War Reporting an Issue in Suit Against ABC

LONDON — If a reporter refuses to go to a war zone, can his employer fire him?

No, say a growing number of codes of practice for journalists worldwide, developed in response to the increasing danger of war reporting. The News Security Group, formed in 2000 to establish guidelines to protect journalists, says clearly that "assignments to war zones or hostile environments must be voluntary." Networks such as CNN, ABC News, CBS News and NBC News have all agreed to follow the guidelines.

Mindful that 41 journalists have been killed in Iraq alone since 2003, most American news organizations also have voluntary war zone policies.
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"He told me: 'We've decided to terminate you. ABC wants to replace you with a correspondent who will travel to war zones,' " Gizbert recalled. "I said, 'You're firing me because I won't go to war zones?' 'No,' he said, 'we're terminating you and replacing you with someone who will.' And I said: 'Isn't that the same thing?' "

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-gizbert9may09,0,4502861.story?coll=la-home-world

"I have reporters who'll go to Afghanistan, or Darfur, but don't want to go to Iraq," said Loren Jenkins, a veteran war reporter and now a senior foreign editor at National Public Radio. "Iraq is probably the worst situation any of us have had to face in terms of danger.

"In Vietnam or Beirut, say, you knew where the lines were. If you were a journalist, you were seen as a neutral noncombatant and your immunity was respected. But in Iraq, that line is not only blurred — it's just not there. If you are American they go for you because you're American. You're fair game for kidnapping, killing, whatever…. Sooner or later you say, 'My odds are bad. I don't want more.' "

Finding volunteers was relatively easy in the enthusiastic first months of the Iraq coverage. But these days, editors have to try harder to persuade reporters to staff Iraq.

Somehow these snews agencies are failing to report that there are no reporters.

Bunch of librul weenies.

:eyes:

Reporting done for the Corporate Media can be done from any bathroom.

Jim Miklaszewski of NBC was interviewed by Don Imus last week. Imus asked if he had felt safe while reporting from Iraq and Jim said yes, because he was with troops the entire time but he did hear nearby explosions. Pic they showed of him was in military gear with helmet. I didn't think he was too credible saying he felt safe.

When Campbell Brown was over there last year reporting on prison problems in Iraq, impression I got was that she was scared to death and extremely uncomfortable even in the Green Zone being accompanied by U.S. military the whole time.