Approach to the study of journalism of war (The spanish-american conflict)

Aproximación al estudio del
periodismo de guerra (el conflicto
hispano-americano)

ABSTRACT

The origin of war journalism has been a consequence of
the own evolution in the way of thinking of the humanity to be
able to show decisive moments in the advance of a population, a
country, a continent or the world (Seib, 2002). The objective we
want to emphasize includes some aspects of this so important
figure, as well as point out some journalists who have been
relevant, stressing the case of the Maine and the
Spanish-American conflict, because journalism of war is a
double-edged sword, sometimes infected with "yellow press".
Besides, we superficially show various recent statistics that
indicate the difficulty for these professionals to carry out
their work, with special attention to Spanish
journalists.

Keywords: war correspondent, yellow press, conflict,
Cuba, Maine.

RESUMEN

La aparición del denominado periodismo de guerra
ha sido consecuencia de la propia evolución de la
mentalidad de la humanidad para poder mostrar situaciones
decisivas en el curso de una población, un país, un
continente o el mismo globo (Seib, 2002). El objetivo que
pretendemos es resaltar algunas facetas de esta figura tan
importante, así como reseñar enumerar periodistas
que han pasado a la posteridad, haciendo hincapié en el
caso del Maine y el conflicto Hispano-Americano, pues el
periodismo de guerra es un arma de doble filo, a veces muy
imbuida por la "prensa amarilla". Además, mostramos
someramente varias estadísticas recientes que indican la
dificultad de actuación de estos profesionales, con
especial atención a periodistas
españoles.

Palabras clave: corresponsal de guerra, prensa amarilla,
conflicto, Cuba, Maine.

1.
Concept

A war correspondent is a journalist who covers
information in a risky place, usually because of a serious
conflict or a war. Although they are in safe places and according
to worldwide treaties they must not be attacked, many times this
isn´t carried out and they can be wounded, kidnapped or
murdered. Military troops (such as Blue Berets) are in charge of
watching over their security all the time. Though we know the
main work of them is to be in first line, also they can be far
from there performing other functions.

In the past we can find clearly-defined precedents of
reports of war, with important people like Jenofonte or Julius
Caesar, always giving their own nuance. The relationship between
war and journalism is very intense, so propaganda is another
method to get the objectives. During the Spanish-American
conflict of 1898, William Randolph Hearst had information because
of one of his war correspondents in La Havana; he was decisive in
the opinion of the United States citizens and the rest of the
world (Rodríguez, 1998).

Important people like Winston Churchill, Frank Cappa,
Ernest Hemingway, Saint-Exupéry, Edward R. Murrow, Dan
Rather or Al Gore were war correspondents in the beginnings of
their careers, covering the conflict with the Boers, the Spanish
Civil War, the World War II or the Vietnam War. Not only men, but
also women worked; for example Kathleen Blake
(http://historiasigloxx.suite101.net/article.cfm/reporteras_de_guerra),
Christiane Amanpour and Lara Logan.

2. War
correspondents and the Spanish case

Pedro Antonio de Alarcón had gone to Africa in
1859 in order to cover the Spanish-Moroccan conflict with his
chronicles, writing Diario de un testigo de la Guerra de
África; this is the first event in Spanish journalism
where we can talk about war correspondents
(http://www.nodo50.org/tortuga/Pedro-Antonio-de-Alarcon-el-primer).
Alarcón, journalist and soldier, was attached to the press
office of O´Donnell. He was a relevant witness and managed
to harmonize truthfulness with aesthetics like a perfect
novelist.

The most recent root of this kind of journalism started
parallel to the invention of the cinematograph, witness to the
War of Cuba (1898) between Spain and the USA (VVAA, 1997). The
influence of this media was vital for the future opinion of the
world. William Randolph Hearst (Leguineche, 1998), an important
magnate of the American press ordered one of his correspondents
who were in La Havana to cover the conflict. In this way, the war
press was used in a political way against Spain, distorting all
the truth and helping the USA to blame Spain for the explosion in
the Maine, that´s to say, when this journalism is focused
as a weapon (false information), is worse than the others
(Vulliamy, 1999). Thanks to "yellow press" and the USA, Spain
lost Cuba, Filipinas, Puerto Rico and the Guam Isle, and in an
indirect way, the Caroline and the Marianas Isles, and
Palaos.

The Spanish-American War was consequence of an
uncontrollable clamour of the public opinion in the USA,
conquering the resistance of the least popular and more rational
circles of the finances and the politics (Marimón,
1998).

"Crossing the Ganges into Oude
(1858)"

W. H. Russell (My Diary in India, 1860) This is one
of the most important precedents of graphic
journalism.

This environment was created and stimulated by the
press. The newspapers of New York were decisive, because the rest
of the papers followed the guideline of Associated Press (Emery
and Edwin, 1992). The main opposition to Spain was captured by
means of "The World" of Pulitzer and "The Journal" of Hearst
(Leguineche, 1998), exciting the population and forcing the
president to getting involved in Cuba. Their sensationalism and
these new journalistic techniques provided them an important
influence, higher than the rest of newspapers except "The Sun",
where Martí had written articles supporting Cuba
(Laín and Seco, 1998).

On the other hand we can mention papers that advised
against the war, such as financial ones ("Commercial Advertise",
"Journal of Commerce") and independent newspapers ("Herald",
"Tribune", "The Times", "Evening Post"). Meanwhile, Pulitzer and
Hearst took advantage of this situation. So the North-American
press was also divided in two attitudes, support or reject the
official version; these argued the important reforms started by
Spain in Cuba. Consequently three lines of opinion came up in the
USA: the atrocities attributed to Spanish (rarely to the rebels);
the "black legend" related with the actuation of Spain and the
political and economical weakness of the Spanish Empire. Also
there was a relevant Protestant campaign against Catholicism
(Laín and Seco, 1998).

Since the beginning of the Cuban insurrection, the
"yellow press" severely condemned the resistance of President
Cleveland to intervene next to the rebels, whereas conservative
press supported him. This situation continued with President
McKinley, who tried to do the same since 1896. However the
influence of "yellow press" got to the Congress that wanted to
force mediation between Spain and Cuba with the independence
within a short period of time. This interference was unacceptable
for Spain (Navarro, 1998). The opinion of an intervention
increased, especially after comparing the Navies (Martínez
Pérez et al, 2008).

The Maine Explosion ("The World",
1898)

Almost everyone thought Spain would be obliged to
negotiate in a political way. In our country there were internal
difficulties that threaten the dynasty and the government (Elorza
and Hernández, 1998). Even some Spanish conservative
newspapers predicted that Spain would prefer fight against the
USA and be divested of its isle by the force before a pacifically
renouncement to its sovereignty, Spain had to die with its boots
on. In contrast with them, the rest of the Spanish press with its
ignorance of the situation (Cervera, 1998). European press
(except the United Kingdom) supported Spain, argued that we had a
clearly military and moral superiority
(http://www.domingodelpino.com/index.php?id=75;
Núñez, 1997), a traditional power against a new
country without a definite race, history and culture.

The original plan of Weyler was deciding for the
American rejection. The illustrations of Remington in "The
Journal" and new techniques such as photographs and interviews
put on a war footing the Congress, now the USA had to rescue Cuba
"by humanitarian reasons", the typical argument. Spain started
handing over with some policies (Pan-Montojo, 1998). The USA
began a helping program to Cuban-Americans. The "yellow press"
pandered to the public's appetite for gore, this Spanish
concession was very important, the rebels clutched at straws to
follow with their cause. The press didn´t know how many
negotiations had to do McKinley and Woodford (the American
Minister in Madrid) in order to persuade the government of
Sagasta to reach a political solution; they didn´t talk
openly about independence of Cuba. In 1898, after the disturbs
occurred in La Habana in January the USA sent the warship Maine
in an attempt of protecting the North-American citizens in Cuba
against the Spanish reactionaries (Moreno, 1995).

While the conservative press praised the Spanish
welcome, "The Journal" published a letter written by the Spanish
Minister in Washington (Dupuy de Lome) to President Canalejas
where described the supposed Cuban autonomy like a provisional
trick and made a disdainful description of McKinley (Leguineche,
1998). Six days after this publication the Maine exploded in the
bay of La Havana. The first investigation didn´t
established the cause of the detonation, the spark of the
conflict had started. Gradually all the papers were contaminated
by "The World" and by "The Journal"; the "Evening Post" bet on a
diplomatic option. The daily circulation of the newspapers was
enormous, even in foreigner countries. In April the war was
stated by means of a blockade, and Spain officially declared the
war the 21st of April 1898. Next month the USA was a worldwide
power de facto after its victory in Cavite.

The press got more successes trying to discover the
whereabouts of the fleet commanded by Admiral Cervera (Cervera,
1998), that outwit the enemy and arrived Santiago de Cuba. The
campaign by land wasn´t so "easy", in the battles of
Guasimas, El Caney and San Juan (Alonso, 1998), the USA had real
problems with the experienced and veteran Spanish Army. The
errors of American were criticized also by the "yellow press",
but Theodore Roosevelt caught the attention of journalists with
his rough riders. The Peace Treaty signed in Paris on December of
that year gave the reason to the original position to the "yellow
press" (González, 1998). The case of The Philippines was
treated in a contemptible way, similar to Cuba; Spain had fallen,
now the world had to know that the USA was a power capable of
humiliate the greater Spanish Empire. Nowadays we know Spain had
fought right to the end in a conflict that hadn´t schemed.
Even so, Honour and Dignity will remain next to the Spanish
Army.

Though the press is usually politicized by each side;
sometimes correspondents couldn´t access the conflict,
since both factions were committing lots of crimes; this happened
during the World War II, especially in Germany and the
USA.

In Spain, during the Civil War occurred the same,
according to Rafael Yanes Mesa:

"The 19th of July 1936, one day after having begun
the war, the previous censorship is declared in the zone
controlled by the republic, and nine days later the revolted side
does the same thing. Immediately, newspapers considered like
hostile are stopped in both areas and seized. In the republican
place, the political parties and unions get hold of different
newspapers in a useful war for the propaganda".

But, in spite of these difficulties, they could do their
work, though exposing their lives. Important people like George
Orwell or Ernest Hemingway were in Spain.

3. Other recent
conflicts along the world

The development in technologies was essential during the
World War II, so, we have plenty of graphic documents about this
conflict; without these films, writings and photos, many
criminals could have "come out smelling like a rose". Every
advances in technology are at service of war correspondents
(http://www.clarin.com/diario/2002/02/13/s-346425.htm). The first
war watched on TV was Vietnam War. Until 1968, the pictures that
appeared were provided by The Pentagon and edited by the NBC and
the CBS. The popularity of this war went down considerably in the
USA drawing on the time. The problem of the correspondent´s
safety, which was evident in the War of Korea, appeared again in
the 70´s, after disappearing more than twenty journalists
in Indochina and Camboya. During the War of the Malvinas,
correspondents had to stand humiliating situations; the magnates
of the main press in both countries were controlling what was
going to be published, the rest was hidden, though this policy
failed. When the USA invaded Granada in 1983, during five days
there wasn´t any press that could inform, only some
students that transmitted news by means of a radio. War
correspondents were restricted during the First Gulf War, all the
news had to be filtered by The Pentagon; completely different in
the Second Gulf War, where almost every correspondent were doing
their work next to the troops, what supposed more loses than
before.

Recently, apart from the War of Iraq (the Second Gulf
War), we have lived more conflicts in Africa, America, Oceania
and Asia, such as Afghanistan, where the solution is far
different from nowadays. The deaths are increasing continuously.
In Africa the case of Rwanda had a tremendously repercussion in
the international community. In Europe we can´t forget the
War of Yugoslavia, in the 90´s (Gilboa, 2002). It involved
specially the countries of the UE, equally with the conflict of
Kosovo (as a consequence of it). There are interminable problems
in the Far and the Middle East, in the whole Africa, in Timor,
The Philippines, Laos, Colombia, Russia, Somalia (Rather, 1995),
Mexico, etc. Spain has sent many troops and correspondents to the
whole conflicts, wars and other problems around the world. 2006
has been one of the worst years for the press, with 81
correspondents killed from a total of 155 journalists murdered,
that´s to say, the other 74 people were assistants,
security personal or translators, almost everybody in Afghanistan
and Iraq. It´s only comparable with the year 1994, when 103
correspondents were killed in Rwanda, Algeria and Yugoslavia. In
Haiti, The Philippines, Sierra Leona
(www.uao.es/conoce-la-universitat/sala-de-prensa/noticias/2008/el-testimonio-del-corresponsal-de-guerra-miguel-gil-en-la-uao),
Lebanon and Russia, the situation is worrying. The kidnappings
are more common nowadays, with fifty people per year
approximately; one example is the Spanish photographer
José Cendón, released this year in Somalia. The
actual most risky place is Mexico, where drug trafficking
predominates as the main law.

4. The statute of
the war correspondent

The job of the journalists who cover informative
functions in conflictive areas carries the unavoidable risk of
being employed at these circumstances (Steele, 1999);
nevertheless, this can´t be a pretext in order that
headquarters don´t extreme the suitable resources to endow
these informers to the greatest safety that can facilitate to
them (Gilboa, 2002). Recently, the increasing comfort of the
working conditions has stimulated that many of these
professionals go to these stages with few elementary safeties for
their physical integrity and their work relationships
(http://www.fesp.org/docs/estatutoCorresponsalGuerra.pdf).

The first ones can´t limit to the protection of
the physical integrity of the reporter in the zone, but also the
resources must be foreseen for the repair of the damages that
could be suffered during the task and the sequels that can be
developed. And, in the second place, it´s vital that the
companies assume a greater commitment with their correspondents
located in areas with conflicts, but independently and without
replacing the legal normative and the laws of this sector that
regulate the work relationships of these professionals (Steele,
1999).

That´s why the "I Encuentro de Periodistas del
Mediterráneo Almería 2005", being based on the
recommendations of the FIP and with company agreements from our
environment recommends to syndical organizations and to
mass-media this Statute of the War Correspondent. Firstly, when
the information is covered about a war, a warlike conflict or a
risky situation, the most important thing for the journalistic
company must be the personal safety of the correspondent. They
have to safeguard it above all.

In any situation of war or similar conflict the
correspondent will be in charge of taking the convenient
decisions; in terms of doing the informative coverage and
regarding his personal safety. However, the headquarters has the
rights and the obligation to manage these safety recommendations
in order to be more effective. These mustn´t force the
correspondent to stay in a risky zone more than four consecutive
weeks and have to relieve the war correspondent according to this
conditions that appear in this statute when he or she wants and
will extreme the sources to make effective this relief as soon as
possible. It is clear that the security or the war correspondent
is the most important objective and the journalists have to be
provided of all kind of measures to make this a
reality.

Any correspondent must belong to the usual structure of
the company and have the social coverage planned by the law of
the country where the company is situated. In numerous countries
it is difficult, so in exceptional cases and for important
reasons, the headquarters will be able to contract a collaborator
who is already in a risky zone (Jake and McGoldrick, 2005). From
that moment, this provisional correspondent will have the same
work guarantees of an editor of the company. This condition will
be kept during the whole period of his mission for this media;
the end of this contract will have to be in paper.

In special situations, if the provisional correspondent
in the risky zone was ill during the development of his
functions, the conditions of the contract will be kept in a
complete way until his total recovery of the illness. The
publishing house must guarantee that in case of death, permanent
or complete disability, the correspondent or his legal inheritors
will receive an indemnification not lower than 300,000 Euros.
This quantity, considered on December of 2005, will be increased
every year with the same percentage of rise of the ordinary and
fixed salary that is applied for the rest of workers. This
guarantee must include the provisional correspondents contracted
by the headquarters in the risky zone. Also the publishing house
will endow the correspondent with means and resources for his
personal safety, such as a bulletproof vest, a hull, a first aid
kit prepared by medical services, etc.; a phone followed by
satellite or the most useful mean to communicate and the suitable
resources to work with guarantees. The correspondent will develop
a specializing training when the kind of conflict demands
it.

The publishing house must run out all the resources
always in order to know the place where the correspondents are,
their movements and the schedules for their arrival to the
original base. The company will appoint a responsible executive
who will coordinate the guards, that´s to say, there will
be a person in charge of control the correspondent at any
time.

5. A Spanish war
correspondent

Arturo Pérez-Reverte Gutiérrez (1951). He
is a Spanish novelist and journalist who worked as a war
correspondent for twenty-one years (1973 – 1994), firstly in the
"Diario Pueblo" and then, in RTVE
(www.escuelai.com/spanish_culture/literatura/perezreverte-biografia.html).
He has experience in Politics also. In 1977 together with his
mate Vicente Talón, founded Defense magazine. He was the
editor until his commitments as a correspondent forced him to
leave the publication.

He left the TV because of the lack of means and the
politicization of it. As a war correspondent, he covered
conflicts in Cyprus, Lebanon, Eritrea, the Sahara (* look at
the picture), the Malvinas, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Chad,
Lybia, Sudan, Mozambique, Angola, the First Gulf War and, in a
special way, the War in Yugoslavia. But his most intense
experience was during the War of Eritrea, in which he was missing
months and months, and he managed to survive thanks to his
friends of the guerrilla. He had to shoot in order to shelter
from the enemy. He joined the Royal Spanish Academy on the 12th
of June 2003, occupying the armchair T, vacant from the death of
Manuel Alvar, in 2001
(http://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arturo_P%C3%A9rez-Reverte).

6. Spanish
correspondents killed from 1980

7th March 2004

Ricardo Ortega, correspondent for "Antena 3 television",
was killed after being shot in Haiti.

7th and 8th April 2003

Julio Anguita Parrado and José Couso were
murdered in Iraq. The first was correspondent for the magazine
"El Mundo", and the other, a cameraman of "Telecinco
television".

19th November 2001

Julio Fuentes was assassinated next to other journalists
when they went to Kabul from Jalalabad. He was a correspondent
for the magazine "El Mundo".

24th May 2000

Miguel Gil Moreno was killed by rebels in Sierra Leona.
He worked for "Associated Press" (AP).

18th January 1997

Luis Valtueña was murdered in Rwanda next to
other two Spanish aid workers while they were working as
volunteers in the NGO "Médicos del Mundo". He was a
photographer of the "Cover Agency".

17th May 1992

Jordi Pujol Puente was assassinated in Sarajevo during
the War of Yugoslavia. He was a photographer for the magazine
"Avui".

22nd December 1989

Juan Antonio Rodríguez was killed in
Panamá. He was a photographer for the magazine "El
País".

22nd March 1980

Luis Espinal was tortured and finally assassinated in La
Paz (Bolivia) by paramilitaries. He was a priest and a
journalist.

7. Some global
statistics

+ A summary (2004 – 2006)

+ Years with more deaths and numbers (until
2007)

Nowadays almost 1000 journalists per year are arrested
and more than a thousand are physically attacked or threatened.
In addition to this, hundreds of media outlets are censored and a
new figure has appeared the cyber-dissident.

+ Journalists killed (2003 – 2007)

+ Statistics referred to 2007

8.
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Autor:

José Manuel Martínez
Pérez

Licenciado en Veterinaria. Departamento de Sanidad
Animal – Instituto de Ganadería de Montaña
(CSIC-ULE, León).

Jesús Ángel Martínez
Pérez

Doctor en Historia. Universidad de
León.