Drizzt
Member
Newsday (New York)
April 15, 2003 Tuesday ALL EDITIONS
SECTION: BUSINESS & TECHNOLOGY, Pg. A56
LENGTH: 618 words
HEADLINE: Guns Change Media Equation;
Press can become fair game in war
BYLINE: By Harry Berkowitz. STAFF WRITER
BODY:
A shoot-out between Iraqi forces and an armed bodyguard for a CNN convoy in Tikrit has renewed a debate over what kind of protection is appropriate for journalists.
The Iraqi Kurdish guard traveling with correspondent Brent Sadler and a CNN crew Sunday responded with an automatic weapon when they came under heavy fire as they raced out of the northern Iraq town, which was not yet under the control of coalition forces. CNN producer Maria Fleet was injured by shattered glass in the incident, in which about 100 rounds of gunfire were exchanged, CNN said.
Some critics said that if journalists are thought to have armed guards, they will no longer be considered neutral.
"Such a practice sets a dangerous precedent that could jeopardize all other journalists covering this war as well as others in the future," said Robert Menard, secretary general of Paris-based Reporters Without Borders, a journalism watchdog group. "There is a real risk that combatants will henceforth assume that all press vehicles are armed."
The Daily Telegraph of London, a conservative newspaper, said in an editorial, "By acting as it has, CNN has made life harder for soldiers and war correspondents."
CNN said although it bars journalists from carrying weapons, providing armed security in the most dangerous situations is appropriate.
"Our policy is first and foremost to do what it takes to protect our staff," said Matthew Furman, a CNN spokesman in Atlanta. "If that involves having an armed guard, then that's what we will do." He said about 20 armed guards have been stationed at CNN's northern Iraq compound of Erbil since before the war started.
"If you did not have an armed guard with you, there would be some situations like Somalia, like Afghanistan and like northern Iraq where it would simply be too unsafe to report," Furman said.
Some media watchdogs echoed that view.
"If the alternative is getting shot by Iraqis, I don't see that that is a very good option," said Alex Jones, director of the Joan Shorenstein Center on the Press, Politics and Public Policy at Harvard University.
Some critics said that entering Tikrit when Sadler did was not worth the risk.
"In war reporting, you have to balance the news-worthiness versus human danger," said Matthew Felling of the Center for Media and Public Affairs in Washington, D.C. "In this case, the danger outweighed the news opportunity."
NBC has hired about a dozen local militia as armed guards in northern Iraq, said Barbara Levin, a spokeswoman for the news operation, which, like CNN, has also employed British security firms as advisers. "The safety of our journalists, producers and crews is paramount," Levin said.
CBS has not hired armed guards in Iraq but does not have policy against the practice.
"Somalia was the only place where we've ever actually had armed guards," CBS spokeswoman Marcy McGinnis said. "Everybody had them. You couldn't drive a car without one."
A security expert from AKE Ltd., a British firm that provides training, bullet-proof vests and risk advice, was driving one of the two vehicles in the CNN convoy Sunday and helped maneuver the group to safety. The advisers also serve as paramedics and track reporters with global-positioning satellites.
Although bans on journalists carrying weapons are widespread among U.S. news organizations, the policy is not universal.
"The reporter in the field is in the best situation to assess the requirements for safety," said Jihad Ballout, a spokesman for Al-Jazeera, an Arab TV network. He added, however, "I don't think that anybody's safety is enhanced by either carrying guns or hiring armed guards."
Eleven journalists have died so far in the Iraq war.
April 15, 2003 Tuesday ALL EDITIONS
SECTION: BUSINESS & TECHNOLOGY, Pg. A56
LENGTH: 618 words
HEADLINE: Guns Change Media Equation;
Press can become fair game in war
BYLINE: By Harry Berkowitz. STAFF WRITER
BODY:
A shoot-out between Iraqi forces and an armed bodyguard for a CNN convoy in Tikrit has renewed a debate over what kind of protection is appropriate for journalists.
The Iraqi Kurdish guard traveling with correspondent Brent Sadler and a CNN crew Sunday responded with an automatic weapon when they came under heavy fire as they raced out of the northern Iraq town, which was not yet under the control of coalition forces. CNN producer Maria Fleet was injured by shattered glass in the incident, in which about 100 rounds of gunfire were exchanged, CNN said.
Some critics said that if journalists are thought to have armed guards, they will no longer be considered neutral.
"Such a practice sets a dangerous precedent that could jeopardize all other journalists covering this war as well as others in the future," said Robert Menard, secretary general of Paris-based Reporters Without Borders, a journalism watchdog group. "There is a real risk that combatants will henceforth assume that all press vehicles are armed."
The Daily Telegraph of London, a conservative newspaper, said in an editorial, "By acting as it has, CNN has made life harder for soldiers and war correspondents."
CNN said although it bars journalists from carrying weapons, providing armed security in the most dangerous situations is appropriate.
"Our policy is first and foremost to do what it takes to protect our staff," said Matthew Furman, a CNN spokesman in Atlanta. "If that involves having an armed guard, then that's what we will do." He said about 20 armed guards have been stationed at CNN's northern Iraq compound of Erbil since before the war started.
"If you did not have an armed guard with you, there would be some situations like Somalia, like Afghanistan and like northern Iraq where it would simply be too unsafe to report," Furman said.
Some media watchdogs echoed that view.
"If the alternative is getting shot by Iraqis, I don't see that that is a very good option," said Alex Jones, director of the Joan Shorenstein Center on the Press, Politics and Public Policy at Harvard University.
Some critics said that entering Tikrit when Sadler did was not worth the risk.
"In war reporting, you have to balance the news-worthiness versus human danger," said Matthew Felling of the Center for Media and Public Affairs in Washington, D.C. "In this case, the danger outweighed the news opportunity."
NBC has hired about a dozen local militia as armed guards in northern Iraq, said Barbara Levin, a spokeswoman for the news operation, which, like CNN, has also employed British security firms as advisers. "The safety of our journalists, producers and crews is paramount," Levin said.
CBS has not hired armed guards in Iraq but does not have policy against the practice.
"Somalia was the only place where we've ever actually had armed guards," CBS spokeswoman Marcy McGinnis said. "Everybody had them. You couldn't drive a car without one."
A security expert from AKE Ltd., a British firm that provides training, bullet-proof vests and risk advice, was driving one of the two vehicles in the CNN convoy Sunday and helped maneuver the group to safety. The advisers also serve as paramedics and track reporters with global-positioning satellites.
Although bans on journalists carrying weapons are widespread among U.S. news organizations, the policy is not universal.
"The reporter in the field is in the best situation to assess the requirements for safety," said Jihad Ballout, a spokesman for Al-Jazeera, an Arab TV network. He added, however, "I don't think that anybody's safety is enhanced by either carrying guns or hiring armed guards."
Eleven journalists have died so far in the Iraq war.
