Tag Archives: Afghanistan

Afghanistan in the media: ‘The Good War?’ Public meeting – July 13

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A public meeting is to be held in London on July 13, hosted by Media Workers Against the War / Stop the War Coalition.

The Good War? Afghanistan in the media

Speakers include:

  • Stephen Grey, investigative journalist embedded with British troops in Helmand and author: ‘Operation Snakebite: The Explosive True Story of an Afghan Desert Siege’, and ‘Ghost Plane: The True Story of the CIA Torture Program’.
  • Guy Smallman, photojournalist, recently returned from Helmand.

7pm, July 13: Friends Meeting House (small hall), 173 Euston Road, NW1 2BJ, opposite Euston station.

MediaGuardian: Stephen Grey on the MoD’s restriction of war reporting

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An interesting read from investigative journalist Stephen Grey on the UK’s Ministry of Defence affecting media coverage of soldier’s deaths in Afghanistan by restricting access to conflict zones in Afghanistan.

“As in so many wars, truth seems to be the first casualty of this conflict. There has been a devastating breakdown of relations between many defence correspondents and officialdom, journalists say,” writes Grey.

“Almost all journalists travelling with British forces are ordered to email their copy to the military’s press officers in Helmand before publication. Many fear that negative coverage could mean trips back to the frontline are cancelled or delayed,” he cites as one issue.

Full story at this link…

John D. McHugh ‘War in multimedia’ – livestreamed from the Frontline Club @ 7pm

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In 2008 John D. McHugh, Frontline Club award winner, was commissioned by the Guardian to produce an online report on ‘Six months in Afghanistan’, using photography, short films, audio slideshows and blogging.

Tonight he will talk about and showcase some of his work for the project. Full details of the event can be read at this link.

Live streaming video by Ustream

Live video from the Frontline Club: Stephen Grey on investigative journalism in Afghanistan

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The Frontline Club’s livestream of tonight’s talk with Stephen Grey on ‘Helmand – Investigative Journalism at the sharp end’ is available below (from 7pm (BST)).

Former editor on the Sunday Times’ Insight team Grey will discuss his work in Afghanistan, which looked behind the frontline reporting of the conflict.

American Prospect: Are reporters reporting or making the news?

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Should journalists report, explain, but also ‘make news’, asks American Prospect’s Ezra Klein.

Klein refers to assertions made by CNN’s Ed Henry about a recent Obama press conference, in which Henry said his strategy was to ‘make news on something unexpected’ – a tactic that lead to the story on overturning the policy at Dover Air Force Base preventing media coverage of coffins returning from Iraq and Afghanistan.

Full article at this link…

BBCJournalismLabs: A data project with a ‘human face’

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Bella Hurrell updates on the BBC’s development of a ‘UK fatalities in Afghanistan and Iraq’ data interactive.

Originally a list of names, it then became a sortable table. Hurrell writes:

“This was followed by a dynamic visualisation of the figures in Flash. Last week we added the In Pictures page, which is an aggregation of thumbnail images of all those who have been killed in the conflicts.

“This latest page strengthens the coverage, adding another dimension that makes it far more personal, rather than purely a functional way to view the raw data.”

Full story at this link…

Rebekah Wade’s first public speech in full

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If the Wordle and other coverage isn’t enough, here’s the Hugh Cudlipp speech by the editor of the Sun, Rebekah Wade, in full [note: may have differed very slightly in actual delivery]:

The challenging future of national and regional newspapers is now the staple diet of media commentators.

If you have been reading the press writing about the press you’d all be forgiven for questioning your choice of career.

I’m not denying we’re in a tough place – we are.

But I don’t want to use this speech to make grand statements on the future of our industry.

I want to talk to you about journalism.

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