Tragically, the year comes to an end with the world under the pall of war.
It has been a difficult and deadly year for journalists covering war-torn nations and conflict zones. As of mid-November, 42 journalists had been killed in Gaza; nine others were seriously injured; three journalists were still missing; and 13 journalists had been arrested and detained while covering the war there, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists.
Reporting on war is inherently high-risk, dangerous and challenging in many other ways — logistics and communications, sourcing and finding trustworthy fixers. Sifting through misinformation and disinformation is a daily challenge, as exemplified on Oct. 17 when an explosion leveled Ahli Arab Hospital in Gaza City. Initial reporting in The New York Times and other news media cited Hamas claims it was the result of an Israeli airstrike. In the days following, that proved false, forcing newsrooms to issue contrite corrections.
The New York Times and Associated Press, which enlisted the services of at least two Palestinian freelance photojournalists, felt the public’s ire when photos of the reporters circulated online, seemingly showing them among the Hamas militants kidnapping and murdering Israelis on Oct. 7. They — and the outlets that bought their work — were accused of being complicit in the attack. Senator Tom Cotton (R-Arkansas) threatened a Congressional investigation.
Like war itself, reporting on it is messy and volatile.
A witness to war
JJ Green’s career in journalism is nothing short of remarkable. He has the distinction of working across platforms — for print outlets, broadcast and cable news, and for the past 20 years, in radio. He’s worked for nearly all the big news networks — CBS, ABC, CNN and C-SPAN. He was awarded the 2009 national Edward R. Murrow Award, the 2010 Associated Press Douglas S. Freeman Award, the 2017 Gerald R. Ford Presidential Foundation Award for Distinguished Reporting and an honorary doctorate from Champlain College.
When he left C-SPAN to join Voice of America, it felt like a full-circle moment. When he was 15 years old, his high school football coach sent team members to the local radio station to promote a charity event. After the segment, the D.J. told Green that he had a good radio voice, and he started thinking about a radio career. Today, he reports daily for WTOP in Washington, D.C., as the station’s national security correspondent.
He spoke about the voice as a journalist’s tool — how to use cadence and inflection to connect with the listener and make them feel the emotions of the story. As Green found, it's an inherent dilemma for war reporters: How can you make people care about war?
Green reported on wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. He was selected for three embeds with the U.S. military. He credits the relationships he’s developed at the Pentagon, among the military leadership and national security agencies, for securing those opportunities.
He spoke with E&P about the camaraderie, spirit and courage of the troops and how difficult it was to get to know them as platoons and individuals, only to learn later that some became war casualties. It’s these memories that hit him the hardest.
“Sometimes life in a conflict zone can turn dark really quickly,” he said. He processes the trauma over time, and with prayer and the support of his family.
Today, as compared to earlier in his career, journalists are being expressly targeted by terrorists, hostile governments and militaries. Safety can feel like an illusion, Green acknowledged. Even the most prepared journalists can find themselves under fire, arrested and detained, or captured and held by combatants.
“Having a good fixer is the most important element of reporting in a conflict zone,” he advised. “You need to know where you can go, where not to go, the cultural norms, the dos and don’ts, the language, the climate and social norms.”
Green shared some lessons he's learned from reporting on war, including practical tips.
“It’s important, when you're in a conflict zone, to have back channels of communications that allow you to go off-grid if you need to and be safe. Sometimes, in a hostile country, they're listening to you,” Green explained.
It helps to study languages. He speaks English and Spanish fluently and has studied French, Korean and Arabic. At a bare minimum, in a war zone, it's essential to know how to say hello and help and phrases that might get you out of a jam.
“And you can’t just parachute into a place, do a story and leave,” Green added. “You need to give the people that you’re engaging with some agency. Let them know that this is their story to tell.”
“The most valuable thing in our business is empathy,” he said.
A photojournalist’s perspective on war
Twenty-three years ago, Photojournalist Lynsey Addario inserted herself into the first of many war-torn settings throughout her award-winning career. A freelancer, she first went to Afghanistan, where the Taliban held power. Next, she traveled to Iraq during the fall of Saddam Hussein. She had no hostile environment training. A $5,000 course was beyond her means. Later, when she'd embedded with the U.S. military, she'd learn on-the-fly about hostile situations and thinking under pressure.
“I’ve covered war pretty much every year for the past 23 years,” she said.
Her photography captivates, provokes, intrigues and haunts. Addario’s work has appeared in The New York Times and National Geographic. She’s been awarded numerous recognitions, including an Overseas Press Club’s Olivier Rebbot Award, two Emmy nominations, three honorary doctorate degrees and a Pulitzer.
Women as sources and subjects run throughout her work. Her interest in women’s stories, in particular, began when she was living in Southeast Asia in the early 2000s, reporting on injustice against women.
“I have always been drawn to telling women’s stories, maybe because I grew up in a family with four sisters, maybe because I find such incredible strength and resilience in women,” she said.
There is frequent debate among journalists about violent images and what’s beyond the pale — too horrific to show the rest of the world. Addario has given this a lot of thought.
“One of the things I’ve learned over the years is that people tend to turn away from very graphic images. I’m always trying to make a series of pictures that evoke emotion, that show what it’s like, the fear, everything on the front lines,” she said. “But if it's too graphic, the viewer will just turn the page. People have to be able to relate to an image. They have to identify with the people in the picture, so a lot of my process is trying to figure out how to do that.
“I think I’m always drawn to civilians and covering the civilian toll because these are the innocent bystanders who end up paying this incredible price," she said.
Preparing to photograph people and places disrupted by war is not a static checklist.
“Every assignment is really different. It depends,” Addario said. “Am I doing a story about women in Afghanistan? Am I embedded with the U.S. military?”
Addario paused to count the number of embeds she did in the late 2000s, at least a handful.
“Preparation varies based on the assignment, but overall, it involves doing my research, reading, being updated on the news and what's happening on the ground, and reaching out to colleagues I know have been there, in that country recently. I try to get a sense of what's going on and what the dangers are,” she said.
What she packs depends on the assignment.
“If I’m going into a place like Afghanistan, it would vary. If I were going with the military, I’d have cargo pants, hiking boots, a flak jacket, helmet, headlamp, and all of my protective gear. But if I were going to photograph women in Afghanistan, I would have long tunics and headscarves,” she explained.
While most local newsrooms aren’t likely to dispatch reporters to far-off places to cover warring nations, a foreign correspondent’s skills are transferrable.
“When I covered the wildfires in California two years ago, I found myself in situations very similar to war,” Addario said. “A lot of it is about situational awareness. It’s about being prepared. It’s about having the right gear. There is a lot of similarity, certainly, with school shootings and mass shootings in America. We are like first responders, often the first people there, and it’s imperative we have training. I think any journalist going into an unpredictable and dangerous situation should have the tools — whatever tools possible to try to cover it safely.”
Addario recounted more than one occasion when she was kidnapped — in one case, for a day; in another, for a week.
“I got out and had to navigate how I would move forward in my career. It wasn’t a matter of whether I would keep covering the war, but sort of how will I keep doing what I do,” she recalled.
She decompresses with friends and a close-knit big Italian family back home. “We spend a lot of time laughing and talking and eating,” she said. She carves out one hour every day for exercise.
“I don’t try to forget the things I've seen. I think that would negate why I do what I do,” Addario said. “I carry them with me. I talk about things a lot because that also helps me process. Actively processing trauma is very important.”
While pregnant with her first child, she began writing a memoir, “It’s What I Do.” Published in 2015, it became a New York Times Bestseller.
“It became a cathartic process of sitting down for the first time in over a decade, looking back and reflecting on everything I’d witnessed. That was something I hadn't done, so it was quite powerful and emotional but really great. It was useful and ultimately helped me move forward,” Addario said.
Gretchen A. Peck is a contributing editor to Editor & Publisher. She’s reported for E&P since 2010 and welcomes comments at gretchenapeck@gmail.com.
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