After attending David Finkel’s lecture on Tuesday April 2nd, I gained a completely new perspective on reporting about wars. I was especially intrigued by his candid comments on his feelings about living in Iraq and his relationships with the soldiers he worked closely with. Mr. Finkel brought up many ethical issues that go along with reporting in Iraq such as privacy of soldiers, living conditions, and duty to report everything. The main issue that drew my attention during the lecture was his story about the death of soldier Josh Reeves.
Josh was taking part in a successful overtaking of a gas station in Iraq that was causing trouble for the area until his battalion inserted themselves in to the area. Then one day after learning of his first child’s birth that morning, Josh was about to leave his patrol duties at the gas station that night when a bomb went off. He was struck by the bomb and injured very badly, and when Mr. Finkel next saw him at the base with the EMS all around him he recalled a very stressful environment. Mr. Finkel then recalled a very specific moment of at the base where Josh’s toe that had been severed, rolled up to Mr. Finkel’s boot on the floor and his friend stated “That’s a toe,” when he looked down. Once Mr. Finkel returned to the U.S. to begin writing his book about his experiences, he debated for a long time whether to include that line in his book or to exclude it. It raised a lot of ethical concerns about Josh’s privacy and his legacy that could be tarnished in the public with the release of this book, or Finkel’s responsibility to his readers to write truthfully.
He decided to include the line in his book, and Josh’s father ended up thanking Mr. Finkel in an email for including details because he felt like he was able to live Josh’s final moments with him because of the details Mr. Finkel provided. This type of reporting comes under fire a lot because it can be very graphic at times, and some people believe that it is not fair to those being reported on for those details to be released. Many believe that journalist have a responsibility to not be biased and to provide as many verifiable facts as possible, and in this instance, Mr. Finkel chose to include all of the facts from his experience (Rusciano, 2010). I believe Mr. Finkel chose the right thing to do as a reporter and as a respectful friend to Josh.
Another issue that arose during the lecture, was Mr. Finkel’s presence in the warzone and his relationships with the soldiers in the battalion. He described how most of the soldiers were not happy he was with them, and they did not trust that he was going to report on them truthfully. Finkel believes that in order to get a truthful look into the lives of the soldiers he needed to live amongst them and experience everything that they were experiencing. This is a very controversial topic because many believe imbedded journalist present safety problems for themselves and privacy issues for the soldiers they are living with. Based on the article “The view from the ground in Iraq and Afghanistan,” Nickelsberg stated “I do not think it’s a workable environment for any journalist,” he said. “It’s just too dangerous. You almost need a small network of local people to get you from the airport to your hotel (Long, 2009).” I can agree with both sides on the issue, but in my opinion, as long as the reporter agrees to terms with the soldiers and will report truthfully, it is his/her responsibility for their own safety and if they are willing to take the risk then they should be allowed to imbed with the soldiers. As Mr. Finkel described, the life of a journalist in Iraq is not glamorous and is very hard on a person, so if a person is willing to take that challenge to create a realistic depiction of the situation then they should do that because people want to hear about what is going on in Iraq.
Overall, David Finkel’s lecture was enlightening and entertaining. He gave a very unique perspective to what goes on in reporting the war and how it takes a toll on everyone involved. He was put in many complicated and dangerous situations, and also had to make very important decisions involving his writings. His experiences with choosing to include/exclude details was just one of many tough decisions he made while reporting, which proves that these are topics that need to be discussed so that new journalists can have some knowledge about what they may face in these situations.
References
Long, G. (2009). THE VIEW FROM THE GROUND IN IRAQ AND AFGHANISTAN. Quill, 97(1), 20-24.
Rusciano, F. (2010). The ‘right to know vs knowing what’s right’: tabloid ethics and news reporting in the Iraq War. Media, War & Conflict, 3(3), 245-260. doi:10.1177/1750635210377032