For generations, war has been one of humanity’s most ubiquitous states. Conflict is a constant topic on our news feeds, papers and platforms, but what really happens behind the scenes of the reports unfolding on our screens?
With today’s conflicts more intense and more visible than ever, pursuing a picture of reality has never been so important. Join award-winning journalists, Kate Adie and Ramita Navai, for a no-holds-barred excavation of what goes on off-camera during war zone reporting.
Panellists: Katie Adie and Ramita Navai
Top Takeaways
- “I don’t miss reporting at all. I had a wonderful time but I don’t miss fear, trepidation and violence.”
- “I think we live in a wonderful world. War, violence, cruelty, poverty and natural disasters do happen. They cover the news. But for millions of others, life goes on.”
- “Reporters are now under immense pressure. The internet is straining reporters ability. There are straight lies and propaganda that reporters have to sift through. The only way to see through this is to be there first hand.”
- “I had a happy, safe, wonderful childhood. If we do anything in this world, we make it good for children. Kindness, protection and love. This way, they can better cope with difficulties that come their way.”
- “You have to learn how to approach people very carefully in order to get them to talk to you. They may have seen their family destroyed or they may have just killed someone.”
- “As a junior reporter, I really had to consider what was coming. On the streets of Belfast there were explosions, kidnappings, murders and riots. It was a huge moment of learning.”
- “It’s all a matter of calculation knowledge and experience, and sometimes luck. You either pull out immediately or it could be very very bad news. That was Beijing. I saw in four hours, huge amounts of people killed. We saw people mown down. We knew we we had crossed the line. All the other foreign reporters were back in their hotels.”
- “With two major conflicts going on, I think the resources are absolutely pushed to the last limit. People don’t want to see war on TV anymore. It’s a very testing time for reporters, but it’s still necessary. Violence done in the dark gets more evil. It has to be discussed by others to find a way to stop it. You can’t let things this dark go unreported.”
Delve even further into the subject.
Related Books:
10 Days That Shook The World – John Reed
Ten Days That Shook the World is John Reed’s eyewitness account of the Russian Revolution. A contemporary journalist writing in the first flush of revolutionary enthusiasm, he gives a gripping record of the events in Petrograd in November 1917, when Lenin and the Bolsheviks finally seized power. Containing verbatim reports both of speeches by leaders and the chance comments of bystanders, set against an idealized backcloth of the proletariat, soldiers, sailors, and peasants uniting to throw off oppression, Reed’s account is the product of passionate involvement and remains an unsurpassed classic of reporting.
Available here
The Hidden War – Artyom Borovik
Until his death in 2000, Artyom Borovik was considered one of the preeminent journalists in Russia. With The Hidden War he provided the world its first glimpse inside the Soviet military machine, capturing the soldiers’ terror, helplessness, and despair at waging war in a foreign land against an unseen enemy for unclear purposes. When first published, Borovik’s groundbreaking revelations exposed the weaknesses beneath the Soviet Union’s aura of military might, creating an enormous controversy both in Russia and around the world. A vital and fascinating portrait of the Soviet empire at the twilight of its power, this is a book that still resonates today. “An honest and graphic account of individual and general disillusionment during the very worst kind of war.” -Christopher Hitchens, New York Newsday; “Alternately fascinating and horrific…. A fascinating look at the life and death of Soviet soldiers.” — Bill Wallace, San Francisco Chronicle; “I have read no other account of the war in Afghanistan equal to this … this is literature.” — Graham Greene.
Available here
Related Podcasts:
Ukraine: The Latest – The Telegraph
Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine has dominated world news since tanks, jets and troops first crossed Ukraine’s borders in February 2022. Every weekday, the Telegraph’s top journalists analyse the conflict from all angles.
The team brings you updates on the war and is the most listened to, and award-winning, podcast on the conflict. The team considers military strategy, history, economics, the refugee crisis, Ukrainian culture, and daily life in Vladimir Putin’s autocratic Russia and Volodymyr Zelensky’s democratic Ukraine.
On Ukraine: The Latest, the pre-eminent podcast for Ukraine updates, our correspondents on the ground talk to experts and civilians to cover every aspect of Russia’s brutal invasion.
Available here
This Means War – Peter Roberts
Conversations about contemporary warfare and what it means for the future of fighting. Each episode will look at how wars are being fought around the world today, whether (and why) this is important, and what it might mean for militaries and national security in the coming decades.
Available here
Further Help:
- What Is War Today?
- Beyond Conflict
- The British Red Cross
- 25 Organisations Supporting Victims of War
- Crisis Group
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