Mosquitoes dancing on the surface of the pond: Australian conflict reporting and technology

This article examines the impact of technology on Australian conflict reporting using the experiences and insights of the practitioners themselves. There is a prevailing belief that war and foreign correspondents are more liberated and the audience better informed as technology permits immediate communication from the frontline. The article considers the challenges faced by previous generations of war correspondents and the contrasting experiences of reporting in Iraq, analysing how technology has impacted on newsgathering, military management and reporting. I argue that the magnitude of the technological changes has been considerable, and in some cases immensely positive, but in other ways technology has not mitigated past challenges in the realm of censorship, syndication, resources and competition. At the same time the journalists articulate new difficulties with instant deadlines, 24-hour news, increased syndication, and editorial expectations caused by the imperatives of infotainment and compounded by technological advancement.