WASHINGTON, 20 November — It is said that if one does not remember the mistakes of the past, one will be condemned to repeat them. With this in mind, the Brookings Institution recently gathered together former big name war correspondents — who had covered World War II, the Korean and Vietnam Wars — and asked them about the role of the press and America’s war on terrorism.
Peter Arnett was introduced at Brookings with a special accolade: “Every war has one journalist. World War II had Ernie Pyle and the Gulf War had Peter Arnett.”
Asked to speak about his experiences during the Gulf War, as sole reporter from Baghdad, Arnett said he “couldn’t think of the Gulf War without thinking of (former CNN owner and president) Ted Turner, who is responsible for the idea of the globalization of television information.
“Ted introduced the idea of international global images and the need to show both sides of the story. During the Gulf War — for the first time ever — our satellite signal could be received around the world,” which resulted in intensive viewing throughout the world.
Arnett said the decision to stay in Baghdad, even after everyone had left, was made “even though we realized we were an information conduit.”
“The White House called, suggested we were unsafe in Baghdad, that by staying we could hurt the war effort.” Arnett said it was Ted Turner “who allowed us to make the decision, and we opted to stay.
“CNN globalized television images, followed by the BBC and then other news organization. Had CNN’s pursued its globalization effort, it would be in Kabul now.” Arnett said he heard Al-Jazeera had offered a type of partnership with CNN, “but (the new ownership) prefers national sensationalism,” he said.
“Today, the global images accepted, and we don’t have to defend ourselves as we did in Iraq during the Gulf War.”
Daniel Schorr, who is the senior news analyst at National Public Radio, and a former reporter who covered six decades of news, including World War II, also had the unique tribute of being placed on former President Nixon’s “Hate List.”
Schorr criticized the current preference for solid stock dividends rather than solid reporting. “The media has spent the last 30 years cutting back on its bureaus throughout the world.” He said America has suffered the lack of global news coverage.
Marvin Kalb, former chief diplomatic correspondent for CBS News and NBC News and former moderator of NBC’s Meet the Press, agreed. It is finances, he said, that hurt America’s international reporting more than anything: “Another problem concerns the manipulation of news budgets in large media conglomerates. Before Sept. 11, budgets were growing tighter, because news executives continued to insist on unrealistically high profits.
“Staffs were cut and the number of foreign bureaus drastically reduced. At TV networks and local stations, and at most of the nation’s 15,000 newspapers, foreign coverage was an embarrassing joke. The upshot was that the public was shortchanged and totally unprepared for the war against terrorism. Now, many news organizations must lean heavily on local stringers and green reporters.
“When the war ends, will the budgeters of the newsroom, who have little or no journalistic training, return to their old ways and continue to cut news budgets? Or will they meet their new obligations and provide the resources to cover an increasingly complex world? Unfortunately, all the evidence suggests that most networks and newspapers will return to the good old days of Monica, Diana and O.J. They fear a drop in circulation and ratings, which they ascribe to a public distaste for serious news,” said Kalb.
