`CNN' journalist eyes war in the face
Hera Diani, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
When a young reporter interviews a senior journalist, there is a fear the latter will quickly recognize his or her weaknesses.
CNN's senior international correspondent Nic Robertson, however, removed the fear as he appeared to be nice and friendly.
Based in CNN's London bureau, the 41-year-old British man joined the news network in 1991, and has since been involved in some of the most significant news stories around the world.
He has followed events in Bosnia, Haiti, Rwanda, Afghanistan, and most recently, the war in Iraq. He reported from Baghdad since autumn in 2002 until he was expelled from Iraq, but returned immediately after Baghdad fell to coalition forces.
On Sept. 11, 2001, he was one of the only western television journalists in Taliban-held Afghanistan, and was the last journalist to leave the country when expelled by the Taliban. Weeks later, Robertson was the first journalist to return to Kandahar following the city's liberation.
In August 2002, Robertson uncovered exclusive footage of al- Qaeda, which was made into the terror on tape series. It showed the expertise, resources and resolve of the terrorists.
The Jakarta Post met Robertson during his visit here recently. Below are excerpts of the interview.
Question: What brings you here?
Answer: I'm here to sort of share ideas with some of the journalists affiliated to us here. And talk to some of the broadcast affiliates here, and the advertising sales company that deals with CNN here.
Q: You were an electrical engineer, why journalism?
A: I became a broadcast engineer, and I was really interested in news. I was working with CNN as a satellite engineer back in 1990. It was simply a natural evolution when an opportunity came along to become a producer. I asked if I could, and CNN said yes.
Q: Were you assigned to go to war immediately?
A: I was in Romania with a satellite dish from another company when CNN came with a satellite dish, but they couldn't get their engineer to come because the engineer thought it was too dangerous. From the very beginning, I was hired because they need someone who is willing to go to the dangerous places. So, I was kind of exposed from the very beginning, the path was almost set.
Q: CNN is perceived by many as biased in its coverage. What do you think about that?
A: I think that it's absolutely important for us to be independent, fair, and unbiased, and I truly believe that about my reporting and my colleagues' as well. That's our contract with the audience, not to provide them with some skewed view of world events.
That's what I want to do with my work, that's what I believe that CNN is committed to. There's certainly no indication that I get that CNN is setting out with an agenda or setting out to be biased.
Q: Sometimes long-time journalists who report on the suffering of the people get numb. Has it ever happened to you?
A: Hmm ... I think if you reach that point, then you have to know that you're closing yourself down to part of the story that you're not remaining open to. Yeah, there is a part of you that doesn't want to feel the pain and suffering for sure. And you can kind of get into the emotional burnout situation. But I think it's important to take a break.
Q: People say there's a danger for war journalists as they often feel "bulletproof". What do you think about that?
A: I've lost a number of friends, some journalists that I really respect. I don't think they ever thought of themselves as being bulletproof. You must remember each conflict presents different sets of danger. You must analyze this danger and be careful. But it is easy to be lulled into that false sense of security.
Q: Do you still feel afraid?
A: Yes, sure. People said if you don't feel afraid, then you're dangerous. I think there's truth in that. I do feel afraid. There used to be the time that I couldn't really eat when I knew we were going to go to a dangerous situation. And then I started having sorts of nightmares. That's just a normal mental process. Just knowing the fear and managing to deal with it. Getting out of the environment, relaxing, letting go, doing sports, and stuff. But CNN will get you counseling, and it's good to know that they do that.
Q: What is your personal opinion about the Iraq war?
A: I think it's a long way from being over. I think the fact that there isn't stability and security. The situation for Iraq is still a desperate situation with a huge amount of work that needs to be done. And the situation at the moment is still far from unified, it's still far from united support behind the U.S. and the international efforts to put in a new administration. And I think the longer the situation without stability and security, the harder it is for the international community led by the United States to win over the population. Until that issue is resolved, there is just a potential for more problem.
Q: What do you think about Peter Arnett's case?
A: Peter's a good friend of mine, I was with him in Baghdad in 1991 and I really learned from Peter maybe one of the most fundamentally important things about covering the war. (Robertson then suddenly said "41" after taking a peek at my notebook as I wrote "Age").
Peter was quite an inspiration for me back in the early days, and it was painful to watch what happened to him. What I heard a lot of journalists criticizing Peter for, was the issue of saying that it was good that the Iraqi government made journalists so welcomed, and that it made it easy for them to work there. While in fact, journalists had been kicked out, there were huge restrictions on journalists being there, and some journalists had been arrested, taken away in a prison.
So, I think listening to what other journalists have to say, that was the issue that most upset people.
Q: When you're a TV reporter, there's a danger that people turn you into celebrity. What do you say about that?
A: (Pause) Yes, I think there's a danger in it. I think the dangers are believing in everything people say, that you're good and all. I need to be really critical and analytical of myself in what I'm doing. If you believe in what people say that 'you're doing a great job', you're probably not.
Q: What do you think about embedded journalists?
A: Like a lot of people, when the issue first arose, I was skeptical. But I was impressed by an article from an embedded journalist with the U.S. troops. This reporter can really explain the horrors of wars, that nothing is black and white. But embedding is only one part of the jigsaw puzzle, another part is the correspondent, independent reporter.
Q: Some people said reporting for TV is less intellectually challenging, what do you think?
A: Well, I am intellectually challenged (laughs). Speaking on the defense of TV, you know, you've got to put together pictures and sound, there's a creative process in it. You can communicate with the audience a lot of intellectual argument.
Q: Being a journalist, let alone a war journalist, you don't have a personal life. What about you?
A: Yeah, I'm not sure what my personal life is (laughs). I'm lucky I have a wife and two children, and my wife is really understanding and I'm lucky for that. And I have two great kids. They miss me and I miss them. Just nice.