‘Le spectateur engagé’: French war correspondents’ conceptions of detachment and commitment

Abstract

Studies that measure journalists’ detachment from the object of their investigation generally predefine ‘detachment’ as professionalism. This is challengeable when it comes to French journalism, which is rooted in political and literary traditions, especially in fields such as war correspondence. Interviews with 13 French war correspondents help us grasp their own conceptions of detachment/commitment. The study shows that this crucial issue refers to the journalists’ self-perceptions of their own role and place in society. Three roles appear to be close to the journalistic profession: the righter of wrongs, the storyteller and the educator. The first part of the paper examines the degree of involvement implied by each of these roles. The second part analyses the journalists’ place in society defined in terms of distance from other actors: whereas political detachment is endorsed as a professional attitude, emotional involvement is considered unavoidable and sometimes mandatory. The paper examines the difficulties posed by these conceptions.