Rick Atkinson

Journalism and War

History and current state of reporting during war

Rick Atkinson, a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and author, discusses his new book on the liberation of Africa following World War II. He also discusses the history and current state of reporting during war. Atkinson remarks on the role of war correspondence and its association with national security. In addition, he talks about his experience being an imbedded reporter during the initial invasion of Iraq in 2003. He also addresses the successes and failings of the press in covering the Iraq War. Atkinson then opens up the floor for questions from the Clinton School students. These questions range in topic from the relationship between the Press and the Presidency, the advancement of today’s military, and the status of the U.S. in Iraq.

Bio

Rick Atkinson is an American journalist and author whose contributions have led to four Pulitzer Prizes. His book In the Company of Soldiers: A Chronicle of Combat is about the Iraq War where he was embedded with the 101st Airborne Division for two months and had extensive contact with David Petraeus. He won the 2003 Pulitzer Prize for history for his book An Army at Dawn: The War in North Africa, 1942-1943. Atkinson served as the Omar N. Bradley Chair of Strategic Leadership at the US Army War College and Dickinson College in 2004 and 2005.