Christopher Allbritton, the freelance independent journalist wanting to cover the Iraq war by weblog, is currently close to the border of Northern Iraq, trying to enter. His weblog, Back to Iraq is fascinating reading right now, it’s a lively, detailed and well-written travelogue. It’s changed a lot from last week, when he commented on the news and planned his journey. Now there are conversations with scathing corporate media journalists and concerns about visas and crossing borders. As he writes:
It’s fascinating reading, though less about the war now than about the experience of travelling in such a region at such a time. It’s also about being and not being at the same time: he’s a journalist but not a journalist. That double vision is valuable.
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chuck tryon
I found the telescope metaphor interesting, too. Of course, what Allbritton’s metaphor gleans is the fact that wide-angle lenses tend to distort the edges of the screen, so seeing the “big picture” may in fact be just as partial as Allbritton’s telescope. Have to admit that I’m finding his travelogue intriguing now that he’s in Iran.
Jill
Oh, I like that extension of the metaphor, Chuck. Yes.