Twenty-Five Years of War Reporting
At the 2026 Future Security Forum, Elliot Ackerman joins journalists Steve Coll, Azadeh Moaveni and Joby Warrick for a conversation moderated by CNN global affairs analyst Kimberly Dozier on how September 11 and the wars that followed transformed conflict journalism.
From Participant to Observer
Ackerman reflects on experiencing the post-9/11 wars first as a Marine and CIA special operations veteran and later as a writer and journalist. He explains how covering conflicts from the Middle East to Ukraine remains shaped by his earlier experience as a participant in war.
How the Risks of Reporting Changed
The panel examines the growing dangers facing journalists, including kidnapping, shrinking foreign bureaus, risks assumed by freelancers, reliance on local reporters, declining trust in Western media and a fragmented information environment shaped by disinformation and deepfakes.
Watch the Future Security Forum
The discussion concludes with lessons for the next generation of war correspondents: spend time on the ground, learn the language, build trusted relationships, understand the risks and, as Ackerman advises, be willing to go and figure it out.