Dispatches : Fighting the Taliban

I don’t often rant, but one thing that I do dislike it when journalists blow trumpets to fanfare and portray things in a sensationalist light.

Take the Dispatches program last night for example. Portrayed by TV advertising as “the program the MOD didn’t want us to make” and supposedly portraying the difficulties and lack of supplies faced by British soldiers.

What does the program actually show?
- the MOD didn’t think it was safe for reporter Sean Langan to be in the area
- he bribes the local police to catch a lift with them
- the British forces give him a helmet and body armour
- he doesn’t do up his helmet straps properly – they are there for a reason, Sean
- he can’t distinguish between incoming or outgoing fire, nor between RPGs and rockets
- the British were short on resupply of ammo and rations, however this didn’t come across as a problem, only an inconvenience
- The British had close air support from A-10 Warthogs and Apache helicopters, probably the two most feared weapons if you happen to be enemy infantry!

Come on C4, come on Sean, make real documentaries, not sensationalist tripe that plays on the media hype already in place. Don’t go to war zones with an agenda and story already written. Here’s a new word for you – objective. ;)