[Media-watch] embedded reporters - the story so far?

[William Dinan]

Here's a selection of stuff (with links) I've come across on the embedded
hacks in Iraq:

News media outlets have been careful to manage their relationships with the
military since the war broke out; hundreds of journalists have been
integrated into combat units and are able to report widely, with
restrictions on certain logistical details. In recent days, several
"embedded" reporters have been expelled from their units after reporting
information that officers deemed too sensitive to be broadcast.

"Your five W's - who, what, where, when, why - that are Journalism 101
aren't always permissible out here," said Marine Maj. Chris Hughes, a U.S.
military spokesman in Kuwait.

http://www.sunspot.net/news/nationworld/iraq/bal-te.tv24mar24,0,289975.story
?coll=bal-home-headlines


We find ourselves constantly going over the BBC, SkyNews and other
international websites to read their coverage. 
All night long, on every news station tonight, U.S. reporters covering the
Camp Pennsylvania grenade attack were hemming and hawing--"I can't talk
about that"..."I've seen more than I can say, I have to be really careful
here". This Reuters article advising that one of the 13 injured soldiers is
dead, nails it for us. 
		Time magazine correspondent Jim Lacey told CNN by telephone
from Camp Pennsylvania, the Kuwait base for the 1st Brigade, 101st Airborne
Division, that the soldier had died of his injuries. "We're allowed to talk
about it," he said.(emphasis supplied)
Sunday's New York Times reports that reporters are eagerly responding to the
Penatgon's "welcome mat." The "embedding" policy has been in the works for
many months, and is mainly the brainchild of Rumsfeld who wanted to drum up
public support for the war, and decided, what better way than to get the
media enthralled.

http://216.239.37.100/search?q=cache:gbuBOjqHUaUJ:www.talkleft.com/archives/
002713.html+embedded+reporters+rules&hl=en&ie=UTF-8


"The military has done a better job of training reporters to go along with
the troops," added Doyle MacManus, Washington bureau chief for The Los
Angeles Times. "But one concern I have is that we have not had a long enough
dialogue on what the rules will be on the ground. I think we will have more
collisions than we need to have."...
Since 9/11, the White House and the Pentagon have learned a lot about
controlling information." McMasters said. "The 10 principles were agreed to
after the Persian Gulf War and were jettisoned with the beginning of war in
Afghanistan." He noted that unit commanders can overrule the concept of
embedding or impose their own restrictions, especially if the reporter has
seen "problems." Paul McMasters, First Amendment ombudsman for the Freedom
Forum.
http://www.law.virginia.edu/home2002/html/news/2003_spr/media_terror.htm


With the news turning worse for the Pentagon, some of the sheen is wearing
off the system. Commanders in the field are giving embedded reporters
realistic appraisals at odds with the rosier assessments of the briefing
room-a gap that's angering Washington. Last weekend many embedded reporters
found their satellite phones blocked for unexplained reasons. And the
prohibition on identifying dead American soldiers for 72 hours (to allow for
notification of kin) has been informally extended even to pictures of
unidentifiable bodies, where time to contact the family is not an issue.
http://msnbc.com/news/892808.asp?0sl=-23



Now there are signs of an overreaction, which will make matters even worse
on the propaganda front. In a more recent article, on 21 March, Christian
Lowe describes the experience of journalists embedded with a couple of US
military units, where apparently, 'reporters are being hounded by military
public affairs officers who follow their every move and look over their
shoulders as they interview aviators, sailors, and maintainers for their
stories' (5). All Embeds Are Not Created Equal, Daily Standard, 21 March
2003
http://www.spiked-online.com/Articles/00000006DD17.htm