Harry due to arrive back in Britain
Afghan police kill 25 TalibanMEDIA DEAL
When it was announced last year that he could be deployed to Iraq, militant groups threatened to kidnap or kill him. The deployment was later cancelled due to the threats. When it came to Afghanistan, the military tried a different approach.
The fact the embargo on the deployment held for 2-1/2 months was a surprise, particularly given the cut throat, free-for-all nature of the British tabloid press. But it has also led to a debate about the media and "backroom deals".
Jon Snow, the Channel 4 News presenter, said the embargo affair could be damaging for the media's credibility.
"One wonders whether viewers, readers and listeners will ever want to trust media bosses again," he wrote on his blog.
Reuters, like other news outlets, agreed to the embargo, seeing it as similar to those often arranged with banks and governments to release sensitive information at a specific time.
The only national newspaper that did not put the Harry story on its front page on Friday was the Independent.
"The most interesting aspect about all this is the breaking of the media embargo by Drudge, but we decided that in itself wasn't big enough to warrant the front page," deputy editor-in-chief Ian Birrell told Reuters.
As far as the embargo goes, though, Birrell was supportive.
"I don't see a problem at all. I think the media has acted in a very responsible manner on what has been a difficult situation in which lives were at risk," he said.
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