The Sunday Show

Sunday March 09, 2003 21:27

by S Aerobics - Oxygen to Info

RTE Radio1

Interviewed - Philip Knightly, journalist and author of the 'The First Casualty', a 150 year history of war corresponding, the struggle between journalists and the military. Kate Adi ; BBC war correspondent. Chris Hodges ; New York Times war correspondent. Conor Brady ; former editor of the Irish Times.

You can listen to the programme at
www.rte.ie/audio/sundayshow.ra

Here's a synopsis without some of the waffle ;

Problems facing journalists/spread of free information.

The Pentagon has threatened it may find it necessary to bomb areas in which war correspondents are attempting to report from the Iraqi side.

Censorship - the Pentagon intends to control airwave access, targetting journalists 'up links' and use of satellite phones in Iraq.

Great Opportunities !

The Pentagon has set up programmes for journalists to train with the military (1 week boyscout jamboree camps).
Good for PR and "initiates the reporters into the fraternity, bonding them with units, making them feel..."

The Pentagon has decreed that around 500 journalists (about 100 from non-US media) will be "embedded" within units of the US military.

"The military learned from the last Gulf war that their media restrictions were so severe that they couldn't get their own message out - so what we're seeing is a wider dissemination of the news the Pentagon wants you to see"

"The press is part of the problem, it is not just the military, the press wants to be part of the war effort, wants to do their bit and that includes disseminating the propaganda that is handed to them."

Its not all doom n' gloom

Internet alternative, e-mails for co-ordinating protests etc...

"Al-Jazeera is a very important factor in the whole broadcast network... log on to get the other side of the story"
English version www.cursor.org/aljazeera.htm

Check www.iraqjournal.org

The programme mainly focussed on the American media, not much mention of the Irish media.
We're good at analysing other countries problems but the picture isn't so clear when it's closer to home.
Anyone got info. on RTETV3TG4 correspondents in Iraq, are any Irish journalists "embedded" ?