Reporters at War: War, Lies, and Videotape 2004
Distributed by Films Media Group, PO Box 2053, Princeton, New Jersey 08543-2053; 800-257-5126
Produced by Jon Blair
Directed by Jon Blair
DVD, color, 46 min.
College - Adult
Communication, Ethics, Journalism, Media Studies, Military Studies, Political Science
Date Entered: 05/27/2005
Reviewed by Margaret M. Reed, Riley-Hickingbotham Library, Ouachita Baptist University, Arkadelphia, ARRevealing and at times disturbing, War, Lies, and Videotape uncovers the information war that wages behind the scenes in modern military conflicts.
The fourth part in the Discovery Channel’s Reporters at War series, this episode analyzes the competing interests of journalists (investigating) and military personnel (gate keeping) inside war zones. It also illustrates how American and British forces have come full-circle in the degree of access they afford battlefield reporters. From the spin of official briefings to embedment on the front lines, the film shows how the military has adjusted journalistic access to meet wartime goals. The documentary also addresses the tension within newsgathering agencies, especially among field reporters and their supervisors.
The effectiveness of War, Lies, and Videotape lies in its moving wartime footage and the candor of featured veteran journalists, including Walter Cronkite, David Halberstam, Andy Rooney, Morley Safer, and Bob Simon. In under an hour, viewers will see how war reporting has evolved throughout a variety of conflicts – World War II, Vietnam War, Falklands War, Grenada Invasion, Gulf War, and Iraq War.
Highly recommended for academic and public libraries, War, Lies, and Videotape would also be a useful resource in mass communications and political science courses.
The Reporters at War series was nominated for “Best Multicultural Programme Sponsored by Prime TV” at the 2005 Broadcast Awards in London.