"Peter Arnett, CNN, Reporting Live From Baghdad"

26Film & History, Vol. XXII, Nos. 1 & 2, February/May 1992 "PETER ARNETT, CNN, REPORTING LIVE FROM BAGHDAD" Brent Mac Gregor On the afternoon of January 16, 1991, as the wired up world watched and waited to see if the expiry of the U.N. deadline would mean war in the Gulf, CNN, the Cable News Network, conducted what could only be described as a global village phone-in when callers could ask questions of the network's distant correspondents. A young man in Florida asked Peter Arnett in Baghdad if he intended to stay now that war was imminent. Arnett replied, "we hope to stay through whatever happens." And stay he did, spending the entire Gulf War in Baghdad. Arnett's unprecendented reports from an enemy capital under fire form a significant part ofwhat was unquestionably a television war.1 Indeed the Gulf War could be easily said to have started with CNN in Baghdad and ended with CBS in Kuwait City as the world was told both of the start and the end of hostilities by television journalists reporting live to an astounded world. CNN's reporting on night one of Desert Storm has entered legend even though ABC's Gary Shephard was on the air with the story first and NBC's Tom Aspell arguably reported events more accurately in his brief piece. Although neither first, nor best, CNN's coverage was certainly the longest and most memorable, for unlike their network rivals, they were not cut off shortly after the bombing began when the local electricity supply and telephone system were destroyed. Their independently powered 4 wire audio link was an exclusive facility to CNN. Competitors have accused them of practicing everything from mere bribery to virtual collusion with the enemy in order to get such a facility. The significance oftheir 'scoop' hasperhaps been overstated, entering popular legend and prompting all manner of uncritical hyperbole. One British television critic called it "the most incredible piece of television since astronauts played golf on the moon" (Guardian 17.1.91). Many viewers remember seeing live pictures of Baghdad under attack, when in fact the night one reports were voice only, prompting one critic to dismiss the great event: "All CNN could manage on the night was live audio coverage from Baghdad, screened over singularly uninformative maps of Iraq. Not since the early days of the Test Card has static image received such concentrated attention" (Observer 20.1.91). Pictures or no pictures, exclusive reporting, live from Baghdad under fire, through the long night of January 16-17 1991, was considerable achievement and without doubt an historic first. It was an event which attracted attention to the fundamental issue of the presence of reporters in an enemy capital under fire and the question of how they might be used for propaganda purposes by the Iraqis. In the age of global television, reporters can Brent MacGregor is a former BBC Television Producer. He holds a doctorate in critical theory from Oxford University and is presently engaged in research as part of the University of Leeds Gulf War Project. Peter Arnett, CNN, Reporting Live From Baghdad 27 become more than simply spectators, emerging at times as significant players in international events. This dynamic can be illustrated by Peter Arnett and his reporting from Baghdad throughout the Gulf War. Arnett's stay can be seen in three phases. First, the now legendary night ~ one audio report with colleagues John Hollimann and Bernard Shaw which lasted through the night of the 16th until the Iraqis closed CNN down the next day. Then, from the morning of January 20th, Arnett was alone as all other western reporters and television crews except for the Spanish print journalist Alfonso Rojo were expelled. Only Arnett reported for western television until the end of January when other TV teams were allowed back to Baghdad. He then became just one of the pack.2 Just hours before hostilities began, Walter Cronkite in New York spoke on CNNwith their Baghdad team. Arnett explained to Cronkite why he was staying: "If we don't stay the version going out will be strictly that of the Iraqi government" (20:50 GMT).3 Cronkite replied...