Home of Africa: "Woman in a war zone" or war correspondent?

The article argues that audience perceptions about women have not kept pace with institutional changes in the field of journalism. Thus, the spaces available for women as agents in war journalism continue to be attenuated. Given that most news about Iraq was coming from the wire services or international media agencies, the South African Broadcasting Corp. adopted a different approach in an attempt to offer an alternative view of events in Iraq. For the first time, a decision was taken to send South African reporters and cameramen, as "unilaterals," to a combat zone. One of the reporters, who arrived in Baghdad the first day the U.S. invasion began and remained throughout the bombardment of the Iraqi capital Baghdad, was a young woman named, Renee Horne. South African audiences continued to feminize Horne, demanding that she look glamorous.