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War Correspondent Howto

GonzoScribe

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Hello all, having graduated from journalism school less than a decade ago, I have been less than pleased with the type of stories I have had to write as a freelancer.  At my ripening age of 39 my passion for the military is only growing.  I was a reservist (Medic) twenty years ago and never got it out of my system. So... methinks the best fit for my interests and abilities would be to cover military conflicts.  Does anyone know how one actually becomes a war correspondent without actually working for a national news organisation?  I'd even be willing to re-enlist (if they'd have my aging body back) to work in public relations, if that would get me "over there" to document what's going on, wherever 'there" might be.

Thanks in advance,

GonzoScribe
 
Hmm, now there's a thought.  Do you think they would want a 39 year old with rheumatoid disease of the spine?  I'm still mostly functional, provided I can change positions frequently, stretch, etc.

I think there's a Sigs reserve unit  in Kinston, isn't there?  That would be less than an hour away for me.

GonzoScribe
 
There are also Reserve units in Ottawa, which may or may not be closer (by a few minutes), including and Int Platoon.

GW
 
Now I'm really interested.  Does anyone know what units in Kingston or Ottawa that have their own "media" people?  I'd be quite content just making quasi documentaries, training videos, newsletters, etc. for our own personnel (as opposed to the public).  I hadn't even considered Intel - but of course, they make their own media for both internal and public dissemination.

Thanks in advance, I'm definitely interested.

GonzoScribe
 
Hi GonzoScribe

There is in fact a sizeable contingent of freelancers who travel to war zones in an attempt to pick up assignments, but it's always a roll of the dice. It's always better if you approach a couple of news organizations first and see if they're interested in providing press credentials - it makes it easier to move around "in country". And by news organizations, I mean the smaller ones such as regional newspaper groups who might, just  might, be interested in getting the occasional piece from you. Having a polymathic capability to do broadcast and print helps.  CBC radio has quite a few freelancers for example who offer reports to the national newsroom in TO - mostly in regions where they have no permanent bureaus and will feel guilty about ignoring. So keep in mind that location is everything. Iraq is where the action is right now and it's highly dangerous - which means there could be opportunities to freelance in areas where more mainstream reporters don't want to go. The down side is that if you're in trouble, no one is going to go to bat for you to get you out.  If a CNN guy gets into trouble, CNN has heft to turn up the political heat to get you out - if you're on your own, you're on your own. To make matters worse even if you happen to be in the right place at the right time, the majors inevitably send out their stars (especially broadcast) to cover it leaving you with a "thanks a lot, now piss off".

Despite these caveats there have been several examples of freelancers who eventually got picked up by major news organizations as war correspondents, and it can be a fast-track to that kind of journalism whereas in a conventional newsroom it can years to pick up a coveted foreign correspondent position.

As for the CF, you could do PR as a Public Affairs Officer(PAFFO - R66) and while your age is not an issue, your medical condition could be a major obstacle. It also depends on whether or not your education is at the community college level or university level in terms of qualifying for DEO. It's ideal if you have both since it qualifies you for the PAFFO trade. If not and you're at the NCO level, then it gets more problematic doing PR or journalism since there is no direct career MOC path as an NCO journalist (at least that I know of) except as an appointment in the reserve world (although image tech is close but again there is not much action there in the reserves). If you are interested, go to a Service Battalion - not a Medical Reserve unit or a Sigs unit. As for Intelligence the chances of getting in off the street are close to zero and Int has nothing to do with PR or journalism (unless you're looking at "enemy" journalism for clues about the state of their leadership or some such). Although you can do some journalism with these types of units they are relatively limited to Unit Information Officer (UIO) which again is not an MOC but an appointment.  

cheers, mdh
 
I'd advise some inquiries at the Recruiting Center in Ottawa.   There NCOs who are now doing the 'Army News' in print and AV.   Combat Camera does have some civilians working for them, but many of them are recently retired CF members.   You'll have to some research of the various Units and organizations in Ottawa as to what you want and can do.   Perhaps there is an opening in a Reserve Unit and perhaps there is a Civilian opening to be found.  

Try this site: http://www.nrtco.net/~ppost/     and perhaps talk to Lisa Buckingham.   She is a civilian reporter there and may be able to give you further contacts at other Base Newspapers in the Ottawa/Kingston areas.

GW

GW
 
Thank you to all who have answered my post.  Your replies were quite helpful and I'm checking out all the possibilities. 

GonzoScribe
 
Good luck GonzoScribe - there might be PAFFOs on the board who are more familiar with the scene out east too, cheers, mdh
 
Try giving Scott Taylor a call at Espirit De Corps.
He might be able to help you become a famous war correspondent.
 
Tut, tut. Don't want to offend ST again. He's very sensitive to critism from the BTDT crowd.  Please let sleeping dogs lie. Besides he may not want the competitioon should you BE there and report something positive. ;)
 
recceguy said:
Glad we could help in your education. What NOT to do if you want to be considered a serious journalist.

I was trying to find out what military service he has, but all I can see is "former professional soldier".  Which doesn't really tell me much...  Does anyone know where I can find this info?  Thanks.

T
 
Mr ST served in the PPCLI as a Cpl.  You'll have to find some old 2 PPCLI soldiers to talk to and give you the scoop.

GW
 
George, Scott indeed served in the PPCLI (too bad) and he left the forces after 5-6 years(I can't remember).
 
I have a close friend here in Pet, who was a MWO in  2 PPCLI Winnipeg, in those days and he says much the same.

GW
 
I think he is well regarded as a military expert because no one else has come forth. In canada there are not alot of journalists that take on the military beat. The ones who do are not as vocal as Scott seems to be therefore probably dont get as much recognition. However, i do graduate in a year or so , so maybe that will change. hehehehe >:D
 
It's unfortunate that we don't have reliable people to talk to when it comes to Military issues. We can't question the actual people in the military because they are not allow to voice their opinion in the media so we have to find who we can to get the stories done. It's a lose-lose situation because the journalist cant get the true feeling from the actual people in the military and the military personel feel they are being miss represented. If i do take up the military beat I want to be accurate and informative but unfortunatly I know there wil be times when i won't get it right.
 
Most of your perceptions are correct - that when there's a glut in journalism in a certain issue, any journalist becomes an "expert" regardless of merit.

However, being a former crime beat reporter, I'm extremely sensitive to the fact the journalist has to maintain a relationship, in my case with police agencies.  Write one story they feel casts them in a negative light and the source dries up.  So do any other sources anywhere near the original source.

The same thing goes in reporting with the military.  So many repporters have to cozy up to brass just to get specific information that they become isolated/insulated from the rest of the CF and the public at large.  Such a delicate balance must be maintained to get anything close to the truth out.  This is a valid reason to be suspect of so many things written from embedded reporters, who can't help but become cheerleaders for their "protectors" as much as we should assess information from the megamedia (for lack of a better term), who also can't help but to offer the narrow world view of their publishers and owners.

For anyone to think there is an objective news organization out there, I would have to think they are either incredibly naive or overly optimistic. 

As for the ST - EdeC matter, that is real old and indeed a can of worms.  Because of the lack of journalists with military exposure or experience, there's an assumption that whatever rises to the top must be cream.  So, we obviously need more journalists with background.  But even then, that won't solve the fact that, every once in a while, you're not going to like what you read because it all boils down to "what is newsworthy?"  Certainly when looking at two stories, 'Dog bites man' and 'Man bites dog' you have to expect the editor to pick the latter because nine times out of ten, that's what the public would chose as well.  Does this help give the public a balanced view of the world around them?  Certainly not.  Newsworthiness skews reality.

Of course, I'm only saying that because I don't want antone from here to, down the road, criticize me for a negative piece when there are so many negative stories within the CF right now.  Gawd, you could write volumes on failures in the recruiting process alone!

Once again,  just my $0.02 worth.

Regards,
GonzoScribe

 
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