Kosovo Media Coverage

1
Kosovo Media Coverage

• Regardless of whether you believe it was good
  or bad, we need to understand the operational
  constraints upon journalism at war
• Real War and Media or TV War not - and never
  have been - the same thing
• What is surprising is that anyone should be
  surprised by this

2
Operational Constraints

• Access - military operations generate extremely
  dangerous situations for journalists (insurance!)
• Each journalist has only an ants eye view of the
  conflict (John Simpsons analogy of war as a
  football match)
• Fog of war generated by warring factions trying
  to control global media agenda

3
Operational Constraints

• Satellite time and pressure of speed over
  accuracy and context
• Public Service tradition of reporting both sides
  - accusations of reporting enemy propaganda
• Parachute journalism and the decline of the
  specialised foreign and defence correspondent
• Media as participants, not observers (RTS) and
  even as catalysts (initial intervention)

4
Real War vs. Media War

• Real wars are nasty, brutal affairs, the
  experience of which can never be captured by
  mediation
• Media wars are a combination of a
  (mis)representation of reality, a tradition of
  informing the public and increasingly significant
  official agenda-setting within an increasingly
  commercialised and competitive media environment

5
Our Wars and Other Peoples Wars

• In real wars in which our boys are involved,
  the media have always been patriotic (even in
  Vietnam)
• In OPWs, media have more of a problem (Bosnia pre
  1995)
• Kosovo was an OPW in which we got involved
• Taking sides inevitable since this OPW became OW
• Sympathy with the human interest -
  humanitarian aspects of Kosovo Albanians rather
  than demonised Serbs

6
Any Surprises, 1999?

• Not really - many similar characteristics to Gulf
  War (1991) reporting
• Restrictions on access for western correspondents
  in enemy country under fire
• Pro-NATO, anti-Serb
• Largely supportive because greater access to NATO
  spokesmen than Serb
• When UK government criticised media, its a clue
  that media are doing a reasonable job in
  reporting both sides

7
Any Surprises, 1999?

• Tabloid excesses (Clobba Slobba)
• Marginalisation of dissent when public support is
  in majority
• Seizure on NATO (information) policy mistakes
  (convoy, Chinese embassy, collateral damage)
• Iraqi TV taken out in 1991, so why the shock at
  RTS?

8
Any Surprises, 1999?

• Mobile phone, satellite access to foreign TV, and
  internet access
• Demassification of journalism as sole messenger
  from theatre of operations
• When the crisis exists, the media interest is
  massive
• When the crisis subsides, the media exit

9
Conclusions

• Still too early to know exactly how wide
  image-reality gap was (scale of genocide impact
  of NATO bombing)
• Expectations that the media can tell the truth,
  especially the whole truth, during wartime
  belie an understanding of the war-media dynamic
• The media need to appreciate this or else be
  hoist on their own petard as guardians of the
  conscience of liberal democracies