Reporters Under Fire
Westview Replica Editions
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About the Book and Editor
News media professionals, especially those covering political events or wars, are often accused of distorting the news or presenting biased and superficial analyses. Coverage of the recent conflicts in Central America and the Middle East has been especially controversial. In this volume, which is based on a series of seminars sponsored by the Institute for the Study of Diplomacy at Georgetown University, experienced journalists and media critics assess the complaints about coverage and the defenses the media marshall against those complaints. They explore the dilemmas that democratic societies face in trying to preserve traditional freedom of expression while pursuing political goals in ways that may involve the use of force. By analyzing the political impact of television coverage of battlefield scenes and the practical limitations and difficulties under which the media must work, the authors illuminate the powerful role of the media in the shaping of American politics, including diplomatic and military policies.
Landrum R. Bolling is president of the Inter-Faith Academy of Peace and was research professor of diplomacy at Georgetown University from 19811983. He is coauthor (with Craig Smith) of PrivateForeign Aid: U.S. Philanthropy in Relief and Development (Westview, 1982).
First published 1985 by Westview Press
Published 2019 by Routledge
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Copyright 1985 by Taylor & Francis
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Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data
Main entry under title:
Reporters under fire.
(A Westview replica edition)
1. Mass mediaUnited States. 2. LebanonHistory
1975- 3. Central AmericaHistory1951
I. Bolling, Landrwn Rymer. II. Series.
P92.U5R46 1985 956.92044 84-15267
ISBN 13: 978-0-367-28569-2 (hbk)
Contents
, David D. Newsom
Background essay by Landrum R. Bolling
Discussion by journalists and broadcasters who have reported on or have done commentaries about the troubles in the Middle East
Excerpts from writings for and against the performance of television and the press
Recorded observations by print and broadcast reporters and commentators who have been involved in the coverage of Latin America and, particularly, of the violence in El Salvador, Nicaragua, Guatemala and Honduras
From the Washington Journalism Review and the Wall Street Journal
Observations by former Under Secretary of State David D. Newsom on the relationship of coverage to U.S. foreign policy with discussion by seminar participants
Television has brought war into the home. Particularly since the bloody fighting in Vietnam, the American public has been able to watch, in a manner previously unknown, the horrors and tragedy of armed conflict.
With this coverage has come debate, debate over the fairness of the coverage and over the impact of the coverage on our national will. Are we increasingly handicapped in the use of our own power because of the opposition to the deployment of force arising from a closer vision of the results? Or is the media an indispensable guardian of the public conscience and the public interest against irresponsible military ambition and power?
Two recent conflicts have heightened the debate: the Israeli actions in Lebanon and the American fighting in El Salvador and along the borders of Nicaragua. So, too, did the U.S. operation in Grenada, from which, initially, the Pentagon excluded the media.
Recognizing that the issue has a direct influence upon the conduct of our diplomacy, the Institute for the Study of Diplomacy at Georgetown University brought together a group of reporters and editors, plus scholars and critics, to discuss the coverage of these conflicts. What follows is a report of their deliberations, edited to provide coherence and to insure that all opinions expressed are fairly represented.
Selected excerpts from pertinent magazine and newspaper articles and occasional pamphlets that were distributed to participants are also included.
No conclusions were reached, but as the transcripts show, the significance and immediacy of the issue were clearly demonstrated. The transcripts and the attachments are presented here as a record of some stimulating discussions and as an encouragement to further exploration of this subject.
Our thanks go to the participants and to the many who helped us frame the issues and find relevant materials. We are especially grateful to the Gannett Foundation for its financial help for the luncheon meetings and this publication.
David D. Newsom
Director,
