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Reporters in War Region Still Waiting for permission to cover Battlefield Firsthand
Aired March 25, 2003 - 15:48 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: Journalists embedded with coalition forces have, of course, become a fixture now in the news media's coverage of this war. But many reporters in the region are still waiting for permission to cover the battlefield firsthand. We get more now from CNN's Gordon Robison.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
GORDON ROBISON, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Unilateral is what the military calls journalists who aren't embedded. And there are more than 1,500 of them here in Kuwait. They go to briefings, they watch the war on TV, and a lot of them are frustrated.
COL. GUY SHIELDS, U.S. MILITARY SPOKESMAN: We will open the border as soon as the situation becomes safe enough. But right now, just because we have secured a military objective, does not mean that we have cleaned up every last individual bad person.
ROBISON: Some have made the trip to Iraq with tragic consequences. British journalist Terry Lloyd (ph) died in southern Iraq during the first days of the war. Relying on images from the front isn't enough for some. David Ignatius spent Saturday in southern Iraq.
DAVID IGNATIUS, "WASHINGTON POST": Embedded reporters are doing a great job, but they inevitably see the world through the focus of the unit that they are assigned to. And they can't do that sampling, that's looking widely, talking to many people, that journalists do, that to the basic part of our craft.
ROBISON: Many are ready to move once the border opens.
BARBARA WOLSCHEK, ORF AUSTRIAN TV: Everybody has loaded their cars with petrol and everything. So I think everybody is waiting for that moment to get out. But if the whole flock of journalists tries to get out, I think it's going to be extremely dangerous for all of them.
ROBISON: Kuwait's government doesn't want people in the north of the country, and the U.S. military says it wants access to the war zone tightened.
IGNATIUS: I think, you know, if journalists exercise good judgment, and are prepared to take the risks, this is our job. This is what we should do.
ROBISON (on camera): It's partly a clash of cultures. The military doesn't want journalists going to Iraq with or without an escort, until it's safe to do so. And when will it be safe? The journalists and the military seem to have different views.
Gordon Robison, CNN, Kuwait.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
cover Battlefield Firsthand>
Aired March 25, 2003 - 15:48 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: Journalists embedded with coalition forces have, of course, become a fixture now in the news media's coverage of this war. But many reporters in the region are still waiting for permission to cover the battlefield firsthand. We get more now from CNN's Gordon Robison.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
GORDON ROBISON, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Unilateral is what the military calls journalists who aren't embedded. And there are more than 1,500 of them here in Kuwait. They go to briefings, they watch the war on TV, and a lot of them are frustrated.
COL. GUY SHIELDS, U.S. MILITARY SPOKESMAN: We will open the border as soon as the situation becomes safe enough. But right now, just because we have secured a military objective, does not mean that we have cleaned up every last individual bad person.
ROBISON: Some have made the trip to Iraq with tragic consequences. British journalist Terry Lloyd (ph) died in southern Iraq during the first days of the war. Relying on images from the front isn't enough for some. David Ignatius spent Saturday in southern Iraq.
DAVID IGNATIUS, "WASHINGTON POST": Embedded reporters are doing a great job, but they inevitably see the world through the focus of the unit that they are assigned to. And they can't do that sampling, that's looking widely, talking to many people, that journalists do, that to the basic part of our craft.
ROBISON: Many are ready to move once the border opens.
BARBARA WOLSCHEK, ORF AUSTRIAN TV: Everybody has loaded their cars with petrol and everything. So I think everybody is waiting for that moment to get out. But if the whole flock of journalists tries to get out, I think it's going to be extremely dangerous for all of them.
ROBISON: Kuwait's government doesn't want people in the north of the country, and the U.S. military says it wants access to the war zone tightened.
IGNATIUS: I think, you know, if journalists exercise good judgment, and are prepared to take the risks, this is our job. This is what we should do.
ROBISON (on camera): It's partly a clash of cultures. The military doesn't want journalists going to Iraq with or without an escort, until it's safe to do so. And when will it be safe? The journalists and the military seem to have different views.
Gordon Robison, CNN, Kuwait.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
cover Battlefield Firsthand>
