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| Fighting Bad With Good |
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April 3, 2009
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Reporters have found plenty of bad news over the years in Iraq, and nowadays there aren’t a lot of reporters left there.
But the videographers and public information specialists of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers are working to make sure the world doesn’t leave Iraq behind. They’ve left the comforts of home for barracks in the desert, and traveling the country armed only with cameras, facing down the threats to life and equipment, to document the positive stories about America’s efforts to rebuild the nation.
As Nancy Caronia reports inside, the Corps’ videographers volunteer for the Baghdad duty, with some even choosing to stay for a second tour.
In serving America’s long-term geopolitical interest, production teams like the Corps’ could be crucial. Sometimes, we need guns, tanks and helicopters to protect us. Other times, we need to tell a really good story.
America’s perception of the war has been tied to visual images: There was the triumphant removal of the statue of Saddam.
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SANJAY TALWANI
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Then we reeled at the snapshots from inside Abu Ghraib. Now, despite some stories about stability and success, the most widely seen image in recent months was that of an Iraqi reporter hurling shoes at then-President Bush.
You’ve got to fight bad images with good, and here’s a practical example.
Somewhere in the world, there’s some other guy with the same name as me—unusual as that may seem. This guy has a Facebook page, with a picture of him looking like he’s having maybe too-good a time at a wedding.
Naturally, if someone were to Google me—perhaps a government official making a quick check before deciding to return my call—I don’t want this other guy’s mug popping up with my name. So I did what any modern, paranoid person would do—I opened my own Facebook account, at least adding an alternative to the image the other Mr. Talwani has chosen to present.
Law enforcement agents (and, in this issue, folks from Customs and Border Protection) who use video tools work for more than just message control. As discussed in this issue, video is a force multiplier, doing work too dangerous or farreaching for humans to undertake.
But agencies with other missions multiply their forces as well, whether in the education of the public, training their own staffs, videoconferencing with far-flung posts or even bringing the services of doctors and psychiatrists to places they’re needed.
Luckily, this month at the NAB Show, technology companies are coming in with truckloads of lowcost tools for users with tight budgets to stay on top of their video message.
After all, people still watch a lot of video, and you want them to be watching yours.
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