The practice of deploying civilian journalists into combat zones within a troop of soldiers is known as "embedding." Though the practice dates back to the 19th century, official military and journalistic standards have only been applied to the practice since the Cold War. The Vietnam War was the conflict in which a large number of television, radio, and print news reporters traveled into the combat zone alongside soldiers. Today, most cable news stations rely heavily on embedded journalists for on-the-ground reporting and seek to expand the practice into more conflict areas around the world. Whether or not this comes to pass will depend upon how military officials view the practice.
Non-commissioned officers and lower ranked soldiers tend to see the practice of embedding in a favorable light. Informal surveys suggest that these soldiers respect reporters willing to put themselves in harm's way and feel that such reporters are in the best position to accurately represent a conflict and tell their stories. Higher ranking officers, such as colonels and lieutenants, tend to be more suspicious of such journalists. They are not as quick to grant interviews or supply information to embedded journalists, ostensibly out of fear of divulging information that may be used by enemies. Many media professionals feel that these upper level officers have more to lose from negative press and are more concerned with their future political ambitions than with accurate war reporting.
Non-commissioned officers and lower ranked soldiers tend to see the practice of embedding in a favorable light. Informal surveys suggest that these soldiers respect reporters willing to put themselves in harm's way and feel that such reporters are in the best position to accurately represent a conflict and tell their stories. Higher ranking officers, such as colonels and lieutenants, tend to be more suspicious of such journalists. They are not as quick to grant interviews or supply information to embedded journalists, ostensibly out of fear of divulging information that may be used by enemies. Many media professionals feel that these upper level officers have more to lose from negative press and are more concerned with their future political ambitions than with accurate war reporting.
It can be inferred from the passage that the media professionals mentioned in the second paragraph would most likely agree with which of the following statements?
A. Military officials need to be convinced of the value of embedded journalists so that the practice can be expanded into more conflict zones around the world.
B. It is likely that army generals sometimes use the fear of disclosing potentially sensitive information to the enemy as a pretense for censoring embarrassing information.
C. Since there were no officially embedded journalists prior to the Vietnam War, the news reports regarding prior wars are likely inaccurate and heavily biased.
D. Because so many of them intend to run for political office upon completing their service, high ranking officers are easy to interview, as they appreciate the opportunity to tell their own stories.
E. Enlistees and low rank officers tend to be less reliable sources for news articles, as they tend to be overly concerned with future political ambitions.
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