Covering the News in a War Zone

Balancing Safety and Pursuit of Story

Joel Campagna , Middle East senior program coordinator for the Committee to Protect Journalists, will be online Monday, Jan. 30, at 2 p.m. ET to discuss the dangers journalists face (i.e., ABC's Bob Woodruff, Christian Science Monitor's Jill Carroll, others) in covering the news in a war zone.

"Iraq is probably the most dangerous place to work as a journalist today and the security situation has limited the ability of journalists to cover the news across Iraq," said Campagna in an interview on Monday with washingtonpost.com.

ABC Team Stabilized After Iraq Convoy Hit (Post, Jan. 30)

Video (Post's Jonathan Finer on ABC Newsmen, Jan. 30)

A transcript follows.

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Joel Campagna: We're troubled by the incident in which Bob Woodruff and Doug Vogt were injured this weekend and I think this incident underscores the many dangers that journalists confront reporting from Iraq. I look forward to your questions about press freedom and media safety in Iraq.

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Anonymous: What does an organization like yours do when these types of things happen, most recently with the ABC crew and Jill Carroll of the Christian Science Monitor?

Joel Campagna: CPJ's job is to document and respond to attacks on journalists and press freedom throughout the world. Most of the time we advocate on behalf of journalists who are imprisoned or censored for their journalism. In the case of Iraq, we've tried to report on the many dangers that journalists face in trying to do their job there. It's very difficult to pressure insurgent groups who are responsible for the bulk of media deaths in Iraq.

One area where we think we can make a difference is with the U.S. military which has been responsible for 14 of the 61 journalists' deaths in Iraq who have died as a result of U.S. forces' fire and we have repeatedly raised concerns about the lack of military investigations into cases in which journalists have been killed by the U.S. military and urged the military to improve procedures at military checkpoints which have needlessly caused the deaths of many civilians, including members of the press.

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Fairfax, Va.: Are things over there more risky for TV journalists than for print people?

Joel Campagna: I think it depends on, as a journalist, where you go in Iraq and what precautions that you take. Generally speaking it is more difficult for broadcasters to travel about Iraq and report because they're often more conspicuous and moving equipment can require a very conspicuous presence. But as we've seen from cases, print journalists as well as cameramen, both are at risk when reporting from the field.

Of the 61 journalists killed since March 2003, 20 were photo journalists, including photographers, camera operations; 31 were reporter and editors; seven were producers and three were technicians. So there's a fairly equal distribution on reporters and photo journalists in terms of casualty tolls.

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Washington, D.C.: Do you think we'll hear from Jill Carroll again? Her particular situation seems to dropped off the radar.

Joel Campagna: I think we're all hoping and praying for Jill and that she's returned to safety. I don't have any information about her situation.

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San Antonio, Tex.: News reports indicate that Woodward and Vogt were in an a Russian-made Iraqi vehicle and were in the area of Taji, where U.S. troops were killed as little as a week ago. Was it really wise sending high-profile Woodward and his Alberta, Canada cameraman on such a mission?

Were the men wearing standard military issue protective gear? Does a news organization have some duty to provide its correspondents the best available protective gear today on the market?

Howard Kurtz says Woodruff's and Vogt's injuries will become symbols of the conflict. Do you agree or disagree?

Joel Campagna: News organizations are on a daily basis assessing risk for their reporters in Iraq and are constantly weighing the risks of a news story. There are several very important stories in Iraq today. One of them is the Iraqi military and how prepared it is to be force. That's an important story and one that Bob Woodruff and Doug Vogt were trying to report.

Another important story is the consolidation of political power in Iraq after the recent elections. That's the story that Jill Carroll was trying to report when she was abducted.

News managers and journalists are constantly balancing between the risks and reporting very important news.

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Anonymous: Of the 14 journalists killed by American fire, what news agencies were they from and what were the circumstances of their deaths?

Joel Campagna: They were from various news organizations and the circumstances also differed. Several journalists were killed in crossfire while covering clashes between military forces and insurgents. For notably, during the war in 2003, two journalists, one from Reuters, another form the Spanish television channel Telecinco were killed when a U.S. tank opened fire on Baghdad's Palestine Hotel. Also, in 2003, a correspondent for al-Jazeera was killed when a U.S. military aircraft opened fire just outside of the station's Baghdad bureau. Details about cases of journalists' deaths in Iraq are available on CPJ'. Web site which is is cpj. org.

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Los Angeles, Calif.: It would seem that the members of the Iraqi insurgency would want to work with journalists to get their side of the story out to the world at large, and I have occasionally read interviews with insurgents. However, it seems all foreigners in Iraq are pretty much viewed the same way by the insurgency -- as the enemy.

Are journalists able to talk to those who are opposed to the U.S. occupation, or are they so constrained by their hostile reception from the Iraqis that we are unable to plumb the true depth and meaning of the insurgency?

Joel Campagna: Reporters have reported on the insurgency in Iraq with varying degrees of access to individuals involved in it. But clearly the current security situatioin in Iraq which has seen abducions and murders of reporters has made it very difficult for the press to report this story.

Also, when looking at Iraq in general, the security situation has made it difficult for reporters to report on a range of stories, not just about the insurgency because it's simply too dangerous to get to them.

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Joel Campagna: As far as media casualty tolls are concerned, it's important to point out that Iraqi journalists comprise over 70 percent of all media deaths in Iraq. I think this is a reflection of the increasing role that Iraqis now play as front line news gatherers for international news organizations and for indigenous Iraqi news outlets that emerged after the toppling of Saddam Hussein. It's oftentimes Iraqis staff who are working to places in Iraq deemed too dangerous for Westerners and as a result they have faced increasing risk.

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washingtonpost.com: This concludes our discussion. Thank you for participating.

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