Taken from Morning Future
“The war reporter is not the one who always goes into the trenches or as close to the explosion as possible. He is still a journalist who must try to tell as much as possible and as thoroughly as possible what is happening in a war theater: he is a journalist who has an observation point very close to dangerous events and must know how to manage those moments, those hours, those days to tell, to those who are distant, what they cannot see and that otherwise they would not be able to know ».
Speaking is Nello Scavo, a journalist for Avvenire. Behind him he has thirty years of experience, having started as a war correspondent in the Balkans, in the nineties.
Since the war in Ukraine began on 24 February, newspapers and TV from all over Europe have put war reporters at the center of the story. For several years, these correspondents have moved into remote and distant territories, also reporting conflicts with less visibility and less attention from readers and viewers.
From Portugal to the United Kingdom, from Greece to Denmark, obviously also passing through Italy, the correspondents of international newspapers, but also many freelance journalists, reached Ukraine. The war was covered with articles, television reports, but also podcasts, newsletters and other journalistic products. With all the risks – and the precautions – of the case. Because the war reporter moves on the ground, he is at the forefront of telling what happens where the facts happen.
On the front line
“From an emotional point of view, you never prepare yourself enough, I distrust colleagues who get excited when there are explosions and gunpowder,” says Nello Scavo, recalling that a war reporter must still worry about telling a conflict by giving readers – or spectators – unpublished news from the front, otherwise unattainable news.
“When we were in Kiev, a few days before the invasion, some sources told us that nothing would happen there, someone suggested going to Donbass, someone went there. But I and other colleagues with some experience decided to stay in the capital because we thought we would get the news if there was a war in Kiev. On February 24, after a few days on the spot, we found ourselves at the center of the story while it was happening, in the right place at the right time. Starting from a renunciation ».
Once in the midst of the conflict, however, it is necessary to know how to move in a scenario different from everyday life. “It is not true that the most effective or best choice is the most dangerous one,” says Scavo. «In my work as a reporter I need to have a good point of observation to be able to tell the facts, but I also need to be sure of being able to produce an article and send it to the editorial office. Because if I’m in a situation where I can’t even open the computer, I’m not doing my job well. “
In short, being in the trenches, between the shots, with the risk of losing everything else, may not be the best choice in professional terms: either that observation point is essential to tell about an event, or it risks becoming counterproductive. The temptation is to always go a little further, but sometimes, in a war, taking one step less allows you to have a better overview.
It is a concept that also expresses Andrea Sceresini, a freelance journalist who has spent several days between Kiev and other Ukrainian cities since 2014. “We must always be careful to understand how the context around us changes,” he says.
For example, it is important to understand how to get to certain places and how to leave: if you skip the connecting roads or an obstacle arises that prevents you from moving, you risk not being able to complete the job. “Let’s not forget that being stuck in one place, in an uncomfortable condition, could mean running out of storage space for images and videos, for those who work with these tools,” adds Sceresini. “Or just run out of cash, which could make life difficult if ATMs were to blow up. All this would add further concerns at a time when the tension is already high ».
Sceresini knows Ukraine, Kiev and also Donbass well, areas he had already told about in the last eight years, that is, from the annexation of Crimea to Russia and from the proclamation of independence republics in Donetsk and Luhansk.
But for many of your colleagues it may have been more complicated: war reporters often go to a place they have not visited before or whose language they do not know. Generally, in these cases, they rely on a fixer, that is, a local person who accompanies the reporter, acts as a guide and perhaps as a translator. He can also help you find contacts, stories, provide directions. He could be a local journalist, an ordinary citizen, even a policeman or a soldier, in particular cases.
“The fixer is of great help when you don’t know how to move, he takes you to places that you wouldn’t otherwise reach”, explains Sceresini. “It can be a limiting factor though if you have less mainstream ideas or don’t need the kind of help that particular person can provide.”
The work of war reporters is also distinguished according to the reference newspaper. A large television network, which needs to send images that cover the services and brief interventions by journalists on the spot, can be satisfied with being guided by a fixer and perhaps only patrol the safest areas, equipped with a helmet and jacket. bulletproof with the inscription “Press”.
Different speech for a freelancer in search of the strongest and most impactful story: in this case, moving and exploring is an indispensable element of the job, always paying the utmost attention to what is happening around.
One of the problems many older reporters report is the difficulty – or lack of interest – of newspapers in training young reporters. The publishing crisis and the speed with which news, information, images and videos travel today seemed to have convinced many newspapers not to send journalists to war theaters. Ukraine appears to have reversed this trend.
The reporter’s kit
In recent years, various courses have been organized to train war reporters: from the Newsroom Academy, a reportage journalism course by Daniele Bellocchio, to the War Reporting Training Camp founded by Ugo Lucio Borga and Cristiano Tinazzi.
«They are valid courses if they are imagined as a moment of confrontation with people who have already done so in the past. They can be of support to a reporter, for sure. But one thing is a lesson and one thing is being on the field. The same goes for the crime news: you can prepare for a long time, but finding yourself in front of a corpse or in a morgue completely changes your perception, ”says Nello Scavo.
Before going to the place, in a place of conflict, it is essential to have the right tools. A reporter who goes to a war zone cannot do without a first aid kit, body armor, helmet. And not only. In an episode of the podcast Stories, the journalist Cecilia Sala said that during the days she spent in Ukraine she always carried with her “crackers, already sliced cheese, dried mango, a package of rice that can also be cooked with a kettle in the hotel, coffee. soluble”.
Andrea Sceresini also adds other elements: «There are things you have to learn to understand practically immediately: where the bunker is, where to find food and water, how to recharge your devices, therefore smartphones and computers. Then having a local phone card can make a difference, and obviously a power bank or anything that can keep your cell phone alive as long as possible. Finally, exchange a lot of money in local currency, because you cannot risk running out of money if ATMs and digital payments are not available ».
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