Reporting in the Trenches

Reporting in the trenches of a war would be a truly incredible experience.  All the rush and excitement with the adrenaline flowing through your system--it's invigorating!  Until, you know, you possibly die; that's the downside.  There is, however, the point that the reactions of the soldiers in the battle would be incredibly realistic and down-to-earth.  There would be no errors, only human emotion, fear, and anger would flow in their words.  I wouldn't have to reword what happened, I wouldn't have to rely on the experiences of the war-torn individuals that are already as damaged as they could be in their minds.  The entire experience whets my own mind.  I have the first-hand experience that shapes the entirety of my coverage, and it's something that is to strive for.

Now, once you get past those few positives, you realize the negatives.  Oh, yeah, I'll be writing and recording and trying to talk to people who are in the middle of a frenzy.  Their reactions can be ugly and terrifying, and not to mention the fact that there's no protection for me, either.  What do I have?  A helmet and a tape recorder.  The last thing these men need is a man asking them questions while they're fighting for their life.  The ring of a bullet as it ricochets off any spare metal lying around could distract them in the middle of an interview.  While the room for error is small when it comes to recollection, the room for error is great when it comes to the fact that I would have so many distractions in the middle of the interviews.

Though the concept of reporting in the trenches is a good one, and one that makes sense for journalistic ideas, the fact is that there is no way of reporting without any fear; without any emotional consequences.  Now, whether these are great or tiny depends entirely on the individual.