The War and the Death of News: From Battlefield to Newsroom – My Fifty Years in Journalism

by Martin Bell

A smoke bomb went off. Then shots were fired from buildings overlooking the square… The camera had a BBC News sign on it. Someone cried out from the ‘You are the world, you are the world, you have to tell what they are doing to our people.’

From Vietnam to Iraq, Martin Bell has seen how war has changed over the last fifty years, neither fought nor reported the way it used to be. Truth is degraded in the name of balance and good taste, reports are delivered from the sidelines, and social media, with rumours and unverifiable videos, has ushered in a post-truth world.

As modern news increasingly seeks to entertain first and inform second, the man in the white suit provides a moving account of all he has witnessed throughout his career and issues an impassioned call to put the substance back into reporting.

Genres: Nonfiction, War, Journalism

304 pages, Paperback

Published November 13, 2018

About the author

Martin Bell is a British UNICEF (UNICEF UK) Ambassador, a former broadcast war reporter and former independent politician who became the Member of Parliament (MP) for Tatton from 1997 to 2001. He is sometimes known as "the man in the white suit".

Reviews

[Brian Page · Rating 4 out of 5]

There is much wisdom in this book. War and the Death of News: From Battlefield to Newsroom – My Fifty Years in Journalism is more than a memoir account of events in Martin Bell’s distinguished career as a BBC reporter. It’s a reflection on those years, on journalism, and on civilization. I found myself underlining something every few pages. Bell confesses to his unseasoned reporting on the American War in Vietnam: “I was interested in the mechanics rather than the ethics of war-fighting.” (p. 33) The experienced matured him. By the time of his reporting on the Troubles in Northern Ireland, Bell had formulated his own personal ground rules: “…to patrol the streets at all hours, never to report about myself, never to retaliate when physically abused, always to face the front in a riot, to listen and to learn, to seek out ringleaders, to believe what I saw more than what I was told….” (p. 104) Covering Bosnia seems to have been the defining event in Bell’s career. He covered the worst of it and recognizes the spreading legacy of terror and jihad that remains with us today, and makes the poignant observation: “…genocide requires not only the brutality and hatred that make it happen but the indifference that lets it happen.” (p. 214)

The final chapter is “The Death of News” wherein he laments the evolution of broadcast news from journalism to entertainment of the lowest common denominator. Much of his criticism is directed at his former employer, the BBC. For an American reading this book, the criticism seems ironic since the BBC retains so much more integrity than most mainstream U. S. news organizations. The BBC is the one place where a consumer can still get a hint that a world exists beyond Washington, D. C.

War and the Death of News should be required J-school reading. I’m giving it four stars only because I reserve that fifth star for books that are literally life changing. Had I been able to read this book 45 years ago, it would have gotten that fifth star.

[James · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mostly an autobiography but also a commentary on the change in the way news is delivered, this was an insightful but heartfelt account and I came away with a lot of respect for Bell.

Bell recounts mostly from his experiences in reporting war - whether this is selective or comprehensive will be known by those more familiar with his work - but he rarely goes into detail when telling his stories yet still gives a very good insight into the dangers of reporting from war zones. As a side-effect he highlights how important it is to have reporters in the field even if it is only for a minute's news report. He discusses the merits and pitfalls of the degree of Government openness, but having 'outsider' journalists is important.

This is not out of self-interest or looking out for his mates, and more nuanced than the simple alternative being Government propaganda. Bell discusses how a 'good guys vs bad guys' narrative of the war in Bosnia was too simplistic, with subsequent films changing events to fit a more convenient history, and is open about the evidence he gave to a war crimes court that supported certain Serbian defendants. But he is equally prepared to call out atrocities, such as those of Ratko Mladic, and eloquently describes that being fair to both sides is not the same as taking a dispassionate neutral stance.

One of the key themes of the book, and Bell's career, is his integrity. He wants to call it as it is, not as he'd like it to be, and looks down on those who stay in a hotel and use others' footage or court awards rather than producing more genuine stories, though he does blame TV companies too. However there are a few too many short asides that anonymously call out dodgy practices, which taken together feel more like digs than tales for the benefit of the reader. He also feels that waiting for quality news is better than the favoured method of wild speculation for rolling news channels, as well as a focus on audience figures rather than good journalism.

Breaking theme, there is also a chapter about his life as an MP which as a true independent was quite revealing, and I may well try and find his book on his time in Parliament. I can only hope it will not have similar sections to the last two chapters, which were disjointed lists of notes that didn't fit elsewhere in the text. Again, some of these seemed more like anonymous barbs, and reduced the overall quality.

And that's a shame, because in the most part it was informative without being boring, from someone who was passionate about what he did. It may even have jolted me into taking more of an interest in foreign affairs again, which I haven't done for a few years.

[Betsy Mills · Rating 4 out of 5]

Insight into the world of journalist reporting from the war zone that the consumer never gets to see. Bell highlights his passion for accurate reporting, and how those in charge tried to shape the media coverage of wars by only focusing on their victories and ignoring civilian causalities. He also helped champion the idea that reporters should not be dispassionate- there is a clear distinction between victims and aggressors, and the reporters should always be on the side of the victims. Attempts to censor war reporting are tantamount to falisfication. Bell certainly lived a storied and admirable life.

[Jon M · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thought this was a great book whilst it does not give much detailed information about the conflict Martin has been to. It does give great insight into the reality of these wars are more importantly the journalism around them.

Particularly good was the section on Cyprus.

Martin’s analysis on the decline of journalism is more important now than ever before especially his reference to how news companies must show “2 sides” - we are saying this more than ever the ongoing war in Gaza. As well as the unprecedented attacks and silencing of generous both in and outside of Gaza.

[Mikey Pugh · Rating 4 out of 5]

8/10 - It was by random chance I bought this book, but I’m glad I did, a really interesting read on journalism and of course “War and the Death of the News”. Martin Bell seems to have had a very interesting life, also seems to be a pretty decent bloke so reading his stories and views were very pleasant, even if the subject was not.

[Juliet Wilson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent memoir about Bell's time as a war journalist and as an Independent MP. Very insightful commentary on how war, journalism and politics have changed their relationship with each other.