The (Less Apparent) Dangers of Embedded Journalism

By Sydney Albert
sa407611@ohio.edu

The job of an embedded reporter is an especially important one, and programs in the United States for embedded journalists have only just come to blossom with the Iraq War. Whereas is previous wars the media was given very little leeway and had to rely largely on the "official truth", news media can now rely on having multiple, independent eyes and ears on the battlefield to get information from.

Considering core journalistic values, the presence of journalists on the frontlines is a great step forward in terms of being able to properly educate the public on wartime events as well as holding those who abuse their power in check, whether they be politicians attempting to gloss over the facts or soldiers using unnecessary force on civilians.

Think before you write

The importance of this position is precisely why we must work that much harder to get our facts right, and the often dire nature of war itself means we want to report as much as we can as fast as we can, the good and the bad. The excitement of combat news combined with the increasingly fast-paced online world of news and information can lead us to forget the stakes that our subjects hold in our stories, and this is when we can end up doing more harm than good.

A reporter should always treat reporting deaths very carefully, overseas or at home. Names should only be given when you are sure that the families of the deceased have been properly informed. No one wants to first find out their loved one has died via a public, impersonal news story.

Secondly, journalists should be aware that information they give out has the possibility of endangering the operations of the units they are with or the lives of individual soldiers.

Remember - you are only seeing part of the action

As much as we try to hide it, journalists are human too. We have our own personalities and values, our own reactions and emotions and attitudes towards different situations. If put in potentially dangerous situations, we are just as susceptible to letting our instincts take over, of having knee-jerk reactions, as any other person. We can also allow such intense situations to affect our judgement with our stories.

Likewise, we can forget that when we are embedded with a US military unit, we are seeing a largely American-influenced version of events. Dan Rathers, who worked as a Vietnam correspondent for CBS and has been on assignment in Iraq about 9 times, including the initial invasion of Baghdad, has said that allowing reporters to travel unimpeded from one combat zone to another would be much better than being embedded, but that being embedded is better than nothing.

David Ignatius pointed out the problem with this, saying of his time as an embedded journalist that he was "inside an American military bubble. That vantage point has value, but it is hardly a full picture."

Unfortunately, as Ignatius also points out, it is often too dangerous to do in-depth reporting without the protection of the military. Many journalists do it and, while they may be able to see and report on things embedded journalists can't, they do so at great risk to themselves.

A screencap of leaked footage:
A US helicopter attack in 2007 killed two employees of the Reuters news agency.

The job of an embedded reporter is an important one, and it comes with both its own unique risks and benefits. However, you should never allow yourself to forget that while you benefit from the protection of the military, your ability to paint a whole and complete picture of the war is hindered by their presence. What you see is only part of the war, and usually a very American-influenced version of it.