Why do new reporters wear the press vest while reporting on another country?

Question

I dont understand whats the vest supposed to do

Arent they kinda useless in the event noones watching the vest or reading it?

Also are there consequences if they got shot or is it just a stupid vest i dont really understand !

In: 690

Answer 1

In combat areas, it’s body armor, so it’s supposed to protect them from a bullet or shrapnel, at least a little.

It’s marked “Reporter” or “Press” to identify who and what they are in the hopes that they will not be confused for someone actually fighting in the conflict. A lot of fighting these days involves combatants without a proper uniform to help make them identifiable, or they wear uniforms that are very similar. So wearing a big clear Identification here might help you avoid getting killed.

War reporting is really risky. Battle is confusing and from certain angles it’s really easy to confuse a camera for a weapon or other battlefield tool, so a reporter has to do whatever they can to try and stay safe.

There’s no real consequences for shooting a reporter beyond any that you might get for shooting a civilian. And again, it’s easy to confuse a reporter for an enemy combatant, so even a real law and order faction might not come down on someone for shooting a reporter thinking they are a combatant.

Outside of armed conflict, sometimes it’s required. Many nations do not have any special legal protections for the media, and may legally require media identify themselves as such when doing business. Even in the US there’s certain situations where media are better off identifying themselves as such (the reason a “press pass” exists) so they either won’t get hassled by security, and will be handled as media and not just random people.

In some cases it may be helpful or more dangerous. Some armies and factions want good public option, so they’ll try and engage the media to cover their perspective, set up a chance to embed or talk to leadership, so on.

In other cases it’s increased risk, Some armies and factions see the media as spies and propagandists. So IDing youself might get you grabbed off the street and killed.

Journalism is a complex profession, and it requires a lot of dedication. It doesn’t pay well, it’s difficult, and these days there’s a good chance some hack or AI will just rip you off. So no sense making things worse by getting yourself shot.