War Correspondents

There is a fascinating, and somewhat nostalgic, article in The Times this morning on the thoughts of World War II correspondents about the current Iraq war and its media coverage. Charles Collingwood, Richard C. Hottelet, Walter Cronkite: all very familiar names when I was growing up. At this link they discuss their lives as reporters in WWII and how it compares to what they're seeing on television now.

A sample:

Charles Collingwood was broadcasting on live radio from Normandy, one of the correspondents assigned to cover World War II for the famed CBS broadcaster Edward R. Murrow. U.S. troops were landing on Omaha Beach, and Collingwood had 15 minutes of live air time.
His view blocked, his chatter running out, Collingwood -- according to journalist Dan Schorr -- turned to a man in uniform. Thrusting a live microphone in his face, the CBS correspondent asked the admiral how things were going in the D-Day operation. "How would I know, Charles?" the man replied. "I'm with NBC."

If you're not reading this on 2 April the link may no longer work; I don't think The Times keeps its articles up for very long. Not for free, anyway.