Severe Pectus Excavatum

Mimmo Candito

There is a platoon going to war and no war. It has its heroes, its victims, its villains. I am the reporter of war, occupation invented by William Russell in 1854 was sent by the Times, the authoritative newspaper of London, the Crimean War. He wrote with quill pens. Today, the last war correspondent is writing from some remote area of \u200b\u200bAfrica and sends his pieces with a modern satellite phone. There are thousands of war reporters. Only the Italians were committed in the former Yugoslavia eighties. For the Gulf War had reached a height of 150. Some of these wars have also been many deaths among the ranks of the information. 64 dead in Vietnam, 48 in Beirut, 86 in the former Yugoslavia. "The war reporters are sketches of a free ride to eat rations of the soldiers," said Sir Carnet Wolseley in 1869 to protest against the intrusion of journalists in what was supposed to be only a matter between military. Today it is no longer the case. Today the press is allowed at the front, but the truth always triumphs. "The first casualty of war is the truth, "said Arthur Ponsonby in" Lying in time of war. "I speak with Mimmo Candito, sent the Press, a professor of journalism at the University of Turin language, one that has made its many wars. And a few months ago has collected his experiences, college and war, in the book "Profession: Reporter war, difficult history of journalism, from Hemingway to the Internet" (Blacks Pozza).

William Russell was the first war reporters. And it was considered an intruder. But who was the first chronicle of the wars?

officers. It told heroic things, rhetorical, mythical. They said, how good we are. Not telling that people were dying, that the officers were incompetent, that there was corruption, soldiers were sent to die as cannon fodder. William Russell when he arrived, sent by the Times, he began to write everything down. It broke the truth encrypted.

of time has passed since then. Today, war reporters are more or less free to write the truth?

Today war reporter is more or less free than once?

certainly less free than once. The electronic instruments in their hands should allow them a chance to intervene as no journalist ever in history. In fact, the structures that we are getting used to being lazy journalist, the information to be prepared.

What is the information prepared?

One way to address the fact that the complaint is no longer possible because the electronics will let you do what you want. Now there is news management. That is, the military will provide 150 brochures and tell you everything about everything. So you're a lazy journalist, what steps do you give them. And you do pass as truth, I do not go to check. So this is indirect control information without using censorship. And often not even the military to do this directly. The major operations of war massmediology have recently been conducted by great American advertising offices.

It takes, however, the complicity of the lazy journalist. It 's true that no one teaches the young journalists not to be lazy, but I also remember that many journalists in war has always been criticized for carrying out their task by the pool drinking Martini local Hilton.

Sure, sure. The villains have always been there and I do not defend. But the journalist to use war as an instrument to affirm some basic principles of journalism, because there are made to the highest point: the relationship with the source. And to reiterate a postulate: only source no source.

a book seems pessimistic.

E 'moderately hopeful. But in the reading of reality is certainly pessimistic. Even today I hen I go to war, in addition to signing a paper in which they ask me where my body is transferred in case of death, also signed a series of measures to curb the freedom of the reporter. I can not talk to anyone without your permission. They can not even write where I am.

are security measures. Although I find it hard to believe that the "enemy" read the Corriere della Sera to know where are located the troops. Today

General Carlo Jean, who is our representative to the Organization of European Defense, says that journalists are the most important organ of the war.

Journalists are lazy, the directors have no understanding of foreign affairs, publishers complain about huge expenses?

Once it was not. Directors became the great foreign correspondents, the great post. Now become directors those born inside the palace. Politicians. Ezio Mauro, Marcello Sorgi, Paolo Mieli, Enrico Mentana, Ferruccio De Bortoli, Paolo Graldi, Peter Calabrese, Paolo Liguori. The Director is a manager of resources and not journalist. It 'an administrator.

And the cost?

costs are screens, excuses. You really think that a newspaper in the budget affect a person sent to Sarajevo? Increasingly catching on the principle that the speeding up of information is more important than quality of information. All at once, that is true or likely. Paolo Mieli, when he was a director, made an order of service in which he stated: When you come into possession of information, take it, even if you can not verify it, the next day we'll see. This is the negation of the work of journalists.

Who, in your opinion, the greatest among you?

Aegisthus Corradi is considered the master of us all. He was someone who said: "Seeing is essential. Traipsing need to see." Even

Ettore Mo says: "Oh I see or I'm leaving."

right. We must fight in every way the information approved, one of those directors who expect the news to determine what to put on the front page.

In war you've ever had real fear?

course. Like everyone else. When a shell explodes next to you and make a flight of 15 meters, as happened to me once in Beirut, you can not do much courage. But then you get used to the fear.