Palgrave Macmillan
Reporting Conflict is a compelling account of the role of journalism in wartime. In a twenty year journalistic career, James Rodgers covered defining moments in modern history – the collapse of the Soviet Union, the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks, and conflicts in Chechnya, Israel and Palestine, Iraq, Russia and Georgia. His book offers a rare, personal insight into the reporting of world-changing events.
More than this, Reporting Conflict also considers other first-hand accounts – such as Anna Politkovskaya’s reportage of the Chechnya conflict – alongside academic studies of journalism in wartime. It combines the best elements of academic analysis of a key field of journalism with an insider’s view of how journalists go about gathering and reporting from conflict situations. James Rodgers addresses issues of access, objectivity and reporter involvement in an era of globalization, fast-changing technology, ‘citizen journalism’, embedded correspondents and 24 hour news, and examines the presence of PR, stressing that the role played by hired consultants should be more widely known for the effect it has on audiences’ understanding.
Where some studies concentrate on analysis of the news as consumed by an audience, this takes an illuminating look at the way in which reporters gather and prepare that material – making it indispensable to those seeking to understand how conflict is covered today.
‘If you’re thinking of doing, teaching or studying reporting conflict, then read this excellent new book.’
Charlie Beckett, Director of Polis at the LSE & author of 'WikiLeaks: News In The Networked Era' & 'SuperMedia' .‘an ideal starting place for new recruits to journalism or to students coming to journalism at BA level or, with knowledge and experience from earlier study or work, at MA level. But it is also going to be valuable for academics and researchers in other fields (notably politics and international relations) whose subject areas are the focus of conflict reporting but who don't know how it works.’
Keith Somerville, Specialist associate lecturer, School of Politics and International Relations, University of Kent.
James Rodgers is Lecturer in Journalism at City University, London. For twenty years, he covered international events for Reuters Television and the BBC. From 2102-2004, he was the BBC's correspondent in the Gaza Strip – the only international journalist then based there. In 2001, he reported from New York and Washington after September 11th. He was the first BBC journalist to report from the Iraqi village where Saddam Hussein was captured in December 2003.
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