The Wall Street Journal reports on how American troops in the Gulf are using e-mail, personal web sites and blogs, such as LT SMASH, to communicate directly with family, friends and others. Although there are over 500 reporters in the region, the Internet has changed the dynamic of the flow and content of information from a war zone by adding the real-time, first person perspectives of those directly involved. In an interesting response to the availability of this information, and sometimes disinformation, the article states, “The Army is considering incorporating blogging into its secure network where troops communicate with each other and their families. If such a system were put into place, the general public would no longer have access to such blogs.”
See also, Web logs convey ‘raw stuff’ of Iraq war (USA Today, registration req’d) that highlights some of the popular war blogs such as Warblogging.com, a well designed, obviously partisan site published by the pseudonymous George Paine since 2002. It includes commentary, photos, and links to articles in major news sources. In addition, Dan Gillmor’s article Web offers varied perspectives on war coverage urges readers to access non-mainstream news sources to gain greater perspective on the war.