Hayley’s story—Flintoff Talks Change in Iraq

Flintoff Watches Change in Iraq
By Hayley Jensen

Corey Flintoff, news anchor and special correspondent for the war in Iraq at National Public Radio, spoke to Utah State University faculty and students Thursday, to discuss the challenges of reporting on an ever-changing war.

Flintoff, a member of the "Alaskan Mafia" along side well-known reporters Peter Kenyon and Elizabeth Arnold, spent 17 years as the voice of NPR's afternoon news during "All Things Considered." He stepped down from his anchor position in 2005 to report directly from Iraq.

His lecture, " The Challenge of Reporting Change," showcased the real job of war-time journalists in Iraq. "The real job is to report on how well our efforts are doing. Are we really winning hearts and minds there or is this a heavily polished state of truce?" flintoff stated.

With this objective in mind, Flintoff recalled the specific challenges that reporters and other media correspondents face daily on the battle front. The changing justification, goals and strategy for the Iraq War poses the first problem for modern reporters. The enemy was originally Al Queida, but has now moved to Shiite militia and it is the reporters job to figure out what is really going on.

Next, covering the Iraq war is different from other wars in terms of access. reporters no longer move independently around the country because journalists are often shot or kidnapped as they cover stories. To foil this, reporters are embedded with U.S. Military.While security is increased Flintoff pointed out that the military may often censor the information a journalist gets. Remaining unbiased is also a challenge for embedded reporters as they take on perceptions of American soldiers, " When you are looking through the bullet-proof glass everyone on the other side looks like the enemy," stated Flintoff.

To transport a reporter the 7 miles from the airport to the NRP office in Baghdad it costs $2,800 one way. The number of reporters stationed in Iraq has dropped from 400 in 2003, to only about 70 currently. With the aspects of the war "multiplying like a hydra" Flintoff feels that with a limited view there is very limited need to sensor what information comes out of Iraq. " I tell my listeners just how limited a view I am able to give them."

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