Foreign network news correspondents continue to make their way into Iraq as terror group ISIS marches toward Baghdad.
ABC’s Terry Moran and NBC’s Richard Engel reported from Erbil for Friday’s evening newscasts, while CBS News had two corespondents in-country, and the only broadcast with a correspondent in Baghdad. Holly Williams is reporting from Erbil while Clarissa Ward is in the Iraqi capital.
“Having covered Iraq for many years during the worst of the sectarian violence, it’s very sad to be back here under such troubling circumstances,” Ward told TVNewser during a break from reporting today. “The Iraqi people are clearly quite terrified of what lies ahead of them and they’ve already suffered so much.” From 2003-2007, Ward was an assignment editor, field producer and later a correspondent for Fox News Channel. In 2007 she joined ABC News as a foreign correspondent before jumping to CBS in 2011.
Ten years in the field has taught Ward that sometimes you have to improvise. Because much of the crew’s gear was confiscated at the airport, the lighting for her live shot on “Evening News” was by way of a flashlight. The low light was also a way to keep a low profile. Ward says the Iraqi capital is on edge at the moment, making the situation perilous for residents and the media.
“Baghdad is an extremely tense and difficult place to operate at the moment and so one has to be extremely cautious.”