Embedded reporters 'sanitised' Iraq war

[Tom Yossarian Joad]

http://www.guardian.co.uk/Iraq/Story/0,2763,1078652,00.html

Television reports produced by "embedded" correspondents in the Iraq conflict gave a sanitised picture of war, according to an academic study published by the BBC today.
Researchers found that although reporters who accompanied the British and US military were able to be objective, they avoided images that would be too graphic or violent for British television. Some of the coverage resembled a "war film".

Today, a senior BBC news executive will make a controversial case for desanitising the presentation of war on British television. In a speech to a conference of broadcasters in Budapest, Mark Damazer, deputy director of BBC News, will say the current position is a "disservice to democracy".

He told the Guardian last night: "For reasons that are laudable and honourable, we have got to a situation where our coverage has become sanitised. We are running the risk of double standards, and it is not a service to democracy."

<snip>

Something we have been aware of for quite soem time here but it's good to see it somewhere else.

On edit: Related Story
http://www.guardian.co.uk/Iraq/Story/0,2763,1078833,00.html
Facts in the line of fire

[DUreader]

1. Sanitized? Gosh that would be......

propaganda

[IndianaGreen]

2. Rather than being journalists, they chose to be propagandists

They forgot what journalism was supposed to be about, which is to report the news, and let the reader and/or audience decide (to borrow Faux's slogan).

They did a disservice to the people, undermined freedom of the press, and became accomplices in a criminal war.

[number6]

3. exactly, thats all they are, propagandists

forgot what journalism was supposed to be about
ABC CBS NBC Faux CNN n all the others...

[yellowcanine]

4. This is news?

Wasn't this the reason for the embedding in the first place? Embedding = depending on the military = writing and showing what won't piss them off = creating lots of GI Joe wannabees who want to play war rather than accurately report.