Capturing the News: Three Decades of Reporting Crisis and Conflict

by Anthony Collings

Anthony Collings found himself in his share of difficult situations in his thirty-four years as a newsman. Like being captured by AK-47–toting Syrians in Lebanon in 1981 while looking for missiles that threatened a new outbreak of hostilities with Israel, or being “detained” by the KGB in Moscow in 1967 during his first foreign posting for the Associated Press filing stories about Soviet dissidents.
Name a hot spot, and Collings has likely been there. From AP correspondent to Newsweek bureau chief to CNN reporter, he covered the Middle East, Rome, Moscow, London, Paris, and Washington. Now he has gathered stories about his work in a book that is both a journalist’s memoir and a commentary on the current ethical crises in the news media and how to address them.


Brimming with entertaining stories about journalism, especially the chaotic early years at CNN when he and his colleagues established the first major cable news network, Collings’s book reveals the dangers and pressures of covering the news and the difficulties of overcoming obstacles to the truth. He recalls smuggling tapes out of Poland after the Communists had imposed martial law; flying dangerously near Libya’s “Line of Death”; interviewing world figures from Brezhnev to Kaddafi and Arafat; and winning awards for covering Iran-Contra and the Oklahoma City bombing. Collings brings fresh insights to the Oliver North affair and examines how the press was suckered in its coverage of the Jessica Lynch prisoner-of-war story in 2003. He voices his concerns regarding oversimplified reporting of complex issues and poses provocative questions about covering terrorism.


In this book, Collings presents an insider’s appraisal of the American news media’s failings and accomplishments. Easy to read, informative, and thoughtful, Capturing the News will enlighten general readers interested in how journalists cover current affairs, while offering newsmen food for thought about the craft and ethics of journalism.

200 pages, Hardcover

First published May 10, 2010

Reviews

[Brian Page]

Anthony Collings’ memoir seems unique in comparison to many other journalist memoirs. Collings doesn’t simply recount his experiences and assignments around the globe in his 34 years as a correspondent; he also analyzes his work in terms of rigorous journalistic practice and ethics. This seems to be the main thrust of the text and isn’t surprising since Collings transitioned from being a reporter for the likes of Newsweek and CNN to becoming a lecturer in journalism at the University of Michigan. The pedagogy shines through. Indeed, the entire final section of his three-part text is devoted to the state of the profession in the United States at the time of writing (2010). As one might suspect, it’s not a terribly optimistic outlook. Still, Collings feels that objective reporting is the aspiration and that readers (or viewers) respect and value factual reporting. “These studies show that the more news organizations stick to reporting just the facts, the more the public trusts them, and the more they mix in commentary with facts, the less the public trusts them.” (p. 155)

[Joseph Serwach]

When CNN was brand new and I was just a punk in front of something new called cable TV, I'd see this reporter (one of the originals) say ``Anthony Collings, C-N-N'' and would never forget that. Little did I know, I'd wind up working with him years later at the University of Michigan.
Just look at the photo on the cover. If you closed your eyes and said the word ``foreign correspondent'' Tony's face would appear in your head. They don't make reporters like that anymore -- but they should! Tony helped set the standard. This book goes through the phases of his career: foreign correspondent, Washington reporter and then he does what a great teacher does and reviews the changes impacting journalism. Through it all the book is filled with the one thing all great lovers of journalism live for: GREAT stories. Great book, great read. Great man.