Embedded Reporting: Journalism as War
When press reporters are affixed to military forces to cover a fight, this is referred to as embedded journalism. We build on this idea by discussing embedded journalism that has been deployed along Pakistan’s border with Afghanistan, turning journalism into warfare. Our focus is on the effects on journalism of cross-border news practices and the way these practices are embedded in the State’s geopolitical games, Taliban’s extremism, and market ideology. We aim to illustrate how news functions as a commodity and war as a business, mutually reinforcing each other and giving rise to tangible and representational dilemmas.
About the Speaker:
Irfan Ashraf has a PhD in mass communication and media arts (MCMA) from Southern Illinois University, Carbondale and is an assistant professor at the Department of Journalism and Mass Communication, University of Peshawar, Pakistan.