Page 159 - Battleground The Media Volume 1 and 2

1 | Embedd ng Journal sts: How Close Is Too Close?

war started, hundreds of journalists were embedding with military units antici-
pating their new access to close-up views of combat. At the same time, pro-
tests against the war took place in major cities across the globe, demonstrations
that were largely ignored by the American mainstream media. Instead, the news
agenda was filled with stories showing “embeds” training at media boot camps,
learning about gas masks, and running with heavy backpacks while holding
cameras taking footage on the run. Network anchors prepared audiences for
what they said would be an uncensored war. Overall, the early coverage of the
embedding process set the tone and created a media atmosphere that made war
seem inevitable.

PosiTivE imagEs
News reporting of the conflict seemed to be under way even before the fight-
ing started. Prewar news coverage was dominated by positive stories about the
military from reporters embedded with troops along bordering countries who
were “waiting for war.” U.S. network anchors Dan Rather and Tom Brokaw were
already wearing khakis in the desert, driving Humvees, profiling soldiers, hitch-
ing rides on helicopters, and previewing high-tech weaponry. “With all this fire-
power and all these forces primed and ready to go, how long can they stay in peak
condition?” worried NBC’s Tom Brokaw (NBC, February 18, 2003). Other top-
ics important for public discussion before the war started, such as the potential
humanitarian crisis, the validity of the charge that Saddam Hussein had weap-
ons of mass destruction, and diplomatic proposals that might have prevented
the conflict, were downplayed, discounted, or left outside the news agenda.

ThE CriTiCs

In the United States, discussions in the alternative media took on a differ-
ent, more critical attitude to embedding than those in the mainstream media.
Veteran war correspondent Chris Hedges was one of the most outspoken critics
of the idea. In cautionary statements to the press before the war, Hedges argued
that the idea that reporters would have unfettered access was based on wishful
thinking. He went on to say that the practice of embedding was insidious and
predicted that it would produce a loss of distance as reporters gained a sense of
loyalty to the troops they covered.
Hedges was referring to a commonly held attitude about reporters and offi-
cials. Many journalism texts spend time recounting cautionary tales about how
journalists should avoid the loss of professional and emotional distance from
their sources. Accurate reporting demands journalistic independence.

ThE hisToriCaL PErsPECTivE

Many analysts and journalists understood from the beginning that embed-
ding would create a different dynamic between reporters and soldiers than ex-
isted in previous wars. Vietnam has been referred to as the “uncensored” war