For journalists, independence goes hand-in-hand with credibility. The
question about whether reporters and photographers in Iraq could maintain
their independence while accompanying the troops has been the subject of
on-going debate. Here’s another twist: Did taxpayers get a sanitized
version of the war while footing the bill for journalists’ training and
transportation, food, water and security in Iraq?
An article in the July issue of Milwaukee Magazine widely circulated on a
media Web site questions whether it was proper for taxpayers to pay some of
the costs associated with having journalists accompany the troops. Were
reporters and photographers, including representatives of The San Diego
Union-Tribune, violating ethics that say journalists should not accept
freebies?
Bryan Whitman, deputy spokesman for the Department of Defense, sees it as
an “oversimplistic and inappropriate way” to view the system the Pentagon
has dubbed “embedding.” He said he believes costs to taxpayers for having
reporters in the field were minimal.
The Union-Tribune, which sent a reporter and a photographer to be with
Marines from Camp Pendleton’s 1st Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion,
paid transportation costs to Kuwait and other expenses while there. The
newspaper also paid for tents, sleeping bags, rucksacks and personal items
as well as other gear, including a satellite phone and flak vests. It did
not pay for the costs once they joined the Marines on the way to Baghdad.
The question of cost to the taxpayer is a disguise for the notion “that
somehow reporters were not able to fairly and accurately report because
they were beholden to the military …,” Whitman said. “I think that
perception is just inaccurate.” He cited stories written about friendly
fire, civilian casualties and other unpleasantness. The notion that
embedded journalists lacked objectivity sells the American media short, he
said.
Whitman said the military provided transportation from Kuwait to Baghdad,
food and water as well as protective gear, including gas masks and
anti-nerve gas drugs, that were not available on the open market.
Journalists returned those items once they left the combat zone.
By going to Iraq, reporters and photographers were being placed in harm’s
way, along with the military. The military — which made the rules for
embedded journalists — was obliged to see to their safety. “It would be
irresponsible for us not to provide them with the same protection as our
forces when the potential for biological and chemical weapons to be used
existed,” Whitman said. News organizations were not asked to pay their
share of fuel to run the military vehicles that carried journalists from
Kuwait to Baghdad. Neither were they required to pay for food or water
while with the troops. Those costs have not been calculated.
Whitman said no one in the military lost a seat on a government vehicle to
a journalist.
Kelly McBride, an ethicist with the Poynter Institute for Media Studies in
Florida, said there is a “constant tension” when journalists are provided
services by government agencies. It’s not just the military, she said. The
same concerns are raised when reporters accompany police on ride-alongs or
when they are transported by the U.S. Forest Service to a fire line.
“Whenever possible, journalists should be exceedingly strict about paying
their own way,” she said. If there’s no system to determine the cost of
certain services provided by the military, journalists should be working
with the military to put mechanisms in place. She said the military must
have a line item budget that would show the costs for operations.
But Whitman, the defense spokesman, thinks it would be more trouble, even
more costly to taxpayers, to break down such costs. For example, say you
try to figure the cost of the fuel used by various military vehicles. He
said it would mean having to check the odometer for every vehicle that
carried a journalist and then having to calculate the fuel cost based on
the vehicle, distance traveled and the number of people in the vehicle. “I
think you can see it’s a bit of a ridiculous exercise.”
Whitman said journalists were going to cover the war even if the military
did not make provision for them. The military preferred to have journalists
in vehicles that were built for the terrain and conditions they would
encounter rather than have them in their own vehicles sharing the road with
the military.
But McBride, the ethicist, believes the media should do more to insist on
paying expenses that can be calculated. It’s not something that can be
accomplished by an individual newspaper or network but would take
involvement of umbrella media organizations such as the American Society of
Newspaper Editors and others.
What would the average citizen think about paying some of the cost to get
reports from independent journalists about the war in Iraq? Whitman thinks
they would say it was “a few dollars well spent.”
Gina Lubrano’s column commenting on the media appears Mondays. It is the
policy of The San Diego Union-Tribune to correct all errors. To discuss
accuracy or fairness in the news, please write to Gina Lubrano, readers
representative, Box 120191, San Diego, CA 92112-0191, or telephone (619)
293-1525. Send e-mail to: readers.rep@uniontrib.com.
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