Mallie on Politics (Episode 5): Reporting War

 

The subject for discussion this week is: Reporting War

In the wake of the killing of Sunday Times journalist, Marie Colvin in Syria, we put the question of reporting war and the attending dangers under the microscope with:

Brian Rowan: Former BBC NI Security Correspondent

&

Robin Walsh: Former BBCNI News Editor, BBC Nine O’Clock News Editor and BBCNI Controller

 

Listen to the show below or download the MP3:

Notable points for discussion are documented below:

(Times are indicated should you wish to listen to any specific point raised):

00.00: Introduction

02.04: Reaction to Marie Colvin’s death

05.38: Are journalists mere adventurers?

14.10: Do we expect too much from journalists?

17.05: What goes through an editor’s head when he/she dispatches a journalist to a war-zone?

18.45: Did the authorities specifically target the media in Homs?

24.34: Did Veronica Guerin over expose herself to danger/do journalists push the frontiers too far?

27.37: Should the death of Marie Colvin encourage other journalists to pursue truth regardless of personal danger?

29.02: Embedding – yes or no?

32.33: Northern Ireland – reporting the conflict to the very people involved in the conflict

37.52: Do people have to know as much as editors presume they have to know to the point where journalists risk losing their lives?

39.29: Do journalists allow their egos to dictate their fate?

42.09: Sleepless nights?

48.12: Conclusion

48.35: End