Embedded reporters
provide reminder:
The story's out there

By Pam Lannom

Long after the war in Iraq ends, people in our profession and politicians in Washington will debate how well the practice of embedding journalists with military troops worked.

The situation is complicated. Reporters are being asked to report objectively on the very people who are responsible for keeping them alive. But none of us can argue that the embedded reporters are telling a different story from those stationed in Kuwait. They've changed the coverage of the war - I believe for the better.

Although most NINA member newspapers probably were not in a position to send a reporter overseas, I do think we can learn something about our coverage at home of the everyday stories that find their way into each issue of our newspapers.

The best stories come from the reporters who are on the front lines. Most of us recognize the value of attending an anti-war rally rather than calling the participants and talking to them afterward. And most of us know that if something exciting is going to happen at the city council meeting, the reporter had better be there to witness it firsthand.

But how many other times do reporters decide a phone interview is quicker and easier than doing one in person? How many times do we know meeting someone in person would be better for our story but decide calling her on her cell phone will do?

Technology certainly has made our jobs easier. Now we can check a meeting agenda on a Web site rather than driving over to village hall to pick one up. Police can fax over reports of big arrests or descriptions of suspects on the run.

But how much have we lost in this effort to be more efficient? Has the time we've been able to save in the short run cost our coverage in the long run? How many stories have we missed because reporters have been able to do much of their reporting from the comforts of their cubicles?

We all know the importance of getting out into the communities we cover, but sometimes we sacrifice effectiveness for efficiency. Coverage of the war in Iraq reminds us that being out where the story is happening, with the people who are making it happen, provides us with material for a story that we just can't get anywhere else.

It takes more time and energy and resources to cover a story that way. But, as Jim Jennings so adeptly observed at NINA's spring 2000 conference, "The last time I checked, damn little news happens in the middle of the newsroom."

Pam Lannom is managing editor of Doings Newspapers in Hinsdale. Contact her at plannom@pioneerlocal.com.

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