An embedded civilian journalist taking photographs of US soldiers in Panama.

An embedded journalist is a news reporter who is attached to a military unit involved in an armed conflict. News is any new information or information on Current events which is presented by print, broadcast, Internet, or Word of mouth A journalist (also called a newspaperman) is a person who practices Journalism, the gathering and dissemination of information about current events trends A military is an Organization authorized by its Nation to use force usually including use of Weapons in defending its Country (or by attacking War is an international relations Dispute, characterized by organized Violence between National Military units While the term could be applied to many historical interactions between journalists and military personnel, it first came to be used in the media coverage of the 2003 invasion of Iraq. The 2003 invasion of Iraq involved unprecedented media coverage The United States military responded to pressure from the country's news media who were disappointed by the level of access granted during the 1991 Gulf War and in the 2001 U.S. invasion of Afghanistan. The United States Armed Forces are the overall unified military forces of the United States Year 1991 ( MCMXCI) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian Calendar. Year 2001 ( MMI) was a Common year starting on Monday according to the Gregorian calendar. The War in Afghanistan, which began on October 7 2001 as the U

At the start of the war in March of 2003, as many as 775 reporters and photographers were traveling as embedded journalists. ^[1] These reporters signed contracts with the military that limited what they were allowed to report on. ^[2] When asked why the military decided to embed journalists with the troops, Lt. Col. Rick Long of the U. S. Marine Corps replied, "Frankly, our job is to win the war. Part of that is information warfare. Information warfare is the use and management of information in pursuit of a competitive advantage over an opponent So we are going to attempt to dominate the information environment. "^[3]

Gina Cavallaro, a reporter for the Army Times, said, "They’re [the journalists] relying more on the military to get them where they want to go, and as a result, the military is getting smarter about getting its own story told. Army Times is an independent weekly newspaper serving active reserve and retired United States Army and United States National Guard personnel and their "^[4]

As an illustration of the control exerted over embedded reporters, the U. S. Coalition Forces Land Component Command in Kuwait pulled the credentials of two embedded journalists from the Virginian-Pilot newspaper in Norfolk, Virginia, reportedly for publishing a picture of a bullet-ridden Humvee parked in a Kuwaiti camp. ^[4]

Some critics felt that the level of oversight was too strict and that embedded journalists would make reports that were too sympathetic to the American side of the war, leading to use of the alternate term "inbedded journalist" or "inbeds". "Those correspondents who drive around in tanks and armored personnel carriers," said legendary journalist Gay Talese in an interview, "who are spoon-fed what the military gives them and they become mascots for the military, these journalists. Gay Talese (born February 7 1932) is an American author He wrote for The New York Times in the early 1960s and helped to define literary journalism I wouldn't have journalists embedded if I had any power!. . . There are stories you can do that aren't done. I've said that many times. "^[5]

Joint training for war correspondents started in November of 2002 in advance of the March 2003 start of the war in Iraq.

See also

• War correspondent

References

External links

• "Independent Media In A Time Of War" -documentary by the Hudson Mohawk Independent Media Center
• "War reporters get battle training"
• "Flabby journalists sent to boot camp"
• "Eyes Wide Shut? The Impact of Embedded Journalism on Dutch Newspaper Coverage of Afghanistan"