Reporters At War is an incredible Emmy award-winning, three-part documentary series that examines one of the most dangerous career paths a person can take, that of a war correspondent.
Since the 90’s more than 1300 journalists have died in battle zones whilst attempting to deliver the truth to us, many of these were deliberately targeted by their killers.
The fatalities in the Iraq war far surpass any other documented war-time death toll for the press. To put the statement into perspective let us have a look at the Vietnam war, where 63 journalists died throughout it’s course 1963-1975. It is estimated that if the Iraq conflict lasted as long as the Vietnam War, around 4,500 journalists would have lost their lives.
Being witness to the brutality of war comes at a tremendous psychological cost and being exposed to this brutality for long periods of time can lead to nervous breakdowns, marital break-ups, alcoholism, etc. here we witness the affects of war first hand.
We also see how the technology used is ever evolving, it is said to make the journalists job easier but we also see how the same technology can aid the faking of war newsreel footage and the impact that television has on the outcome of war as peoples opinion of war can change over time.
If the journalists themselves find themselves displeased with what is passing for news in such circumstances, how can we ever believe what is presented to us?