free press faces a daunting set of challenges: in the face of harsh criticism from powerful politicians and the threat of lawsuits from wealthy individuals, media institutions are confronted by an uncertain financial future and stymied by a judicial philosophy that takes a narrow view of the protections that the Constitution affords reporters. In Journalism Under Fire, Stephen Gillers proposes a bold set of legal and policy changes that can overcome these obstacles to protect and support the work of journalists. Gillers argues that law and public policy must strengthen the freedom of the press, including protection for news gathering and confidential sources. He analyzes the First Amendment’s Press Clause, drawing on older Supreme Court cases and recent dissenting opinions to argue for greater press freedom than the Supreme Court is today willing to recognize. Beyond the First Amendment, Journalism Under Fire advocates policies that facilitate and support the free press as a public good. Gillers proposes legislation to create a publicly funded National Endowment for Investigative Reporting, modeled on the national endowments for the arts and for the humanities; improvements to the Freedom of Information Act; and a national anti-SLAPP law, a statute to protect media organizations from frivolous lawsuits, to help journalists and the press defend themselves in court. Gillers weaves together questions of journalistic practice, law, and policy into a program that can ensure a future for investigative reporting and its role in our democracy.

′...it will appeal not only to students of journalism and media but also to anyone interested in the world around them′ - Marie Kinsey, Times Higher Education Supplement ′Professor Tumber weaves together traditional and topical themes to produce a comprehensive overview of the media′s role at times of conflict′ - Stewart Purvis, City University London ′Presents a vivid picture of what it’s like to be working as a journalist on the front line during a ‘modern’ war. Through the eyes of leading correspondents in the field the authors examine their experience and its impact on the audience, their profession and their own lives′ - The Information Centre about Asylum and Refugees in the UK (ICAR) Journalists Under Fire is the first book to combine a conceptually audacious analysis of the changing nature of war with an empirically rich critical analysis of journalists who cover conflict. In Journalists Under Fire, authors Howard Tumber and Frank Webster explore questions about the information war and journalistic practices. Frontline correspondents play a key role in information war, but their position is considerably more ambiguous and ambivalent than in the epoch of industrial war. They play a central role in the presentation of what is often spectacle to audiences around the world whose actual experience of war is far removed from combat. In the era of multi-national journalism, of the internet and satellite videophone, the book highlights central features of media reporting in contemporary conflict. Drawing on over fifty lengthy interviews with frontline correspondents, the authors shed light on the motivations, fears and practices of those who work under conditions of journalism under fire. Journalists Under Fire is designed for undergraduate and postgraduate students and for scholars, academics and researchers in the fields of journalism, media and communication, Media Studies, sociology, international relations and war studies.

Outstanding Academic Title for 2007, Choice Magazine As journalists in Iraq and other hot spots around the world continue to face harrowing dangers and personal threats, neuropsychiatrist Anthony Feinstein offers a timely and important exploration into the psychological damage of those who, armed only with pen, tape recorder, or camera, bear witness to horror. Based on a series of recent studies investigating the emotional impact of war on the profession, Journalists under Fire breaks new ground in the study of trauma-related disorders. Feinstein opens with an overview of the life-threatening hazards war reporters face—abductions, mock executions, the deaths of close colleagues—and discusses their psychological consequences: post-traumatic stress disorder, depression, deterioration of personal relationships, and substance abuse. In recounting the experiences of reporters who encounter trauma on the job, Feinstein observes that few adequate support systems are in place for them. He tells the stories of media veterans who have "seen it all," only to find themselves and their employers blindsided by psychological aftershocks. The book explores the biological and psychological factors that motivate journalists to take extraordinary risks. Feinstein looks into the psyches of freelancers who wade into war zones with little or no financial backing; he examines the different stresses encountered by women working in a historically male-dominated profession; and he probes the effects of the September 11 attacks on reporters who thought they had sworn off conflict reporting. His interviews with many of this generation's greatest reporters, photographers, and videographers often reveal extraordinary resilience in the face of adversity. Journalists under Fire is a look behind the public persona of war journalists at a time when the profession faces unprecedented risk. Plucking common threads from disparate stories, Feinstein weaves a narrative that is as fascinating to read as it is sobering to contemplate. What emerges are unique insights into lives lived dangerously.

Veteran White House reporter April Ryan thought she had seen everything in her two decades as a White House correspondent. And then came the Trump administration. In Under Fire, Ryan takes us inside the confusion and chaos of the Trump White House to understand how she and other reporters adjusted to the new normal. She takes us inside the policy debates, the revolving door of personnel appointments, and what it is like when she, as a reporter asking difficult questions, finds herself in the spotlight, becoming part of the story. With the world on edge and a country grappling with a new controversy almost daily, Ryan gives readers a glimpse into current events from her perspective, not only from inside the briefing room but also as a target of those who want to avoid answering probing questions. After reading her new book, readers will have an unprecedented inside view of the Trump White House and what it is like to be a reporter Under Fire.

In her latest book, Kristina Borjesson once again leaves pundits, media critics, and Monday morning quarterbacks behind. Zeroing in on a stunning lineup of first-hand sources, she presents a unique and utterly fascinating record of self-examination by some of America's top working journalist. Focusing on the post 9/11 crisis period, Borjesson has interviewed ABC's Ted Koppel, Hearst Newspaper, Helen Thoms, Paul Krugman of the New York Times, Barton Gellman and Walter Pincus of the Washington Post, Associated Press President/CEO Tom Curley, Harpers publisher John MacArthur, Peter Arnett, and many others. This collection of masterful interviews unveils a journalist environment that rivals any long-running soap opera on television. Filled with astonishing personal stories, conflict, and drama, Feet to the Fire gives readers the rare opportunity to walk a mile in the shoes of this nation's most powerful journalists and news executives. Most of them have spent long stretches of their professional lives in what can only be described as pressure-cooker environments ranging from deadly war zones to high-rise corporate offices. As a serious, first-hand account of contemporary mainstream journalism, the book has no equal. Mindful of the broader historical context and the value of comparing the coverage of recent coonflicts to Vietnam War coverage, Borjesson has included long interviews with Vietnam-era reporters who are still working today, like Peter Arnett. Arnett won a Pulitzer Prize as an Associated Press reporter in Vietnam, was CNN's star war correspondent during the first Gulf War, and became a lightning rod while reporting on the second Gulf War. As an oral account of the current era of crisis, as a deeper and far more insightful view of this nation's most accomplished messengers and the landscape in which they operate, Feet to the Fire is nothing short of a tour-de-force. Interview subject include: Ted Koppel, Helen Thomas, Tom Curley (President/CEO Associated Press), Peter Arnett, Paul Krugman (New York Times), Barton Gellman and Walter Pincus (Washington Post), Deborah Amos (NPR war correspondent), Jon Alpert (independent producer/cameraman). John MacArthur, Tom Yelling (executive producer for Peter Jennings), Chris Hedges, and James Bamford (National Security reporter).

A former reporter for Newsweek and the Wall Street Journal, Collings (journalism, U. of Michigan) describes how independent journalists have suffered attack for their work and how they are developing more effective ways to fight the repression. c. Book News Inc.

From the front line of the Iraq War, the book presents gripping personal stories of Reuters correspondents who capture the mood of the soldiers who fought in the conflict and the ordinary people caught up in it. The Reuters journalists include : Luke Baker, Samia Nakhoul, Andrew Gray, David Fox, Matthew Green, Nadim Ladki, Caroline Drees, John Chalmers, Adrian Croft, Sean Maguire, Mike Collett-White, Christine Hauser, Michael Georgy, Saul Hudson, and Rosalind Russell.