War coverage: Is more better?

by Lorna Benson, Minnesota Public Radio

A University of Minnesota professor says that unprecedented media access to troops in the Gulf War doesn't necessarily result in additional information or insight. Mark Pedelty, author of War Stories: The Culture of Foreign Correspondents, says that during the Salvadoran War, he spent time interviewing, observing, and traveling with reporters who covered that conflict. Pedelty says journalists are often confined by media conventions, which hamper their ability to report on war. He talked with All Things Considered host Lorna Benson.