The future for foreign correspondents?

Earlier this week I was fortunate enough to hear some of the best women war correspondents talk about their experiences.

Maggie O'Kane, Caroline Horley and Ann McFerran all spoke quite movingly about reporting from Iraq, Bosnia and Darfur - and how, sometimes, being a woman worked to their advantage as they were granted access to places where men may be forbidden, or seen as more of a threat.

But what really caught my attention was Maggie O'Kane's view that it was really the end of the line for western crews descending on conflict zones. She argued that Iraq was showing that the future lay not with outside reporters, but rather with local correspondents who could get better access to, and move more freely in, difficult areas.

So what does that mean for the rest of us, beavering away with the hope of one day following in their footsteps? I think that it's definitely a good move to make the most of local knowledge - provided, of course, that they are given the same protection and rights as their western counterparts. But I think that it's also very important to get a balance - between male and female views, to hear western and local voices - and to continue pushing for honest, fair, insightful reporting regardless of who is behind the camera. Surely that's what journalism is all about?