"News organisations have warned that the deteriorating security situation in Afghanistan could affect their coverage of the conflict in the country, following the rescue of a kidnapped New York Times journalist in which a British soldier was killed early today. ... Peter Horrocks, the director of the BBC World Service, which runs a Persian-language TV and radio service in the country, said that the organisation was preparing for a long war. 'We hear what the politicians and the military are saying. We are gearing up for a story we have to cover for a long time to come,' he added. Horrocks ackowledged that 'there are some parts of the country where it is impossible to operate without being on the side of the western military', but said the BBC was determined to avoid 'report[ing] from behind barriers'. He added that 'experienced [local] stringers and reporters' could 'sometimes operate more effectively than western reporters' in Afghanistan and that the World Service would continue to use them widely. 'Some of the reporting about the aftermath of the elections and [allegations] of fraud has been dug up by members of the Persian TV team,' he said." James Robinson, The Guardian, 9 September 2009
(Kim Elliott blog)
(Kim Elliott blog)
