War Correspondents

War correspondents have a crucial role in connecting the public to the front lines. Correspondents [Page 1813]act as intermediaries, informing citizens of military developments and political decisions made by governments. From the 18th-century soldier-reporters armed with pen and paper to the current-day correspondent with access to digital technology, journalists have the mission to bear witness to war developments. Their dispatches inform not only about military and political decisions but also about how war affects the rights and everyday life of citizens.

Following the Hungarian war photographer Robert Capa’s famous maxim that if a war photograph—or in this case, a report—wasn’t good enough, it was because the author wasn’t “close enough;” the reporter has traditionally embraced the enduring ideal of closeness to the action. Inevitably, the proximity ...