Reporting from the Front: The Media and the Military

by Judith Sylvester, Suzanne Huffman

Overview

During what some have called the "most televised war in history," did journalistic objectivity fall by the wayside? Were the experiences of embedded journalists in Iraq markedly different from reporters who went on their own? Reporting from the Front is a provocative look at media and the Iraq War—spanning issues from basic reporting and coverage to ethical dilemmas, personal safety, and training with the military. Featuring interviews with journalists such as Anne Garrels and Ivan Watson of NPR and Bob Schieffer and Byron Pitts of CBS, among others, Reporting from the Front offers personal insights from a wide range of correspondents, producers, editors, photojournalists, media managers, and military and defense officials about reporting on Iraq as well as on previous wars and other conflicts.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780742530591
Publisher:	Bloomsbury Academic
Publication date:	01/28/2005
Pages:	280
Product dimensions:	5.58(w) x 8.20(h) x 0.83(d)

About the Author

Judith Sylvester is associate professor at the Manship School of Mass Communication at Louisiana State University. Suzanne Huffman is associate professor of journalism and broadcast journalism sequence head at Texas Christian University.

Table of Contents

	Acknowledgments	xi
	Introduction	3
	Retrospective
	Walter Cronkite, CBS	13
	Bob Schieffer, CBS	19
	Joe Galloway, Knight Ridder Newspapers	27
	Louis A. Day, 199th Light Infantry Brigade, Vietnam	31
	Neal Conan, NPR	36
	Managing the War: The Military
	What Will We Do with Six Hundred Journalists?	41
	Bryan Whitman, Department of Defense	42
	Major Tim Blair, Department of Defense	49
	Managing the War: The Media
	Eason Jordan, CNN	63
	Bruce Conover, CNN	68
	Earl Casey, CNN	70
	Bruce Drake, NPR	73
	Leonard Apcar, NYTimes.com	80
	Maria C. Thomas, NPR Online	82
	Gerry Barker and Chris Kelley, Belo Interactive	86
	Visual Journalists
	Cheryl Diaz Meyer, Dallas Morning News	91
	Jerome Delay, Associated Press	97
	Rich Johnson, Detroit Free Press	102
	Print Journalists
	Joseph Giordono, Stars and Stripes	109
	Jim Landers, Dallas Morning News	114
	Ed Timms, Dallas Morning News	118
	Television Journalists
	Sarah Dodd, KTVT-TV (CBS)	125
	Ken Kalthoff, KXAS-TV (NBC)	128
	Richard Ray, KDFW-TV (FOX)	133
	Byron Harris, WFAA-TV (ABC)	138
	Byron Pitts, CBS	141
	Jim Axelrod, CBS	146
	Bill Owens, CBS	152
	Radio Journalists
	Ivan Watson, NPR	167
	Anne Garrels, NPR	177
	Competition and Complaints
	The "Most" War	187
	Conclusion
	Embeds versus Unilaterals	211
Appendix A	Rules and Regulations	217
Appendix B	"Gearing Up" for War	223
Appendix C	Packed for War	225
Appendix D	The Media and the Military Meet to Plan the Embed Program	229
Appendix E	Associated Press Photo Policy	232
Appendix F	Committee to Protect Journalists	234
Appendix G	How Journalists Were Trained	250
Appendix H	Map of Iraq	251
	Index	253
	About the Authors	265

What People are Saying About This

Philip Seib

Reporting from the Front is an invaluable resource for all who study wartime journalism. Judith Sylvester and Suzanne Huffman do a fine reporting job themselves, presenting lesson-filled stories from those who cover the battlefield and those who manage the news.

Elliot Jaspin

Reporting from the Front provides a comprehensive and fascinating series of first-person, behind-the-scenes accounts of media coverage during the U.S. invasion of Iraq.

Editorial Reviews

Reporting from the Front provides a comprehensive and fascinating series of first-person, behind-the-scenes accounts of media coverage during the U.S. invasion of Iraq.

Elliot Jaspin

Reporting from the Front is an invaluable resource for all who study wartime journalism. Judith Sylvester and Suzanne Huffman do a fine reporting job themselves, presenting lesson-filled stories from those who cover the battlefield and those who manage the news.

Philip Seib

This is a very useful study of a different kind of war correspondent-one who works from the inside, raising both reporting opportunities, but also problems. The authors do a good job dealing with both.

Communication Booknotes Quarterly

Describing a different kind of war correspondent—one who does work from the inside—this useful study does a good job of raising issues about the opportunities and the problems inherent in this kind of reporting. Highly recommended.

Choice Reviews

Describing a different kind of war correspondent—one who does work from the inside—this useful study does a good job of raising issues about the opportunities and the problems inherent in this kind of reporting. Highly recommended.

Choice

Reporting from the Front provides a comprehensive and fascinating series of first-person, behind-the-scenes accounts of media coverage during the U.S. invasion of Iraq.--Elliot Jaspin, Cox Newspapers

Reporting from the Front is an invaluable resource for all who study wartime journalism. Judith Sylvester and Suzanne Huffman do a fine reporting job themselves, presenting lesson-filled stories from those who cover the battlefield and those who manage the news.--Philip Seib, University of Southern California

This is a very useful study of a different kind of war correspondent-one who works from the inside, raising both reporting opportunities, but also problems. The authors do a good job dealing with both.--Communication Booknotes Quarterly

From the Publisher

Describing a different kind of war correspondent—one who does work from the inside—this useful study does a good job of raising issues about the opportunities and the problems inherent in this kind of reporting. Highly recommended.

CHOICE