Reporting From The Wars 1850 2015

From the foundations of the world’s first great empires to the empires of today, war has preoccupied human civilisation for as many as 4000 years. It has fascinated, horrified, thrilled, confused, inspired and disgusted mankind since records began. Provoking such a huge range of emotions and reactions and fulfilling all the elements of newsworthiness, it is hardly surprising that war makes ‘good’ news. Modern technological advancements, such as the camera and television, brought the brutality of war into the homes and daily lives of the public. No longer a far-away and out-of-sight affair, the public’s ability to ‘see’ what was happening on the frontline changed not only how wars were fought but why they were fought. Even when a war is considered ‘popular,’ the involvement of the press and the weight of public opinion has led to criticisms that have transformed modern warfare almost in equal measure to the changes brought about by weapon technology. War reporting seeks to look beyond the official story, to understand the very nature of conflict whilst acknowledging that it is no longer simply good versus evil. This edited volume presents a unique insight into the work of the war correspondent and battlefield photographer from the earliest days of modern war reporting to the present. It reveals how, influenced by the changing face of modern warfare, the work of the war correspondent has been significantly altered in style, method, and practice. By combining historical analysis with experiences of modern day war reporting, this book provides an important contribution to the understanding of this complicated profession, which will be of interest to journalists, academics, and students, alike.

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.

This book traces the beginnings of literary (narrative) journalism in Australia. It contributes to evolving international definitions of the form, while providing a glimpse into Australia’s early press history and development as a nation. The book comprises two parts. The first examines the forerunners of literary journalism before and during the establishment of a free press, including the letters, diaries and journals of the early colonists, as well as sketches published in the first magazines and newspapers. The book asks if these were “reporting” when there was no thriving press until well into the 19th century -- many were written by women and convicts whose voices otherwise went unheard. The second part examines the first expressions of literary journalism in forms more recognisable today, covering topics as varied as homelessness in Melbourne, the Queensland trade in Pacific Islander labour, and Australia’s involvement in overseas wars, particularly the Boer War. The resulting cultural history reveals important milestones in the development of Australia’s press and literature, while demonstrating the concerns unveiled in colonial literary journalism still resonate in Australia in the 21st century.

This timely illustrated book presents an engaging discussion about the role of the war correspondent, news gathering in a war zone, and the influence of technology on war reporting. Fully international in its approach, the book examines themes of propaganda, censorship and responsibility, and the impact of those iconic frontline despatches and photographs of the last century that have crystallised the public perception of the war zone. The book unfolds chronologically, with each chapter focusing on a particular war or group of conflicts. The narrative unfolds through the enterprising and often tragic lives and experiences of the key war correspondents of the period, from the age of print, through the impact of photojournalism to the ascendancy of TV bulletins and the rise of digital technology, which brings a startling immediacy and intimacy to the war zone. Each chapter includes several feature pages and spreads in which famous artworks and photographs are profiled alongside the most respected and well-known correspondents of the last century. Beautifully illustrated with black-and-white prints, colour reportage, and the best examples of war art, this is a fascinating, wide-ranging account of a truly remarkable group of people.

For 150 years war correspondents have shaped our understanding of the war zone. Through printed word, photograph, radio and satellite link-up, they have exposed the horrors of war and revealed the endurance of the human spirit under fire. This book not only brings together details of the most famous dispatches from the front and iconic examples of photojournalism that have passed into our collective consciousness, it is also about the war correspondents themselves. Illustrated with the best examples of war art, black-and-white prints and color reportage of the conflicts of the last century and a half, and with special features on the careers of famous journalists and photographers, this book offers a fascinating insight into the role of the war correspondent.

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.

During the Second World War, approximately 25,000 Dutchmen served within the ranks of the military branch of the German SS: the Waffen-SS. They volunteered to fight to secure the victory of Nazi Germany. These Dutch volunteers fought mainly on the Eastern Front, and to a lesser extent, within their own national borders. After the war, the Allied victors regarded them as part of a criminal organization and jointly responsible for the atrocious transgressions of the Nazi regime. In the Netherlands, these men were reviled, branded as traitors and became pariahs in their own country. Those who had devoted themselves to the Nazi regime caused so much grief to the Netherlands that they had to be held accountable. Despite their military achievements, their reputation was damaged forever. The Netherlands supplied the largest contingent of SS soldiers from the occupied North-western European territories. Who were these people? What led them to enlist, and what were the consequences of their choice? An important part of this study involves the autobiographical texts of nineteen Dutch volunteers in the Waffen-SS. These ego-documents recount their own immediate experiences and are mainly fragments from diaries, but there are also letters, individual notes, and memoirs. The ego-documents are placed within the larger historical context to provide an answer to the question of whether these men were only ideologically motivated and unconditional Nazi sympathizers, and for this, their criminal records are also researched. Among other topics, the book discusses their choice to enlist, their experiences at the front, and their involvement in genocide, providing a new perspective on the Eastern Front.

Merrimack is the biography of a warship, the U.S. Steam Frigate Merrimack. Her name has long been linked to the first duel of ironclads, an epic Civil War battle fought at Hampton Roads between the Monitor and Merrimack. But over time the myth of the Merrimack—actually the C.S.S. Virginia—displaced the memory of a magnificent antebellum U.S. Navy warship. The steam frigate Merrimack lost her identity. Nearly forgotten is the story of the original Merrimack, the namesake of a class of six powerful war steamers. When built she was the largest vessel in the U.S. Navy, the nation’s first screw-propelled frigate and the earliest major warship to be armed entirely with shell-firing guns. Her first commission took her on a tour of the principal naval stations of Europe. During her second commission, she served as flagship of the Navy’s Pacific Squadron, cruising the shores of Chile, Peru, Panama, Hawaii, Mexico and Nicaragua. Through the copious use of Merrimack’s deck logs, official correspondence, contemporary newspapers and journals, and original construction plans, the author’s research illuminates the mechanical issues and human interactions that indelibly shaped Merrimack’s brief career. The author provides an unparalleled glimpse into the day-to-day events that defined the life of an active antebellum warship. But Merrimack offers more than just a summary of the ship’s operational life. The author, a professional naval architect and marine engineer, dissects the origins of her design and compares the Merrimack class steam frigates to contemporary U.S. and British warships. He also examines the controversy surrounding her troubled engines, documenting their performance using archived drawings and steam log data. In summary, Merrimack embraces the many threads of a bygone era—history, biography, geography and technology—and has woven them together in telling of the story of the U.S. Steam Frigate Merrimack.