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NEW YORK Many media outlets self-censored their reporting on the Iraq invasion
because of concerns about public reaction to graphic images and content, according
to a survey of more than 200 journalists by American University's School of Communications.
The study, released Friday, also determined that "vigorous discussions"
about what and where to publish information and images were conducted at media
outlets and, in many cases, journalists posted material online that did not
make it to print.
One of the most significant findings was "the amount of editing that went
into content after it was gathered but before it was published," the study
stated. Of those who reported from Iraq, 15% said that on one or more occasions
their organizations edited material for publication and they did not believe
the final version accurately represented the story.
Of those involved in war coverage who were in newsrooms and not in Iraq, 20%
said material was edited for reasons other than basic style and length.
Some 42% of those polled said they were discouraged from showing photographic
images of dead Americans, while 17% said they were prohibited. Journalists were
also discouraged from showing pictures of hostages, according to 36% of respondents,
while only 3% reported being prohibited from showing them.
American University professors MJ Bear and Jane Hall conducted the survey of
210 journalists from the United States and other countries, who completed the
anonymous, online questionnaire in September and October 2004.
The study surveyed reporters, photographers, producers, and managers involved
in their organization's coverage of Iraq. News personnel were e-mailed a link
to the online survey; only those who completed all questions were counted in
the results.
Some 35% of respondents, 73 people, reported being in Iraq or in a surrounding
country during the war and its aftermath. About half that group said they were
embedded with the U.S. military during all or part of their coverage.
Nearly one-third of news outlets used their Web sites to disseminate materials
that were not first published or broadcast elsewhere by the organization, the
survey said. In most cases, the Web sites were used not to run material censored
from print but to take advantage of the virtually limitless space the Net offers
for photographic essays, extended interviews, and behind-the-scenes reporter
accounts.
Although the questions covered events from the beginning of the war through
September 2004 -- the first 15 months of the occupation -- it focused primarily
on decision-making during major events such as the release of the Abu Ghraib
prison photographs and the images showing the deaths of four American contractors
in Fallujah.
Respondents said several incidents sparked newsroom debates concerning the
impact of publishing graphic photographs or detailed information about death
and torture. In most instances, news managers self-censored coverage by choosing
to run less-graphic images or putting details inside the paper and not on front
pages.
The survey also included dozens of comments from respondents, offering specific
incidents of censorship or lengthy discussions about coverage.
"As with any death, we tried to make sure the pictures were as 'tasteful'
as possible -- not much blood or gore," one anonymous respondent wrote.
"We ran a front page picture of the four dead contractors in Fallujah,
for instance, but from a greater distance than some newspapers, so the bodies
were not immediately distinct as corpses. Even so, we drew a large amount of
criticism from readers."
Wrote another: "We published a press release issued by the kidnappers
of American Paul Johnson in Saudi Arabia, which included images of his beheading.
It was hotly debated in the newsroom and resulted in dozens of e-mails, letters
and phone calls from readers around the country; surprisingly, all but a handful
approved of our use of the images, we published an editor's note on Page 1 warning
readers of the images on an inside page. The photos were run in black-and-white,
far smaller than actual size."
"Our duty is to report as vividly and accurately as we can what is happening
in Iraq. But we have to make difficult judgments about some of the shocking
raw footage we or agencies film of death, horrific injuries, hostage murders
filmed by hostage takers, etc," another journalist wrote back. "We
want to show what is happening, but also to avoid causing unnecessary shock
and distress to viewers or encouraging further brutality by hostage takers.
It is a difficult task."
Of the journalists who were in the region, 86% said their ability to publish
online did not affect they type of information and material they gathered, but
nearly half said they were able to publish content online that wasn't available
to print and broadcast audiences. In addition, 29% said their Internet reports
allowed more comprehensive coverage. Only 7% said their Internet reports allowed
them to publish material deemed not appropriate for other media.
The survey found that there were only limited in-house restrictions in the
type of interviews conducted. When journalists who were In Iraq were asked if
their editors or managers limited interviews, 92% said they had no limits at
all and only two respondents said they were limited in publishing interviews
with Iraqi military personnel, Iraqi insurgents, or other journalists.
Among respondents who were in Iraq, 27% said their organization had prior rules
in place about what they would or would not publish, and 31% of those who were
based in newsrooms said their organization had prior rules. Coverage sensitivity
focused more on the type of images published.
Among those who did not have such rules in place, 39% reported being unable
to show images of dead Americans at some point, while 22% said they were not
allowed to show images of hostages at times.
"There is an unspoken rule against publishing images that would be extremely
horrifying such as a bloody stump on an amputee or a mangled corpse," one
respondent wrote. Added another: "Several photos, especially one of a very
young, naked, dead boy, stirred controversy before we decided to post them."
One journalist said a report with pictures from Saddam Hussein's secret archive,
showing beating and torture, was edited, "on the grounds that the pictures
were ‘sickening’ -- my answer was that, Yes they were, but all the
more important to show as much as possible."
Other anonymous comments from those who took part in the survey:
"We went in with no ground rules except those of the military, which prohibited
photos that would show the faces of captives, and also which discouraged photos
that would ID wounded or dead U.S. troops. That said, I think we knew that HIGHLY
explicit photos of gore were not likely to get published. The editors were eager
for powerful photos though, and went further than many U.S. media outlets in
that regard."
"Our rules are against anything which might offend our audience, i.e.
we are in the realm of taste and decency, which is difficult to quantify. ...
on the one hand, I don't want, say, my kids to turn on the TV after tea and
see some of the things I have seen in the field. But on the other hand, the
effect of this is to sanitize the coverage, and glamorize the conflict."
"An American soldier who was injured during combat in 2003 was photographed
alive, but before he died. After the soldier died, the paper ran the picture
of him in his still-injured state. It caused a stir.”
"We delayed or didn't even publish lots of information on which we had
contradictory or incomplete reports.”
Joe Strupp (jstrupp@editorandpublisher.com) is a senior editor at E&P.