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Panel will debate war coverage

By JON WILSON
Published February 11, 2007

The way journalists cover war - and at the moment, most particularly the war in Iraq - provides a field for thorny debate.

The media undermine national unity and help defeat troop morale, some say. Others say journalists have given the president and his administration a pass, especially in the Iraq war's early stages.

The philosophies underpinning approaches to chronicling humanity's most destructive behavior - and dealing with the power structures involved with it - are up for discussion during a conference next weekend at the University of South Florida St. Petersburg.

Veteran journalists, academics and a Pentagon representative will talk about their experiences, share perspectives and field questions at the Journalists and War Conference on Friday and Saturday .

The event is free and open to the public. It will take place in the Steidinger Auditorium at the Fish and Wildlife Research Institute, 100 Eighth Ave. SE, just south of the USF St. Petersburg campus.

The Friday session begins at 1 p.m. and lasts all afternoon. Saturday's program starts at 9 a.m. and runs all day, with a lunch break scheduled. For times and speakers, visit home.tampabay.rr.com/lafollette/j&w/index.htm. More information also is available at (727) 873-4857.

Among the speakers:

- Corey Flintoff, a National Public Radio reporter familiar to listeners as the frequent first voice on All Things Considered. He has been NPR's correspondent in Baghdad, where he will return after the conference.

- Barbara Crossette, who was a New York Times reporter in Southeast Asia and later, South Asia. Her work has appeared in the St. Petersburg Times' Perspective section and she has written about the Sri Lankan civil war since 1985.

- Martin Bell, a 30-year BBC veteran twice named the network's reporter of the year. He has covered 11 wars from Vietnam to Bosnia, been awarded the Order of the British Empire, and has served as a member of Parliament.

Others among academics and media critics include Philip Sieb, professor of journalism at Marquette University in Milwaukee, and Norman Solomon, author of War Made Easy: How Presidents and Pundits Keep Spinning Us to Death. Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whitman also is on the schedule.

[Last modified February 11, 2007, 00:10:11]