Adam's Story—Corey Flintoff Speech

Corey Flintoff Speech
By Adam Christensen

NPR’s foreign correspondent in Iraq, Corey Flintoff, came to USU to speak about the challenges of news reporting in Iraq. Flintoff opened his speech commenting on security improvements in Baghdad saying that from where he was stationed last December he only heard three car bombs.

“Of course, that’s loose criteria for gauging security in the capital city of a country,” he said, “because you can imagine what it would be like if that were here.”

Flintoff spoke primarily about just what the responsibility of a reporter in Iraq is. With issues of importance such as the war in Iraq, a reporter’s job is to make sure that what is actually happening and what official sources such as the government are saying about those issues match.

When asked a question from one audience member about being able to trust news media accounts especially when confidence in government reports is so low, Flintoff said that the public can trust in news media accounts. This comes with a grain of salt.

“When I tell my listeners what is going on, it’s also important to me to tell them how limited I am in what I’m reporting to them.” Said Flintoff.

According to Flintoff news media encounter no censorship from the government or military, but several factors lend to an inherent censorship in Iraq. Primarily among those is the danger of simply being a journalist in Iraq.

Flintoff spoke of several colleagues who debated how long a western journalist could be out in the open before risking being shot or kidnapped. “I wasn’t part of the speculation,” Flintoff said, “but the timeframe they came up with was about 45 minutes.”

Even Iraqi journalists and interpreters, especially those working with western news organizations, risk their lives and those of their families by serving the public.

Reporting while ‘imbedded’ with American soldiers is another story. Flintoff mentioned that there even exists competition between some units to take reporters out with them. “Public relations officers will tell me ‘if you go with us, I promise you’ll see some action.’ It’s a bit like used car sales.” He said.

But, Flintoff said there is some difficulty in remaining objective while reporting from this perspective. “Everyone on the other side of the bullet-proof glass starts to look like an enemy. The car on the corner is a bomb; the man calling on his cellular phone is giving away your location.”

Throughout his speech, Flintoff used the popular comparison for the war of a hydra, a multi-headed mythical dragon. Iraq is a likewise multi-faceted problem, with difficulties arising from various sources from Al Qaeda and Iran, to newer struggles in the cities Basra and Sadr. Flintoff said that with fewer than 70 foreign reporters in Iraq there simply isn’t enough manpower to cover so many fronts. “It’s difficult for American reporters to give a good picture of what’s going on.”

Flintoff was born in Alaska where he began his radio career with NPR. He now resides in Washington, D.C. and continues his work with NPR.

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