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From
The Editor and Publisher
http://www.editorandpublisher.com
Only 23 Embedded Reporters
Left in Iraq
As U.S. Considers Similar Program in Liberia
JULY 09, 2003
By Joe Strupp
NEW YORK -- Once numbering
over 700, the cadre of reporters embedded with U.S. troops in and near Iraq is
now down to only 23, with only five coming from newspapers. Meanwhile, American
officials said they would likely embed the media with any soldiers that might
be deployed in Liberia, a war-torn West African nation.
"It is very likely that
we will want to embed if there are troops that actually go into Liberia," said
Lt. Col. John Robinson, who oversees the embedding program from U.S. Central Command
in Tampa, Fla. "It has been proven to be successful. We have been able to provide
our perspective to the story."
Stressing that no final
decision about U.S. military involvement in Liberia had been made, Robinson said
any embedding program would be based on the assessment of unit commanders. "It
will have to be considered," he said of an embedding option in Liberia. "The assessment
would be based on the situation on the ground."
Bryan Whitman, deputy
assistant secretary of defense, who oversaw the embedding program during the Iraq
invasion, agreed that embedding was likely U.S. troops move into Liberia. "News
organizations will clearly have a desire to cover it and we are looking at those
options," he told E&P Online. "I'm watching the Liberia situation carefully."
The embedding program
drew both support and opposition when Pentagon officials announced it prior to
the Iraq invasion. Proponents supported the ability to have journalists travel
with troops and get a close-up look at the war, while detractors criticized some
of the limitations placed on embedded reporters, including a ban on off-the-record
interviews, frequent news blackouts, and the inability to leave a military unit
and return or move among units.
Embeds in Iraq, which
swelled to more than 700 at the height of the war, have dwindled to fewer than
two dozen, according to Robinson. Those included one each from The Washington
Post, The New York Times, and Stars and Stripes, while two are from The Washington
Times. The Associated Press has three embeds, while Reuters has one.
Other embedded journalists
include those from Newsweek, Time, ABC TV, ABC Radio, Fox News, the German magazine
Stern, Gamma Press, and the Iraqi Media Network (IMN).
"Most of these are people
covering a specific unit," said Robinson, who added that the reduced number of
embedded reporters has allowed rule changes that give more flexibility to move
among the units or leave and return.
ENDS
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