Journalism and War

Lesson Plan - Get It!

Audio:

When you think about it, we all live within a limited experience.

If you are like most people, you go through your daily routine seeing mostly the same people and places, speaking the same language (or two), and eating the same foods.

Journalism gives us information about people, places, and events to which we otherwise have no access. In the case of war, it is especially important to know what is going on, because so many lives are at stake.

Read this speech delivered by journalist Marie Colvin in 2010, "Our mission is to report these horrors of war with accuracy and without prejudice," courtesy of The Guardian, US edition (Colvin was killed less than two years later while covering the conflict in Syria). As you read, write down answers to these questions:

• What credibility does she have in the matter of conflict journalism?
• Why does she believe conflict journalism is important?
• How does she think it has changed? What does she think has remained the same?

Share your answers and discuss with a parent or teacher:

1. What examples of war reporting stand out in your memory?
2. What is the role of journalism during a war?
3. What are the possible problems or biases that can creep into war reporting?

People do not always have noble intentions in covering conflicts.

The Yellow Journalism of the early 20^th century famously exaggerated events of the day in order to stoke conflict and sell newspapers. Without journalists on the scene, however, we might have no idea what is occurring, or who is responsible for specific events.

Continue on to the Got It? section to examine some World War I journalism.