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As I sit down to write this article, war in
Iraq has just been declared, and by the
time you see this published you will no
doubt have been inundated with news
round the clock, on radio, TV and in the
newspapers as well as the ubiquitous
world wide web of the internet. The
announcement marks the beginning of
significant military activity throughout the
country and brings to an end the period
of preparation. This is as true for the
world’s news gathering teams as it is for
the military. The logistics of the media
presence is immense.
How often have we heard the statement,
“War is still not inevitable” and that “conflict
is avoidable”, right up until the first shots
were taken. In the hiatus, which occurred
during the military build up, broadcasters
and news agencies world wide were
making their own military-style
preparations.
Early groundwork is vital. Prior to sending
personnel into the field it is essential that
they receive the appropriate Ministry of
Defence-standard training relating to
safety. Journalists, technicians, fixers and
translators must be trained to military
standards.This means scheduling time for
appropriate staff training – prior to an event
which is still “not inevitable”. The cost
implications of preparatory work for the
news gatherers is extremely high, but
absolutely essential tomaximise the safety
of news gathering teams in the field.
One early feature of the conflict is the
need to operate equipment and to file
reports whilst in full chemical attack
protection suits. Certainly, it won’t be the
easiest of tasks to do a piece to camera
with much of the anchor’s face obscured
by a gas mask and their voice muffled by
the air filtration system. And all of this in
47 degrees!
Finding the right power supply is clearly
going to be an issue. Even those teams
being accommodated in the “Media Hotel”
run the risk of losing power at some stage
during the conflict. Generators, batteries
and solar power units will be tested to the
absolute limits of their operating
parameters – and most likely beyond – in
the steadily increasing heat as the region
heads towards the hot season.There will
be clearly no shortage of sunshine for the
solar panels but fuel for the generators
may come at a premium as the war
progresses. Additionally, it is essential that
the equipment be air-conditioned to
minimise failures due to the searing heat.
The decision about which technology to
use is more complex today than it has
ever been. The use of the videophone
which utilises the Inmarsat satellite
network, will no doubt be in evidence –
especially now that encoding of the video
signal has improved significantly and the
128Kbit/s data rate channels are relatively
“readily” available. The videophone’s
capability for rapid deployment will play a
major part in reporting from the very front,
moving with selected units – and as long
as the camera doesn’t get swung about
from side to side too quickly, the picture
quality will suffice for vital news feeds.
From a logistics point of view the
videophone is incredibly versatile. It is
extremely portable, with all the
advantages of shipping that that brings,
as well as easily providing telephone links
with staff in the field.Once on air, Inmarsat
terminals can be called
from (and make calls to)
the
national/
international telephone
networks as easily as
calling another county.
Of course, as many
(all?) newscasters will
tell you, there’s nothing
like full blown broadcast
quality MPEG2. As a
result, a small army (but
not that small) of truck-
borne and flyaway
uplink units have been
flown, driven or carried
into the region.
One early unit for
delivery was APTN’s
truck based at Camden
Lock, London. At
around 9.5 tonnes it
was one of the first units
to be based actually in
the centre of Baghdad – November 2002.
After a gruelling 17 day journey, including
two ferry trips and much sand and heat,
the truck arrived in Baghdad, only to be
met by another logistical problem – the
gateway to the compound, within which
the unit would be licensed, was too small
to allow the vehicle over the threshold. A
solution, presented by APTN’s local fixer,
of pulling the wall down, driving the
vehicle in, and then rebuilding the
gateway, was unfortunately rejected.The
problem had to be solved on the ground
or the vehicle faced being turned around
and driven back to Camden Lock. In fact,
the problem was solved “off the ground”.
A crane was procured, which enabled
APTN to lift the truck over the wall of the
compound and into the licensed area.
For other news gatherers such as ITN,
BBC, CNN et al, the process of shipping
equipment to Qatar, Kuwait and Baghdad
has been no mean feat either. Finding
additional equipment (by rental, or in
many cases newly-purchased) to cope
with the massive requirement for 24-hour
news channels content has not been
without its difficulties. Not only from the
physical equipment point of view, but from
the crewing and engineering aspects, too.
Accommodation, with sufficient personal
protection for personnel as well as a clear
view of the required satellite is an
absolute necessity. Site surveys are
researched well in advance in order to
service the proposed space segment –
although clear direction is also given by
the local authorities as to where the media
would be allowed to settle – in relative
safety. For some a hotel, for others a tent
– for each a determination to be there to
bring the news in.
Full broadcast quality video normally
News Gathering –
Preparation is Everything
How do you go about covering a war? Satellite consultant Anver Anderson
takes a sideways look at what’s needed to get a major conflict on the air
around the world.
The APTN truck in Baghdad after American
troops took control of the city
