'Embeds' discuss war, aftermath

Editor & Publisher's Joe Strupp speaks with 16 of the "original" embedded reporters who joined U.S. troops in Iraq in March 2003. The reporters discuss their time in Iraq, their evolving views about the war, and the emotional after-effects of their experiences.

Several of the embeds said that their war-reporting experience changed the way they viewed other reporting assignments. Strupp writes:

Some reporters gained confidence and a stronger stomach for some of the news industry's less attractive stories, while others found themselves spoiled by the excitement and adrenaline of war and less interested in their old beats. Peter Baker of The Washington Post, who covered the White House from 1996 to 1999 and returned to the beat last year after embedding, admits some lack of enthusiasm these days: "There is a lot of crap we write about at the White House which is, frankly, not interesting. It seems a lot less of an authentic experience."

Strupp also spoke to several reporters about the emotional and psychological difficulties they have faced since their war-zone assignments. He notes the tragic story of Norfolk Virginian-Pilot reporter Dennis O'Brien, who committed suicide less than a year after returning from Iraq.

The Clarksville, Tenn., Leaf-Chronicle's Chantal Escoto discusses the emotional effects she suffered after an incident in which she was "pushed, hit, and groped" by a group of Iraqi men.

Sig Christenson, of the San Antonio Express-News, discussed his experience with post-traumatic stress. Strupp writes:

"I think I've had a good deal of it," [Christenson] says, adding that legendary war correspondent Ernie Pyle was one of his influences on the job. "I was some kind of a basket case the last time, and way more nervous. You go through a series of events where your life is in jeopardy and with each one, you get more scared." Christenson, who is president of Military Reporters and Editors, adds that he has sought psychiatric treatment and still finds himself "more intense" than before the war.

Strupp ends the lengthy piece with a quote from the Washington Post's Peter Baker, who says he's concerned that he hasn't experienced a "serious emotional reaction":

"I am worried," he admits, "that it didn't change me more."