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Jossiping With An Anonymous Reporter
Iraq is not for drinkers, but it is for real journalists

A long time ago, in a kingdom not so far away, a young Jossip editrix named Corynne decided it might be fun to interview her gossip, media and PR peers in a semi-regular (and uncharacteristically earnest) feature she creatively entitled ???Jossiping.??? In honor of our predecessor, we???ve decided to bring back the tradition, one informal sit-down at a time.

This week: raronauer catches up with an Anonymous Reporter who summered in Baghdad this year. From A.R., we learned that war reporters are just as hardcore as you imagined, but bloggers can drink them under table.

Are you crazy to go to Iraq?

No, I don’t think so. For a reporter, it’s the chance of a lifetime. Not all reporters want to go, but many of us who got into journalism for the ability to be on the front lines of the biggest stories in the world would jump at the chance. Just having the opportunity to do that kind of journalism, to cover the story that has ramifications for everything else, is a really exciting opportunity for me. It was worth the risk.

What did your mom say when you told her you were going? Because my mom said you were crazy.

My mom cried, but my parents were very supportive. I’ve heard stories of people in their forties whose parents have said, ‘no, you can absolutely not go.’ My parents didn’t put me in the position of needing to disobey them. They said, ‘we’re really scared, we kind of wish you wouldn’t. On the other hand, we understand why you want to and so we’re going to be supportive.’ That was the best I could ask for. It was tremendously generous on their part.

Were you scared at all about going?

I think you have to be a little stupid not to be a little scared to go. You can make the decision that the risks are outweighed by the opportunity, but you have to be a rational human being and acknowledge that there are risks. In fact, my editor said, ‘Are you scared? You better be scared otherwise I’m not letting you go.’

I was definitely scared, but also excited and just generally happy to be going.

Do you think that going will help your career?

I don’t know. I guess, maybe.

It wasn’t a part of your decision?

It really wasn’t. When I tell people that, they very rarely believe me. But I really, I went because I wanted to go. I just really wanted to see what was there and be able to write about that. I had not thought at all what that would mean when I got back.

People never believe it, but it’s really true. It was worth it to me to go just to go.

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Dec 11, 2007 · Link · Repond

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