Victory over Isis will stream live on Facebook. But defeat won’t
by Peter Preston from Technology | The Guardian on (#1Z0T1)
The war in Iraq is being broadcast 24/7. But don't think for a moment that the authorities have surrendered their control over the media
Some 34 years ago, almost by accident, Britain's ministry of defence solved the pesky problem that had laid the Pentagon low in Vietnam. What do you do about journalists running wild in your warzone? You put them on a long, slow boat to the other side of the world. You - ahem! - take control.
And so, from Grenada to Panama to Iraq War One, journalists were locked in little boxes as far from the action as possible before (Iraq Two) being cautiously "embedded" with units they depended on to keep them safe. No freelance trips here. No unwanted questions asked. Control was still the theme of each and every fighting day.
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