Hotel Warriors: Covering the Gulf War (Woodrow Wilson Center Special Studies) [Paperback]

John J. Fialka (Author)

Book Description

Series: Woodrow Wilson Center Special Studies | Publication Date: March 1, 1992

During America's Civil War, accounts of the Battle of Bull Run reached New York within 24 hours. During the Gulf War, reports took three or four days - sometimes two weeks - just to get from the front lines to the nearby press headquarters at the Dhahran International Hotel. From an insider's perspective, Fialka tells why the Marines had a better plan than the Army for getting news back from the front - and how even good plans go awry in the "fog of war". He describes the "hotel warriors", journalists who experienced the war mainly through televized briefings, pool reports, and CNN. He explains why the military's elaborate media handling system teetered on the verge of collapse just hours after the ground war began. And he relates the exploits of the "unilateral" reporters, who decided that the only way to get the news was to break the Army's rules.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

In this volume , whose title refers to the correspondents who covered the Persian Gulf war from posh hotels in Riyadh and Dhahran, Wall Street Journal reporter Fialka ably chronicles the day-to-day difficulties faced by reporters--ranging from sheer incompetence to outright obstruction on the part of the U.S. Army--and demonstrates the woeful inadequacy of the pool system set up by the military and the press. In large part, he lambastes the Army for its refusal to accommodate journalists and its general attitude of hostility toward the press. (In contrast, the Marines' flair for self-promotion resulted in coverage more extensive than their military role in the war warranted.) Fialka attributes a good deal of this attitude to the military's lingering distrust of the media rooted in the Vietnam War experience. While there was little overt censorship, most of the material written and photographed during the Gulf war was never seen by the American public, and, Fialka says, the Army was shortchanged in accounts of its speedy victory. Most important, says Fialka, the acrimonious relationship between the military and the media bodes ill for future collaborations between the two.

Copyright 1992 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

Review

Should be required reading by every publisher, producer, editor, and journalist with any interest in war reporting or just honest reporting.

(Theodore Draper New York Review of Books )

Product Details

• Paperback: 80 pages
• Publisher: Woodrow Wilson Center Press; 2nd edition (March 1, 1992)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0943875404
• ISBN-13: 978-0943875408
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6.1 x 0.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.9 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,007,605 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4.0 out of 5 stars Important book, April 10, 2008

By 

A reader (Chicago, IL USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Hotel Warriors: Covering the Gulf War (Woodrow Wilson Center Special Studies) (Paperback)

This short book is a must read for anyone interested in journalism. In fact, it is an important book for anyone interested in the value of getting accurate news.

4.0 out of 5 stars Press coverage has come along way since this report, April 30, 2003

By 

P. J Lambert "pjlambert" (United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Hotel Warriors: Covering the Gulf War (Woodrow Wilson Center Special Studies) (Paperback)

Fialka served as a reporter during the first Gulf War in 1991. This small volume documents the trials and tribulations of FIalka and other members of the press corps dealing with the military, which in most respects was wary of the press, based on experiences lingering from Vietnam.
However, Fialka has more criticisms...his own peers in the press share an equal blame in his eyes, based on the way they handled themselves within the press pool, frequently trying to one up the other. He also criticizes the press organizations who sent reporters with no experience dealing with military matters to cover, what up to this point, was the largest military story since the Vietnam War.
Fialka does have some positive things to say: his praise for the Marine Corp's ability to handle the press stands in stark contrast to that of the US Army. He also praises the tenacity of the reporters that bucked the pool system to get the real story, even risking their own lives to do so.
THis book is an interesting read, based on the complete reverse situation recently demonstrated in the 2003 Operation Iraqi Freedom. It would be interesting to see what Fialka would say about his brethren who were embedded, and how that may or may not have contributed to getting the best face on a story.
A quick read, and if you can cut through some of the "its not fair" dialogue, a good review of press operations during the first Gulf War.

0 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Don't read this., April 12, 2007

By 

Heather Alvarado "Mingmei" (Japan) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Hotel Warriors: Covering the Gulf War (Woodrow Wilson Center Special Studies) (Paperback)

I've tried over and over again to read this book. I have to put it down after like the 2nd page, it's horribly boring and I can't seem to go on reading because I'd rather poke my eyes out then to keep on reading it. The publishers reviews make it seem like a great book but PLEASE don't waste your money.