Chris Wattie
Encyclopedia
Chris Wattie is a Canadian journalist
who writes predominantly for Canada's National Post
newspaper. Wattie is based in Toronto
, Canada
.
in 1979, student #14098.
, and one of the first Canadian reporters embedded with the army when he accompanied Canadian troops on the International Security Assistance Force mission in Kabul in 2004.
He was the first reporter to uncover the mission’s problems with their aging Iltis vehicles, leading to their eventual withdrawal from overseas operations and replacement by new light utility vehicles. He was also the first reporter allowed to accompany the mission’s ISTAR (for Intelligence, Surveillance and Target Acquisition and Reconnaissance) company on operations, a secretive unit devoted to finding and tracking Taliban insurgents.
He was also with the Canadian Forces’ disaster assistance response team in Sri Lanka for the aftermath of the 2005 tsunami, writing about the Canadian government’s slow response to the humanitarian disaster.
In 2006, he became the first reporter allowed access to the Canadian Forces’ elite Canadian Special Operations Regiment, a newly formed special forces unit based in Petawawa.
In January 2006, he travelled to Kandahar with the first troops of the Canadian battle group deployed to southern Afghanistan and was embedded for eight weeks with Task Force Orion, the first Canadian army battle group on the ground in the heartland of the Taliban. As a result of his experiences embedded with the task force’s Charlie Company, Wattie wrote his first book Contact Charlie: The Canadian Army, the Taliban and the Battle That Saved Afghanistan
On May 19, 2006, the National Post, a major Canadian daily newspaper, headlined a story byline
d by Wattie claiming that Iran was enacting a law requiring non-Muslim religious minorities to wear "special insignia": yellow for Jews, red for Christians and blue for Zoroastrian. These claims spread quickly, particularly over the Internet, causing significant and widespread reaction, but were challenged when they could not be independently confirmed. According to Ha'aretz, while the story spread quickly among blogs, "serious news publications such as The New York Times, on the other hand, chose to ignore the affair pending further examination." By the end of the day, the original article was no longer available on the news website. Instead a new story by Wattie questioned the accuracy of the earlier claims, which he attributed to "a news story and column by Iranian-born analyst Amir Taheri in yesterday’s National Post". The National Post's published an apology and an explanation for the erroneous reporting in its May 24, 2006 issue.
Wattie also serves as an army reservist with The Queens York Rangers in Toronto
, Ontario
.
He started his journalism career at The Charlatan
at Carleton University
.
He was the ghost writer of Gen Hillier's
autobiography, A Soldier First.
Journalist
A journalist collects and distributes news and other information. A journalist's work is referred to as journalism.A reporter is a type of journalist who researchs, writes, and reports on information to be presented in mass media, including print media , electronic media , and digital media A...
who writes predominantly for Canada's National Post
National Post
The National Post is a Canadian English-language national newspaper based in Don Mills, a district of Toronto. The paper is owned by Postmedia Network Inc. and is published Mondays through Saturdays...
newspaper. Wattie is based in Toronto
Toronto
Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
.
Education
Mr Chris B Wattie studied at the Royal Roads Military CollegeRoyal Roads Military College
Royal Roads Military College was a Canadian military college located in Hatley Park, Colwood, British Columbia near Victoria, British Columbia, Canada. The facility is currently being used as the campus for Royal Roads University, a public university that offers applied and professional academic...
in 1979, student #14098.
Career
Chris Wattie is a senior national reporter with the National PostNational Post
The National Post is a Canadian English-language national newspaper based in Don Mills, a district of Toronto. The paper is owned by Postmedia Network Inc. and is published Mondays through Saturdays...
, and one of the first Canadian reporters embedded with the army when he accompanied Canadian troops on the International Security Assistance Force mission in Kabul in 2004.
He was the first reporter to uncover the mission’s problems with their aging Iltis vehicles, leading to their eventual withdrawal from overseas operations and replacement by new light utility vehicles. He was also the first reporter allowed to accompany the mission’s ISTAR (for Intelligence, Surveillance and Target Acquisition and Reconnaissance) company on operations, a secretive unit devoted to finding and tracking Taliban insurgents.
He was also with the Canadian Forces’ disaster assistance response team in Sri Lanka for the aftermath of the 2005 tsunami, writing about the Canadian government’s slow response to the humanitarian disaster.
In 2006, he became the first reporter allowed access to the Canadian Forces’ elite Canadian Special Operations Regiment, a newly formed special forces unit based in Petawawa.
In January 2006, he travelled to Kandahar with the first troops of the Canadian battle group deployed to southern Afghanistan and was embedded for eight weeks with Task Force Orion, the first Canadian army battle group on the ground in the heartland of the Taliban. As a result of his experiences embedded with the task force’s Charlie Company, Wattie wrote his first book Contact Charlie: The Canadian Army, the Taliban and the Battle That Saved Afghanistan
On May 19, 2006, the National Post, a major Canadian daily newspaper, headlined a story byline
Byline
The byline on a newspaper or magazine article gives the name, and often the position, of the writer of the article. Bylines are traditionally placed between the headline and the text of the article, although some magazines place bylines at the bottom of the page, to leave more room for graphical...
d by Wattie claiming that Iran was enacting a law requiring non-Muslim religious minorities to wear "special insignia": yellow for Jews, red for Christians and blue for Zoroastrian. These claims spread quickly, particularly over the Internet, causing significant and widespread reaction, but were challenged when they could not be independently confirmed. According to Ha'aretz, while the story spread quickly among blogs, "serious news publications such as The New York Times, on the other hand, chose to ignore the affair pending further examination." By the end of the day, the original article was no longer available on the news website. Instead a new story by Wattie questioned the accuracy of the earlier claims, which he attributed to "a news story and column by Iranian-born analyst Amir Taheri in yesterday’s National Post". The National Post's published an apology and an explanation for the erroneous reporting in its May 24, 2006 issue.
Wattie also serves as an army reservist with The Queens York Rangers in Toronto
Toronto
Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...
, Ontario
Ontario
Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....
.
He started his journalism career at The Charlatan
The Charlatan
The Charlatan is a student newspaper at Carleton University in Ottawa, Ontario.It is published by a not-for-profit corporation, Charlatan Publications Inc., and is independent of student governments and university administration. Papers are free, and are available in news-stands both on and off...
at Carleton University
Carleton University
Carleton University is a comprehensive university located in the capital of Canada, Ottawa, Ontario. The enabling legislation is The Carleton University Act, 1952, S.O. 1952. Founded as a small college in 1942, Carleton now offers over 65 programs in a diverse range of disciplines. Carleton has...
.
Publications
Chris Wattie is the author of Contact Charlie: The Canadian Army, The Taliban and the Battle that Saved Afghanistan.He was the ghost writer of Gen Hillier's
Rick Hillier
General Rick Hillier, CMM, MSC, CD , is the former Chief of the Defence Staff of the Canadian Forces. He held this appointment from February 4, 2005 to July 1, 2008. He retired on July 1, 2008, and was replaced by former Vice-Chief of the Defence Staff Walter Natynczyk...
autobiography, A Soldier First.