Reporters in war

Reporter in war: Why and is it appropriate?
I served in the U.S. Army for 11 years. First of all, never believe the media. You are not getting accurate information. My opinion is that reporters need to stay in the studios and let the soldiers do there jobs without distractions. When a reporter is following a group of soldiers in a combat tour, they can create an unsafe environment by becoming a distraction. This is not a good idea and should not be allowed. However, reporters are not allowed everywhere, and this is why. My opinion as to why reporters are in the midst of war is for a story that sells. They want the best live report with the most action, and excitement in hopes to increase ratings or attract the most viewers. An example of this which was taken from 2003 archives of CNN.com by reporter Brent Sadler, "Shots ring out. OK, that's gunfire. We've just come under attack. Under attack. We're OK, we're OK. Under fire. That confirms our worst fears.
If you're with us, we've just gone through a checkpoint, we've come under automatic machine gun fire, and we've blown through the checkpoint. Our armed guard pulled his automatic machine gun and opened fire to get us through there. " (http://www.cnn.com/2003/WORLD/meast/04/13/otsc.irq.sadler/index.html)