Who are the ten greatest war correspondents of all time?

[Mush Martin]

Who are the ten greatest war correspondents of all time?.
?

MM.

[TarJak]

Charles Bean would have to be up there for getting close to the action (he landed at Anzac Cove at 10am on 25th April 1915, just 4 hours after the first landings and spent probably more time at or near the Western Front than almost any other Australian soldier), and relaying it in a way that the average civilian at home as well as the digger in the trenches could relate to. He wrote volume I through VI of the 12-volume Official History of Australia in the War of 1914–1918 and was instrumental in setting up of the Australian War Memorial. Without Bean, there would be no ANZAC legend.

Walter Kronkite might get a guernsey, though I'm not that familiar with too many of the American correspondents work to comment knowledgeably.

[Oberon]

I'm quite fond of Jeremy Bowen, he's a good chap, done a lot of work around the Middle East, presented a damn good program on war correspondents and the dangers involved. Well worth a watch:


Kate Adie is a classic, for a while her name was synonymous with conflict reporting, so I think she has to be in the list, definitely.

John Simpson should probably go on the list but I'm not a massive fan of the chap, I consider him a bit full of himself at times, but he's done a lot of work in conflict zones.

Of course, these are just modern reporters really, since they are the ones I'm most familiar with, I'm sure a more detailed trawl through Wikipedia will find other candidates.

[Admiral Halsey]

Ernie Pyle.

[BossMark]

Kate Aidie would top my list any time.

[Mush Martin]

Originally Posted by Admiral Halsey

Ernie Pyle.

[Egan]

My pick? Vasily Grossman. Aside from his wartime articles, his novel 'Life and Fate' about Stalingrad is one of the great literary works of the 20th century.

As for his war reporting, I think he was unparalleled. His writing about Treblinka (where his mother died) is one of the most moving bits of writing I've ever read. He was disliked by the Soviet authorities. There is a strand that runs through his writing where he realises that the real war of the 20th century was not Fascism versus Communism, but Totalitarianism versus humanity. It did not endear him to the Soviets, who came to regard him more or less as an internal enemy, especially considering his Jewishness rendered him 'untrustworthy' from the start.

[Dan D]

The Australian Journalist Osmar White with "Green Armour" about the Pacific War and "Conquerors' Road: An Eyewitness Account of Germany 1945" where he follows General Patton's 3rd Army into Germany. Great read,
http://dannyreviews.com/h/Conquerors_Road.html

Ernest Hemingway.

[Aktungbby]

Originally Posted by Mush Martin

Who are the ten greatest war correspondents of all time?.
?

MM.

#1 for delivery, rhetoric, and self promotion: The famous Boer war correspondant and War hero: Winston S. Churchill. Add to it his book on Kitchener's campaign against the Mahdi The River War and he's got two wars under his belt.

[TarJak]

Agreed Winnie is up there particularly for the self promotion.

What are the criteria we are using to make someone great in this field?

[Jimbuna]

Joe Rosenthal-he took the Iwo Jima photograph.

Edward R. Murrow-he covered the London blitz and invented the phrases “This is London,” and “good night and good luck,” an expression Londoners used as a farewell during the air raids.

Murrow flew on US bombing raids over Europe, recording his experiences for re-broadcast. His stark, sobering account of the liberation of Buchenwald earned him criticism from some self-styled censors, all of which he dismissed. “I have reported what I saw and heard,” Murrow declared, “but only part of it. For most of it I have no words. …If I’ve offended you by this rather mild account of Buchenwald, I’m not in the least sorry.”

[Rockstar]

#9 and 10 the Joker and Rafterman