COMMENTARY: Are the media afraid of ‘embedded’ journalists?

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Publicly, media organizations and the military tout embedding as a wonderful step forward. There’s an allure to reporting from the front lines, in the center of the action, surrounded by soldiers doing their jobs. Off the record, though, some news leaders have expressed fear that embedding will affect objectivity. That’s a euphemism for saying they won’t be as critical as they have been in the past, or their bias might undergo a change.

And off the record, some military types expressed hope that embedded journalists won’t be as critical as they have in the past and their bias might undergo a change.

What will happen is probably close to those sentiments.

In any military unit there is a great deal of camaraderie. It grows as a battle nears. When you know that your life depends upon on the soldier next to you or in the next squad, platoon or company, trust becomes an integral part of life.

When a group as small as a squad or as large as a battalion is thrown into combat, it has to operate as a cohesive unit. Unit members will be fearful, they will act almost instinctively, they will watch their backs and the backs of their fellow soldiers, they will be deadly, compassionate and irreverent. They will be dirty, sweaty, scared, running on adrenaline and guts. “Embed” a journalist into this cauldron of emotions, fear, and sweat, and you can bet that some of it will rub off.

Good journalists have always salivated at the clarion call of war. Many see a war assignment as the ultimate journalistic high. Since World War I, journalists have had only a few choices in battle: go it on their own, taking the risks of being caught in the middle, or be a part of the “press pool.” The press pool is often safe behind enemy lines, occasionally driven to the front for a look at the war, and driven back to the rear to file their stories. Some journalists attached themselves to various units, to the displeasure of the unit commanders.

Those in the pool often complained about being manipulated by the public information office types or being denied information about what was REALLY going on. This chorus reached a crescendo during the first Gulf War. Much of it was richly deserved.

This time, the military and the media are embarking on a grand experiment of making journalists a part of a combat unit. These journalists are seeing the war unfold up close. It appears that they are unfettered by military intervention, confined only by the signal of their satellite phone.

What scares some media arm-chair generals is based on the fact that journalists are human too. What scares some media armchair generals is that journalists will undergo the same emotional roller coaster that the men and women in their assigned units will. They will face chaos, fear death, and find heart-pounding release when the battle is done. Under these circumstances they will form a bond with the soldiers. It is even possible that they will form bonds on a personal level that will last a lifetime.

Is this as bad as some in the media believe? No, it is a natural outgrowth of facing war and possible injury or death with a group of others. Will we get slanted coverage? I doubt it. What we will get is better coverage, more accurate and immediate coverage. Will these journalists become raving right-wingers? Don’t bet the farm. But it will probably change their perception of the military as an organization and especially the men and women who serve.

I think that we may see a new facet of humanity polished in some of our more jaded members of the fourth estate.

pnesbitt@verizon.net