How is reporting different and why does it seem there are so few war reporters?
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War reporting is different because it involves journalists risking their lives to bring us important information, and there are fewer war reporters due to the dangerous nature of the job and the limited resources available for such high-risk reporting.
War correspondents write descriptions of the part of the war that they see. Unless they are exceptionally lucky, this isn’t likely to be the most important part of the battle. Where is also a significant risk or death or injury. That’s not a winning strategy, relative to sitting home with your spouse and family reporting on the local sports team.
War reporting is risky..
Clickbaity article about top 10 tiktok dances gets way more clicks and therefore money (compared with the effort put into it)
Not seeing the obvious answer that War reporting doesn’t pay, financially or career-wise. Unless your reports have a specific bent that benefits one party or the other in the narrative war, the on-the-ground truth is completely irrelevant in today’s media landscape. In the past you might get some institutional support for uncovering grevious war crimes or conspiracies that look bad to your host or native countries but no longer. When the org that pays your bills says “you cover this from this angle or we’ll edit the shit out of it and/or blackball you” you tend to fall in line. Those that don’t give a fuck about that and want the truth as best they can investigate are summarily relegated to the sidelines.
Well one response i haven’t seen is that there are fewer wars that the US is participating in. The Vietnam War was the first to be widely televised and of course there were many reporters: it was a decade-long war that was fought so intensely we instituted a draft. I understand we ‘just’ got out of Afghanistan not too long ago, but the intensity of that war paled in comparison to Vietnam, especially after we pulled out most of our troops. There are reporters for the Ukranian War, and if you watch the National news, you’ll see their efforts. But considering that war does not directly impact the US, there’s less interest in the war.
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