The “coalition” military have put a lot of effort into “embedding” journalists, giving them fun rides and ever-present press officers to tell them what’s happening, far from whatever is actually happening. I’m beginning to wonder what the point is - do these journalists realise that repeating what they’ve just been told by the military, 20 miles from the fighting, is almost pointless? Why not just read it from the studio? The truth is that embedded journalists give the impression of real reporting, while mainly repeating official information.
ITN (who make Channel 4 News) had a film crew acting independently, away from minders. Of course, I suspect that when the US Marines attacked, killing all but one of them a couple of days ago, they involved the emotions of ITN’s staff rather more than they intended.
