All eyes are turning to Syria, as escalated rhetoric suggests that a U.S. attack could be imminent. Unlike Iraq, which saw correspondents reporting while embedded with U.S. troops or from the balcony of their hotels, it is not nearly as clear whether U.S. networks will have the same presence in Syria.
It seems as though the situation is fluid for pretty much every network, so things will likely change before any potential U.S. action. That said, some outlets have people in place inside Syria, while others are working on it. Interestingly, two U.S. networks (NBC and ABC) are relying on UK correspondents for reports out of Damascus.
CBS News correspondent Elizabeth Palmer arrived recently in Damascus (see photo to above), and is expected to be there for some time. She reported for the “CBS Evening News” and “CBS This Morning.” NBC News’ Richard Engel reported from Syria earlier this week, and is currently on the Turkey/Syria border. ITN’s Bill Neely is in Damascus (NBC and ITN share some content and correspondents), and has been reporting there for NBC, and Ayman Mohyeldin is reporting from Beirut. ABC News has chief foreign correspondent Terry Moran and Middle East correspondent Alexander Marquardt reporting from Beruit, Lebanon, Muhammad Lila from Antakaya, Turkey, Matt Gutman from the northern Israeli city of Haifa, Molly Hunter from Jerusalem and the BBC’s Jeremy Bowen contributing to ABC News coverage from Damascus.
On cable news:
CNN had correspondent Fred Pleitgen reporting from Damascus earlier this week. He has since left the country and is reporting from CNN’s Beirut bureau. The channel has other correspondents in the region. Fox News has Leland Vittert and Conor Powell reporting from Jerusalem. Al Jazeera America has teams in Beirut and Jerusalem, and is actively working on getting a correspondent to Syria. It may also pull reports from sister channel Al Jazeera English.
Don’t be surprised if some correspondents turn up within Syrian borders in the event of any sort of military action.