Reporting on Iraq is Deadly

Journalists Covering the War in Iraq Risk their Lives

Jan 22, 2009 Amanda Fortier

Reporting Iraq is one of the most dangerous jobs on the planet. Journalists are caught between professionalism and their lives.

War journalists in Iraq have one of the most deadly jobs on the planet. Their lives are at risk on a daily basis. Stories of kidnappings, murders and torture are not uncommon. Amidst the tension and violence, war reporters face endless obstacles. These make the practical difficulties in covering stories particularly challenging.

World's Deadliest Country

Iraq is among the most deadly countries in the world. In their 2005 Press Freedom Index, Reporters Sans Frontières claimed the war was "the bloodiest for the media since World War II". Over the past five and a half years, little has changed. Hundreds of Iraqi and non-Iraqi media professionals have been killed, instances of missing or kidnapped media personnel are regular 'impediments' to the job.

Risks for War Reporters

From the comforts of home, millions of miles away, it's hard to consider the risks endured by war reporters in general, let alone the particular pressures endemic to journalists in Iraq. It’s all in their day’s work…isn’t it?

Sounds noble enough. But between rocket fires and missile launches journalists don't have time to contemplate their lives. In the competitive pursuit to get the scoop and sell an exclusive story, the commercial imperatives far outweighs the perils…or do they?

Realities of Reporting Iraq

Journalists embedded with the military may spend hours hunched in air-restricted spaces, weighed down by flak vests, their heads squeezed into Kevlar helmets, taking orders from Generals who neither trust nor respect them. Either that, or they may be spending consecutive days in hotel lobbies waiting for facts that can’t be verified and quotes that can’t be confirmed from stringers who may or may not still be alive.

Fighting Iraq: Weapons and Media

Reporting Iraq has the media in a precarious quagmire. When the US and British armies first tore into Iraq, in March 2003, they brought out their heavy Western artillery: short-range air defense systems, AS90 self-propelled guns, counter-battery radars and a host of journalists. The latter weaponry was their image control. It provided insurance to a post-Vietnam revival where uncensored journalists ran rampant dispatching unsavory truths about the war.

Military Access: Protection over Bias?

In the Iraq war the military and government plans were decisive: journalists are assigned by the government to units. They get genuine access to air and ground force bases, including contact with the war’s primary definers- law enforcement and army members. They are also granted protection, which is a dubious claim considering the high number of casualties as a result of mistaken military identity. In return, all media information has been subject to careful scrutiny and subjective censorship by the Ministry of Defense. The end result are routinized perspectives selectively tweaked to fit military approval.

Media as Legitimate Targets

“Journalists covering the Middle East should be very cautious,” admitted Doug Jehl, the National Security Correspondent in Washington way back in June 2003 at a press briefing at the Washington Institute's Special Policy Forum. As he continued: "This does not necessarily mean that they should pull their punches. Rather, they must maintain a balance between writing interesting stories and avoiding negative consequences.”

Balanced War Reporting: Is it Possible?

Trying to achieve “balance” while avoiding possible death is easier said than done in a context of perpetual fear, tension and terrorism. Little has changed in the last five and a half years. The media have not, and are not, mere bystanders in this war. Foreign and local journalists are legitimate sources and viable targets. In terms of trying to report impartially, this places extraneous and extreme pressures on their professional norms.

Professionalism in Reporting Iraq

There are still the age-old adages of professional journalism in war reporting: objectivity, balance and credibility. However, in Iraq journalists must succumb to diametrically opposed pressures: 'go native' and be mouthpieces for the government, or 'go solo' and be slandered for inhumane reporting and condoning violence. Different professional hurdles, but the same potential life threats. Targeted by terrorists, sought after by administration and restricted by the government and military. It’s a wonder any journalist maintains their sanity, let alone their life.

The copyright of the article Reporting on Iraq is Deadly in Middle Eastern Affairs is owned by Amanda Fortier. Permission to republish Reporting on Iraq is Deadly in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.

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