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133 7 The Occupational Culture of the American War Correspondent The kinds of experiences the journalist has had in reporting the wars this nation has fought were demarcated and examined in chapter 6. This chapter will present a brief sketch of his occupational culture, a kind of summary understanding that a good journalist has when he must accompany troops and write about their campaigns. In every war, the correspondent sees the censor as an adversary. Never mind that the latter is a peacetime journalist. When the rules about what can and cannot be written are laid out for him, the savvy reporter will know them thoroughly and obey them in order to avoid the censor’s blue pencil. Even in wars where there is no censor, the reporter will be careful with his copy. In Vietnam there was no censor, but there were news embargoes on certain troop maneuvers. While today many believe the Vietnam war was reported by journalists who bucked the system, it is possible to count on the fingers of one hand the number of times news embargoes were disregarded. The true journalist wears invisible antennae that he uses to gauge when and where the military is being evasive. If he has to wait too long for a story, if his movements are restricted, or if he sees any discrepancy between what he has been told and what he experiences, he will begin to balk. “Military security” in these instances is code for “military­ cover-up” as far as he is concerned. The fact that censors had been journalists before the war is both reassuring and unsettling to him. It is reassuring because a war reporter 134 pen and sword believes a newsman will understand the needs of the press in day-to-day operations. It is unsettling because when the censor exercises his authority to prevent publication of certain information, he is doing something that goes against the fundamental belief every true journalist holds dear: that the timely publication of the facts regarding the people’s interests is the bedrock of democratic life. In situations such as this, the reporter will be successful to the degree that he and the censor share common values—especially those connected to their social class of origin. Yet even when reporter and censor are very much alike, the journalist will show respect for the officer, but it is a respect riddled with disdain. When the balance between disdain and respect starts to tilt more toward the former, the journalist will use evasionary tactics. When he does so he is signaling to the censor, the bureau chief, his editor, or the news director that he detects the imposition of extreme measures. By extreme measures I mean unreasonably harsh and restrictive measures. These sorts of measures give a real reporter justification for both the right and the duty to get around them. The key word here is “unreasonable.” The bottom line in all interactions between the reporter and the military is that they must be reasonable. No matter where or when he works the war reporter believes he is a soldier of sorts. The more he shares in the hardships of enlisted men, the more he will think he is performing a service for the nation. The degree to which he shares the life of the soldier on the frontlines often determines the extent to which he considers himself an authentic war correspondent. The authenticity he finds is very much connected to his gut. “Gut” includes the suspicions he has as well as certain beliefs that are so fundamental that he does not experience them as beliefs, but rather as a facts. He is, above all, a no-nonsense kind of guy who can never be bought, in either a literal or a metaphorical sense. Whenever his gut is involved in his decisions, he is surely operating according to an ethic. These are the times he will use words that imply a critical interpretation, words like “dirtbag,” “chicken shit,” and “scuzzball.” These sorts of epithets are pervasive. A war correspondent doesn’t leave them on the frontlines when he goes to rear areas or when he leaves his office for home. This is because journalism is a way of life rather than a job. Journalism permeates the answers he will give to the existential questions we all face: How shall I die? Can death be meaningful ? What does a true friend do? What is love? No true journalist is interested in theory...

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