Bell discusses battlefield media coverage during second lecture

Bell, who is on the Elon campus this week as Visiting Professor of Leadership, said a sense of history and curiosity contributed to his desire to cover the Vietnam War up close.

“As a domestic correspondent, I saw what the war was doing to our country here at home,” Bell said. “So I wanted to go there to see the war firsthand.”

There was virtually no media censorship by the military in Vietnam, Bell said, because journalists had been covering the war long before U.S. involvement in the crisis.

“We operated on a very loose leash,” Bell said. “There was a very open and unrestricted type of access that was probably unprecedented in military history.”

Reporters wishing to cover a particular battle or infantry unit simply latched on with American military forces and traveled with them. “Many times, it was on a space available basis,” Bell said. “If there was room in the helicopter and the pilot felt like it, you could hop on board and go with them.”

One major difference between media coverage of the Vietnam war and the conflicts in Iraq was the ability to transmit live pictures from Iraq. “Live TV has a dynamic that completely chages the way it impacts the public,” Bell said.

Ironically though, Bell said live broadcasts make it more difficult for reporters to actually report.

“You’re always tied to the camera, to getting on live,” Bell said. “No one’s had time to gatekeep that story, to give it perspective.”

Bell said the system of embedding reporters with military units in Iraq can be effective as well, and it provides journalists with more certain travel plans and protection. He said embedded reporters can develop relationships with the troops while also maintaining their objectivity.

“You still gather your own information, and you realize it’s your job to question what information the military gives you,” Bell said. “It’s not to be cynical, it’s to be skeptical, and there’s an important difference.”