Blog 3: Ethical Issues Surrounding Survivor of Iraqi Ambush

Ethical Issues Surrounding Survivor of Iraqi Ambush
By Emma Eckert
Situation Definition
Upon hearing Kimberly Dozier’s story, a few things came to mind. The first thing I noticed about Dozier was how brave she was. I can only imagine how much courage it took for her to travel to Baghdad on a journalism assignment. It’s one thing to travel to a dangerous foreign country, but it was another for her team to be ambushed in the field.
I give Dozier so much credit for everything that she went through. Cardiac arrest five times, a shattered hip, a femoral artery tear, a brain surgery for shrapnel removal, and titanium rods in both legs. This calls to question whether or not it’s still safe for journalists to travel into the war and whether their relationships with soldiers jeopardize their safety. Additionally, it is important to look into how journalist’s cover conflict in violent situations.
Analysis
According to Dozier, being an embedded journalist can be challenging. They had two option when it came to her Iraq trip: go out unprotected with other journalist or go with troops where they had more free range. The only problem in working with the troops, Dozier noted, was the temptation to alter stories in their favor. She said it was hard sometimes because you become such good friends with some of them.
After spending so much time with the soldiers, how could any reporter not consider them to be heroes? Celebrities even? The problem with this is that now they have built a relationship with the subjects of their report. This could have caused severe complications to their integrity, and even their livelihood. “The modernization of the United States in the latter part of the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries gave rise to a paradoxical orientation toward public identity that continues to animate and problematize contemporary celebrity status”(Craig, 26). Who, in this case and in this field, is considered a celebrity? A movie star, politician, a solider? They could all cause the same amount of harm to a reporter’s reputation if their integrity is threatened by a “friendship” or an “accident” in the field.
I also wondered about her opinion on the reporting of war violence. Dozier argued that no one reports enough on the troops. They are going out and risking their lives for us and no one is giving them the respect that they deserve. “The problematic posturing of the media is evidenced in the fact that authoritarianism has not stopped the country’s fiery newspapers, magazines, and news websites in major cities, many of which focus on uncovering corruption and political gossip partially as a way of turning out a profit from general readers”(Cain, 89). The audience is only looking for the “sob story” or the “gossip” but what about the soldiers still fighting for us? Don’t they deserve the honor and gratitude as well?
Conclusion
To conclude, I would argue that it isn’t safe for journalists to be reporting from dangerous areas in the field anymore. I’m not even sure that it’s still necessary. With the technology at our hands today, you can’t dispute that if someone needed to get a message out to the general public, they would have the means to do so-even from a remote area.
I have also learned that a lot more goes into reporting from the field than I thought. Especially when dealing with the government and the army, protecting sources who are in jeopardy is key. The journalist has a duty to protect certain types of people’s identities and must go to extra lengths to verify the validity of their information. Overall, Dozier’s experience made me not only realize how fortunate I am, but also all of the potential harm that could come to someone in a journalism career if they are not careful.
References
Cain, Geoffrey (2013). “Kill One to Warn One Hundred.” The International Journal of Press/ Politics. Retrieved from http://hij.sagepub.com/content/19/1/85.full.pdf+html
Craig, Geoffrey (2013). “Kevin’s Predicaments: Power and Celebrity across the Political and
Media Fields.” The International Journal of Press/Politics.
Retrieved from http://hij.sagepub.com/content/19/1/24.full.pdf+html