Access, bias and balance: Inside the challenges of war reporting

Reporting on conflict is one of the most demanding and dangerous responsibilities in journalism, especially when truth is often the first casualty of war. How do newsrooms ensure accuracy amid chaos? What moral questions define war journalism, and how can editors balance ethics, safety and coverage?

These were the themes of the session ‘War journalism: Ethics, challenges and limitations’ at The Media Rumble 2025, which took place in Bengaluru on October 3 and 4. Moderated by Newslaundry editorial director Manisha Pande, the discussion featured Collective Newsroom cofounder Sanjoy Majumder and Washington Post India bureau chief Pranshu Verma.

Opening the discussion, Manisha reflected on the allure and ambition tied to the beat. 

Pranshu stressed that the first step to navigating such a beat is self-awareness. “If we're going to talk about the challenges of war journalism, we first have to start with the intention of the war correspondent — to be really self-aware about what it is you are actually there for. That, I think, is one of the most important lessons I’ve learned.”

Can anything ever prepare a journalist to cover war? “You can train people as much as you want in the newsroom – on safety, on ethics, on values, on how to approach people. But can something like this ever be learned in a newsroom,” Manisha asked.

Sanjoy placed the challenges in a larger context. “Setting narratives around wars is not recent. The difference now is social media…which amplifies it in a way that previously it could not. And of course, the second…it’s an incredibly polarised world…you just have to look at Gaza coverage… the moment you report something…someone is going to turn around and say you’re not doing your job right.”

The discussion also turned to access journalism – a term often maligned but central to reporting from conflict zones. “You either embed yourself with the military, or with a rebel group, or one camp or the other. That’s how you stay safe and report. But how do you ensure balance in such a situation?” Manisha said.

Pranshu pointed out that the pace of war reporting leaves little room for perfection. “We’re not penning 10,000 words with three weeks to make sure everything is perfect. It’s a day or two at best…we need to treat people who then make a mistake in their copy with a little bit of care, because it is just people acting in a very pressure driven situation.”

Sanjoy pointed to another issue. “So much of war reporting is about military achievements or defeats…You’re always talking about how many planes went down? Did a plane go down? You know, are they advancing? Are they not? Did Lahore fall? Did it not? You know, which part of Ukraine is part of Russia? And you completely dehumanise it.”

And that leads to difficult editorial questions. As Manisha put it, “As a newsroom which values balance, people may critique that. That in certain situations you cannot have balance…This is not a situation where you can say that both sides are equal. How do you deal with those criticisms? And what do you say to your colleagues?”

The stakes, as Sanjoy reminded the audience, could not be higher, as he pointed to the large number of journalists who have recently been killed in conflict. “Some of them have been targeted. So just having the word press in front of you is not necessarily protection. One side or the other is going to get you.”

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