Reporters Share War Experiences

War reporter and writer Carolin Emcke and journalism school professor Judith Matloff discussed the significance of being a war reporter and shared insights on recent media coverage of the war in Iraq last night.

Emcke is the author of Echoes of Violence: Letters from a War Reporter, a collection of personal letters to friends written during several wars.

Emcke spoke emotionally about the tragedy of war and the effects it has on those who live through it. "For victims of long-term physical or mental violence, if it goes on for a long period of time and nobody stops this, and they have a life they live without any interference, they begin to think that what is happening to them is really right."

Emcke harped on the personal experience of wartime life. "What I find haunting is the thought that because people were so traumatized, they are unable to sound intelligent and may be ignored," she said.

Starting off the event, Matloff, a former war reporter, asked Emcke why she had chosen to publish the letters. "My experience is bigger than being able to describe it," Emcke said, in reference to her time covering wars in Kosovo, Lebanon, Afghanistan, and Iraq, as well as being a journalist in New York City after Sept. 11, 2001.

Emcke said that writing personal letters to friends while covering war gave her the opportunity to overcome the painful moments that most do not discuss.

"I only understand the world and myself through writing," Emcke said. "It's a way of coming to terms with things."

The discussion then turned to focus on the ways war reporters become a part of the war in their interactions with both the victims and the perpetrators, including whether Emcke would testify in trials about war crimes.

Matloff emphasized the importance of war reporters, saying that they give "a voice to the voiceless." "One of the biggest challenges might be just to comfort someone," she said.

When discussing the current war in Iraq, Matloff explained that people are getting "second- or third-hand information" because of bias towards the military. Even with limited embedded journalism, the presence of reporters is vital, she said.