PEJ: Iraqis Handling Most Street Reporting for U.S. News Organizations
Project for Excellence in Journalism Surveys 111 Journalists with Experience in Iraq
By John Eggerton -- Broadcasting & Cable, 11/28/2007 6:18:00 AM
Most of the street reporting by U.S.-based news operations in Iraq is done by Iraqis, according to a new study from the Project for Excellence in Journalism.
PEJ surveyed 111 journalists from 29 news organizations who have worked or are working in Iraq. They included cable and network TV and radio journalists.
Six of 10 respondents said Iraqis do most of the street reporting outside the heavily fortified Green Zone. And the vast majority of those cannot carry equipment, even a notebook, which would identify them as working for a Western news organization -- all but one of the organizations surveyed were U.S. based -- for fear of being targeted.
That fear is very real: A majority of those surveyed (57%) also said that at least one of their Iraqi staffers had been killed or kidnapped in the past year.
Most of the journalists said conditions in the country are the most dangerous they have ever faced, and they have gotten worse since they got to the country, affecting how well they can tell the story.
“Welcome to the new world of journalism, boys and girls. This is where we lost our innocence. Security teams, body armor and armored cars will forever now be pushed in between journalism and stories,” one bureau chief is quoted as saying.
Most said the Pentagon's embedding policy has helped, with 60% saying it gave them access they could not have otherwise gotten. Only 5% said it was "mostly" a way for the Pentagon to control what is being reported.
While most gave their reporting mixed but primarily positive reviews, the majority said they have done a better job covering the military than the effects on the Iraqi people -- somewhat ironic, given that the majority of street reporting is done by locals.
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