ITV's Tim Singleton on 'entering a post-embed environment'

In light of the death of Sunday Times journalist Marie Colvin in Syria last week, Tim Singleton, ITV News’ foreign editor, says that newsrooms across the country will be questioning whether sending reporters to certain dangerous locations is really "worth it" - but that in his opinion, journalists "have a commitment to report the story".

Speaking at the Leeds Trinity Journalism Week Singleton described how sending people into dangerous places was "the most difficult part" of his job. However, he added that there is "no substitute" for having reporters in treacherous regions.

Singleton spoke about how Colvin’s death clearly indicates the dangers of reporting against the will of a government and implied that "targeting" journalists should be treated as a war crime.

Singleton, who has been head of ITV’s foreign news for six years, also discussed how 2012 will be a difficult year for foreign correspondents because of the financial limitations of a news organisation.

“We have to plan for a possible war in the Middle East and our resourcing around that and have enough pennies in the bank to cover the US elections.”

Marie Colvin

The death of Marie Colvin has dominated the reporting of the Syrian conflict over the past few days but Singleton does not think it will overshadow events in the region.

Marie Colvin's death was in my view a war crime and I hope someone is bought to justice for itTim Singleton

"The coverage has been disproportionate, one western journalist’s life against hundreds of Syrian’s, but the people at the centre of it wouldn’t want it any other way … they were in the streets with pictures of Marie and Remi…they mean a lot to them."

"At what point do you say enough is enough? Syria is an unparalleled situation, it's unmanageable but we have a commitment to report the story. The ultimate blame rests with the people that killed them. Marie's death was in my view a war crime and I hope someone is bought to justice for it."

War reporting

Singleton also put forward some new ideas on the reporting of conflict.

When you get a call that says 'Tim get me out of here' that’s pretty scary. Luckily in Libya it was pretty simple. In Syria there’s no guarantee, if you go in and get into trouble you can’t get outTim Singleton

"We are entering a post-embed environment", he said. "We’re now reporting from areas that are completely unregulated … On the one hand it's invigorating not to just be reporting things from one side, but we’ve lost the protection we once had."

Singleton has been close to the action throughout the Arab Spring and says there have been several moments this year when he has not known the fate of his journalists.

"When you get a call that says 'Tim get me out of here' that’s pretty scary. Luckily in Libya it was pretty simple. In Syria there’s no guarantee, if you go in and get into trouble you can’t get out."

But despite this he remains sure that journalists should continue to report on the stories they feel passionate about.

"In today's environment it's more important than ever that we do our job with professionalism and balance."

The Leeds Trinity Journalism week continues today and can be followed live at this link.

• Read more from Tim Singleton in this Q&A with Journalism.co.uk, where he discusses the biggest challenges of 2011 and the international news diary for 2012.

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