The New York Times The Embeds
[requires 'free' registration]

"I have heard condemnation of the embedding process, which critics say was a masterstroke of manipulation by the Pentagon. ''The Media and the War on Terrorism,'' edited by Stephen Hess of Brookings and Marvin Kalb of the Shorenstein Center, asks: Is there a ''Stockholm syndrome,'' in which the journalists start to ''identify with the soldiers and lose their professional detachment''? Embedding was a public relations success for the Pentagon, but I lose patience with the critics. The press has been complaining since Vietnam that the Pentagon shut it out of the action in Grenada, in Panama, in the Persian Gulf war of 1991, so why object when the Pentagon finally grants near-total access?"

redux [10.06.03]
Editor & Publisher Embedding Big Topic at Military Journos Meeting

"Michael Gordon, The New York Times military correspondent, told attendees that journalists should be embedded with combat units in future conflicts, while Rear Adm. T.L. McCreary, who heads Navy public affairs, and Lt. Col. Michael Birmingham, public affairs officer for the 3rd Infantry Division, agreed.

"Embedding is a tool," Gordon said. "If it's a major theater war, it's the way in [to covering the conflict].""

redux [04.28.03]
Guardian Unlimited AP Panel Says Embedding Reporters Worked

"Embedding reporters with fighting military units during the Iraq war offered unprecedented access to the battlefield and was generally a success, a panel of journalists told the annual meeting of The Associated Press on Monday.

But "we still have to work hard"' for bits of information that help bring the story of the war to readers, listeners and viewers, said Kathleen Carroll, AP executive editor."

redux [04.11.03]
Editor & Publisher Military Retirees, Journalists Praise 'Embedding'

"Veteran military leaders and journalists agreed that the embedding of reporters with U.S. military forces in Iraq had been a success during a panel discussion at the American Society of Newspaper Editors conference here. But they offered mixed opinions on specific elements of the war coverage and differed over how the press had handled some sensitive issues.

The panel, which included two veteran Washington journalists and two retired U.S. generals, offered mostly praise for the embedding process, which had more than 600 reporters, photographers, and broadcast media traveling with coalition troops."

redux [03.28.03]
dw-world.de War Coverage Draws Skepticism in Europe

"The Pentagon and U.S. media are very pleased with the way "embedded" correspondents are covering the war. In Europe, the media community is more skeptical."

"Today, openness is the priority. "Here's why embedding is important to me," Col. Rick Thomas, chief of U.S. military public affairs in Kuwait, told the British newspaper the Financial Times. "As the public affairs officer, I have a deep and abiding obligation to tell the families of our servicemembers what they are doing. ... My objective is that through the journalists' eyes and through their words and images, mothers and fathers will understand the courage, dedication and sacrifices of their sons and daughters.""

abs-cbnNEWS.com Beware 'embedded' sources of reports

"Just as the Pentagon has developed increasingly sophisticated munitions for the battlefield abroad, it has perfected propaganda to secure public opinion at home.

n that battle, American citizens need critical, independent journalists if they are to get the information necessary to participate meaningfully in the formation of policy. Never has that been more crucial, as the United States unleashes an attack on Iraq that signals a new era of the use of force. Unfortunately in the first few days of the conflict, and the months leading to war, American journalism has largely failed, on several counts."

Editor & Publisher 15 Stories They've Already Bungled

"The problem, I suggested, is that most of the TV commentators on the home front appear to be just as "embedded" with the military as the far braver reporters now in the Iraqi desert.

Surely this is a bipartisan issue. While many on the antiwar side complain about the media's alleged "pro-war bias," those who support the war, and the Bush administration itself, have also been ill served by overly-positive coverage that now has millions of Americans reeling from diminished expectations."

Counterpunch Onward Embedded Soldiers

"Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting assigned itself the near impossible task of tracking a Niagara of media untruths. On March 25, the beleaguered FAIR watchdogs reported on broadcast lies by network household names about Iraqi use of Scud missiles -- disinformation that the media made up all by themselves."

"The military later announced "that U.S. forces searching airfields in the far western desert of Iraq have uncovered no missiles or launchers." In fact, the Iraqis had not launched any Scuds since the beginning of the invasion."

Washington Post U.S. Military Expels Journalist for Pinpoint Reporting

"Smucker, who was traveling with the 1st Division but was not part of the Pentagon's embedding program, talked about the unit's location and approach to Baghdad in interviews Wednesday with CNN and National Public Radio."

"Judging from a transcript of the CNN interview, "it does not appear to us that he disclosed anything that wasn't already widely available in maps and in U.S. and British radio, newspaper, and television reports on that same news cycle," Van Slambrouck said. "Of course, the Pentagon has the final say in the field about any threat the information reported might pose.""

redux [03.12.03]
Editor & Publisher Some Journalists Will Go It Alone in Iraq

"Ask Jeffrey Fleishman of the Los Angeles Times if he wishes that he were among the hundreds of reporters embedded with U.S. military troops and the veteran scribe doesn't mince words. "I'm glad I'm not," he said during a satellite-phone interview from northern Iraq, where he's been assigned for two months. "I like the freedom of movement and the choice to see the story from the middle."

Fleishman's comments echoed those of many nonembedded correspondents assigned to the Middle East in preparation for a possible U.S. invasion."

redux [02.26.03]
Editor & Publisher War Correspondent's Advice: Stay Off the Press Bus

"The Pentagon's new "embedding" policy, while less restrictive than a press pool, prohibits journalists from having their own vehicles. To Hedges, who says the first thing he would do if he were covering this war is get a jeep, the limitations are significant. "I'm not saying people shouldn't be embedded," he insists, "but they're not going to get an accurate picture unless people are allowed to do their job. When you're embedded in a unit, you rely on the military for transportation: they will decide where you go, what you see, and what you report. They're not going to drive the press vehicle to sites if things go terribly wrong."

He cites what happened early in the Gulf War in Al-Khafji, where he witnessed Saudi soldiers fleeing in panic from Iraqi soldiers. U.S. Marines were called in to push back the Iraqis. But back in Riyadh and Dhahran, "the press put out that the Saudis were defending their homeland. When the military has a war to win, everything gets sacrificed before that objective, including the truth.""

Palm Beach Post How does the hi-tech press file from a foxhole?

"The idea of embedding journalists with units was tossed around. But field commanders wanted those journalists to have at least the basics of basic training. Thus the media boot camp."

"If conversations between media and military at the base saloon on the last night were any indication, all but a very few gained much perspective if not renewed respect for the soldiers, sailors and Marines who will do the fighting.

After the Marines thanked us for coming, a young photographer stood and said: "We've learned a lot, and thank you. We learned again something we've always known, but see now in a different light: We carry cameras and notebooks. You guys carry something we don't -- the guns. And we will not forget that."

redux [02.14.03]
Editor & Publisher U.S. Military Document Outlines War Coverage

"The U.S. military plans to take extraordinary steps to provide the media access to combat zones in Iraq, but only after making reporters agree to a series of strict prohibitions, according to a lengthy document sent by a press officer for a major U.S. military base to a news organization that will be "embedding" reporters with American forces preparing for an attack on Iraq.

The document offers the first detailed glimpse into Pentagon planning for media coverage of the campaign."

Associated Press Dan Rather Mulls Reporters' Place in War

"CBS News anchor Dan Rather says he hopes that embedding journalists among U.S. troops if there's a war with Iraq will help coverage, but he has doubts."

""There's a pretty fine line between being embedded and being emtombed," Rather said Thursday at a news conference where CBS outlined war preparation plans."

Guardian Unlimited News Organizations Get Iraq War Slots

"Bob Steele, director of the ethics program for the Poynter Institute for Media Studies, said the good intentions of the Pentagon and journalists give him hope, with some caution.

``There's no doubt there will still be tensions between the goals of the military and goals of journalists,'' he said."

Australian Broadcasting Corporation TV networks prepare for war

"While the rhetorical and diplomatic wrangling over Iraq continues, it is worth noting that the global TV network war has already begun. The American Cable News Channel, CNN, made its reputation during the first Gulf war, but its got stiff competition this time around -- not just from the traditional networks, but from newcomer, Fox. Now if you think this is a trivial point, consider the budgets that these media giants are getting ready to commit. According to one account, CNN alone is planning on spending $60 million to cover the war in Iraq. But what will we see for all this money? Anything more than network anchors standing against a backdrop of Kuwait city and commenting on the latest official account of the battle from American generals? That's about it, according to distinguished journalist Phillip Knightley. The former 'Sunday Times' investigative reporter is also the author of what's considered a classic history of war reporting -- 'The First Casualty'. In it, he documents the decline of independent war reporting and the attitude of the military. It's best summed up by the American government censor, who at the height of World War II said, in relation to the press, "tell them nothing till it's over and then tell them who won.""