War correspondent

The first modern war correspondent is said to be Dutch painter Willem van de Velde, who in 1653 took to sea in a small boat to observe a naval battle between the Dutch and the English, of which he made many sketches on the spot, which he later developed into one big drawing that he added to a report he wrote to the States General.

One of the earliest war correspondents was Henry Crabb Robinson, who covered Napoleon's campaigns in Spain and Germany for The Times of London.

The situation changed dramatically with the Vietnam War when networks from around the world sent cameramen with portable cameras and correspondents.

This proved damaging to the United States as the full brutality of war became a daily feature on the nightly news.

[6] The stories from this era, which were almost as lengthy and analytical as early books on war, took numerous weeks from being written to being published.

Another renowned journalist, Ferdinando Petruccelli della Gattina, Italian correspondent of European newspapers such as La Presse, Journal des débats, Indépendance Belge and The Daily News, was known for his extremely gory style in his articles but involving at the same time.

Jules Claretie, critic of Le Figaro, was amazed about his correspondence of the Battle of Custoza, during the Third Italian War of Independence.

By far the most rigid and authoritarian regime[citation needed] was imposed by the United States, though General John J. Pershing allowed embedded reporters (Floyd Gibbons had been severely wounded at the Battle of Belleau Wood in 1918).

While the official process of vetting journalists took place, the War Office authorised to provide a limited ‘eye-witness’ coverage.

[9] The first official group of British, Commonwealth and American correspondents arrived in France on October 10, 1939 (among them were O. D. Gallagher, Bernard Gray).

[10] All of the war reporting was subject to censorship, directed by the chief press censor George Pirie Thomson.

Innovations such as cheap and reliable hand-held color video cameras, and the proliferation of television sets in Western homes give Vietnam-era correspondents the ability to portray conditions on the ground more vividly and accurately than ever before.

Additionally, the US Military allowed unprecedented access for journalists, with almost no restrictions on the press,[13] unlike in previous conflicts.

[14] Reporters from dozens of media outlets were dispatched to Vietnam, with the number of correspondents surpassing 400 at the peak of the war.

[14] In an era where the media was already playing a significant role in domestic events such as the Civil Rights Movement, war correspondence in Vietnam would have a major impact on the American political scene.

[13] During the Vietnam War, UPI correspondent Joseph Galloway was present at the battle of the Ia Drang.

[19] These trends would continue into the Afghanistan and Iraq wars, where the pool model was replaced by a new system of embedded journalism.