Week 12 Blogging

Embedded Journalists: Real News or Public Relations

American troops having embedded journalists traveling with them during overseas conflicts has become quite the norm for news organizations. However, is it really news? Is it public relations?

The case study found in Chapter 12 doesnt really give a definite opinion on the topic and I'm not sure that I have one either. I feel that it's extremely hard to come down on either side of this issue.

I feel the positives of embedded journalism are:

1. Shows people watching the news what is going on in the war.

2. Keeps us more interested in the daily happenings of our country's troops.

3. Makes us, as citizens, feel that we're actually getting a real view of what's going on in these conflicts.

Some of the negatives, from my perspective:

1. To narrow a view of the war/conflict. We might see one embedded journalist report something and think that's the case for the whole war/conflict, when in actuality that might be an isolated incident.

2. The reporters might grown to close to the troops they are embedded with and not offer balanced journalism in all cases, in order to protect the troops they have grown close with.

Although I have only listed a few positives and negatives regarding embedded journalists, there are many more points for both sides of the issue.

Although I think some of the negatives are very bad, I would hate to think that not having the reporters there would be better for us as citizens. Having the reporters around at least gives us some view, other than that of the government, that is a little more impartial.

Also, here is an interesting link to a story about embedded journalists.

Brandon Brooks