So Far, Editors Pleased With Embedded Reporters

By: Ari Berman So far, the decision to "embed" reporters with the U.S. military seems to be paying off, with few technical glitches and Pentagon restrictions, according to top newspaper editors. All editors interviewed by E&P mentioned that reporters on the move often dictate their stories over the telephone for convenience.

John Walcott, Washington bureau chief for San Jose, Calif.-based Knight Ridder, said nearly all of his 32 embedded reporters have been able to file in virtually "real time" with no censorship from the military. Although sandstorms and rapid troop movements have caused a few delays, the morale of the reporters is "sky high," Walcott said. "It couldn't go better." He estimated that six or eight of his embeds already entered Iraq Thursday morning.

At 7:59 a.m. Iraqi time, Knight Ridder reporter Drew Brown's Apache Company 1-30th infantry unit launched an artillery barrage on an Iraqi checkpoint. Twenty minutes later, Brown filed a story via FTP (file transfer protocol), reporting loud thudding and flashing lights.

Atlanta Journal-Constitution Deputy Managing Editor Susan Stevenson said she has been "surprised at the embeds' ability to file." Stevenson is tracking the progress of an embedded reporter and photographer team for the AJC, as well as CNN reporters writing for Cox Newspapers. The decision to leave two Cox reporters in Baghdad provided an "invaluable resource" on Wednesday night, Stevenson said. She added that the combination of free roaming and embedded reporters is working very well: "The sense of immediacy and humanity made our stories very real today. From what a blinding sandstorm feels like to reporting how one of our embeds broke his unit's coffee pot, we're giving readers a better sense of the field."

Chicago Tribune embeds are checking in with Foreign Editor Colin McMahon in the U.S. and another editor at Camp Doha in Qatar. Tribune reporters are able to quickly file stories without blackout restrictions from the military, McMahon said. "Some folks are nervous about going into combat but they're ready to be involved," he said of the mood among his five embeds. He also received good news early in the week when the 3rd infantry unit allowed a Tribune reporter to join an already embedded Tribune photographer.

Previously, the Pentagon had only assigned one journalist from media outlets to particular military units. Some editors had objected because they preferred to have two journalists together -- both a reporter and photographer.
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