Reporters, photojournalists, camerapersons, translators, and aides are risking their health, liberty, and even their lives to bring us the news we need from Iraq and other hot spots around the world. Show your support for these hard-working and courageous journalists by displaying the Support Our Reporters yellow ribbon on your blog or web site.
My time last week at the National Association of Hispanic Journalists was fascinating, if for no other reason that I heard a lot of reminders about why news junkies go into journalism in the first place.
The most interesting session I attended was about the LAPD using excessive force to break up an immigration demonstration at MacArthur Park on May Day of 2007. The YouTube video below tells the story of how not only demonstrators were attacked but also how journalists were assaulted while trying to cover the event. The report below was by Fox 11 reporter ChristinaGonzalez, who was attacked by an LAPD officer while she was trying to help her camera woman back to her feet. Along with the journalists on the panel was Los Angeles Police Chief William J. Bratton, who I have to say exhibited a fair amount of class and courage talking to the press about this event. Of course, it helped that he took full responsibility for what happened, had already fired several officers involved and was working towards preventing this level of misconduct in the future.
It's not just in Iraq or in war zones around the world that journalists are putting their lives on the line....
How's Blowed-Up Reporter Bob Woodruff Doing These Days? Anyone who sits back and snarks at the press for how they are covering the war in Iraq need to look to the example of ABC news reporter and anchor Bob Woodruff. Woodruff was almost killed last year when he was hit by roadside bomb while he was reporting from Iraq. This link is to Howard Kurtz's very personal and non-detached article about his friend.
Mexican Newspaper Editor Dies Violent Death; Refused To Censor Himself This is what really serious censorship looks like - Mexican newspaper editor Misael Tamayo Hernandez was found dead in a motel room, nearly naked, his hands tied behind his back. The Chicago Tribune's foreign editor Hugh Delliios tells the story of how Tamayo refused to back down from writing about corruption and drug violence, and how that refusal to censor himself probably cost him his life. Reporters Without Borders says that nine journalists were killed in Mexico in 2006, making it the second most dangerous country for journalists, after Iraq.
AP Photographer Killed In Iraq AP photographer Ahmed Hadi Naji, age 28, was shot and killed in Baghdad. His body was found in a morgue last week. This is the price journalists are paying to get news from the war zone. We need to appreciate what they are doing for us.
CPJ - 32 Journalists Died In Iraq in 2006 2006 was the deadliest year ever for journalists in a single country. World wide, 55 journalists were killed in direct connection for their work. Get the story on these courageous inidviduals at at the CPJ web site.
For all the abuse heaped on journalists these days, it's worth remembering that there is a hardy band of reporters, producers, cameramen and photographers who risk their lives and put their families through great stress simply to tell the rest of us what is transpiring in faraway lands.
Support Our Reporters Dept. - Fox News Journalists Released in Gaza Following Two Weeks in Captivity Fox News journalists Steve Centanni and Olaf Wiig have been released by a group calling itself Holy Jihad Brigades after having been held hostage for 13 days. The reporter and cameraman were shown on a video tape saying they had converted to Islam. Centanni said in a later interview on Fox that they had been forced to make the statements at gunpoint. Centanni and Wiig said they hoped their kidnapping did not discourage journalists from reporting on the Palestinians. According to the Committee to Protect Journalists, at least seven journalists have been kidnapped in the Gaza Strip over the last two years. (Washington Post)
Support Our Reporters Dept. - CBS Reporter Drozier "Awake and Alert" CBS reporter Kimberly Drozier is reportedly "awake and alert" at a U.S. military hospital in Germany. She was badly wounded by a car bombing in Iraq on Monday that killed cameraman Paul Douglas, sound man James Brolan, an American soldier, and an Iraqi translator. The attack on the CBS crew underscores the risks journalists in Iraq are facing along with the troops and contractors working there.
Support Our Reporters Dept. - Two Journalists Killed, One Injured In Iraq Bombing Cameraman Paul Douglas and sound man James Brolan were killed in Bagdad on Monday by a car bombing. They worked on a crew with CBS News Correspondent Kimberly Dozier. According to the latest on Tuesday, Dozier was responsive, in critical but stable condition. This story serves as a reminder that journalists face constant peril doing their job, and that the risks are faced by the entire crew, not just the reporter who gets the byline or her face on television.
Support our Reporters Dept. - Attacks on Journalists
Kurtz Raises Questions About Jill Carroll's Captivity The WP's media reporter takes a look at questions raised about reporter Jill Carroll's captivity and release. He also sets the story in context of some of the recent attacks on journalists in Iraq.
Support Our Reporters Dept. - Updates On The Dangers Of Covering The Middle East
ABC Anchor Woodruff Making "Good" Progress
Bob Woodruff is slowly recovering from the injuries he suffered from a IED attack in Iraq on January 29. Cameraman Doug Vogt, who was injured in the same attack, has recovered sufficiently to return to his home in France. (Newsday)
Chinese Newspaper Editor Dies From Police Beating The BBC reports that Chinese newspaper editor Wu Xianghu died last week as a result of injuries he suffered from a police beating in October. His paper had reported on corruption by Taizhou police.
"Maybe it's time we refused to air a tape and, in effect, quit pandering (if unwittingly) to the terrorists. Perhaps Americans living and working in danger zones around the world would be better off from now on. "
I'm not sure I buy his argument, but it is provocative.
Is ABC's Bob Woodruff Getting Too Much Coverage? The WP's Howard Kurtz was asked this question in an online chat Monday, with the suggestion that soldiers and civilians deserve more coverage than they recieve. Of course, when the press focuses on what happens to soldiers in a war, it's accused of being too negative. I might note that NPR does a good job of running profiles of soldiers killed in Iraq on All Things Considered and Morning Edition. Also, the WP has an online feature recognizing each of the more than 2,000 military fatalities in Iraq.
Journalists and the People Who Love Them Jackie and Jenny Spinner are twins who had never been completely separated for an extended period of time until Jackie went to Iraq to cover the war for the Washington Post. In their book Tell Them I Didn't Cry, they talk about Jackie's experience in Iraq and Jenny's experience as an English professor back home. This is a very personal story of twin's who had to deal with all that war means to a relationship, and who are both talented writers. (For example, Jackie survived an attempted kidnapping which her sister overheard part of through a cell phone call.) The main link here is to Brian Lamb's interview with the Spinners on this week's edition of C-SPAN's Q&A, the show that replaced the long-running Booknotes. While there is a transcript on the site, please take the time to view the program as streaming video. (I watched it on my kitchen television Sunday night while baking banana bread.) For an audio interview, along with links to stories that the Spinners have contributed to NPR, go the Fresh Air archive.
Stories by the Spinners
Jackie Discusses Her Time In Iraq For the WP "When I called Jenny later, my voice shook. "These guys tried to kidnap me!" I exclaimed. I had already talked to my editor back in Washington, had heard myself begging: "Please, do not make me come home. I want to stay. Please, do not call me home." "
Jenny Discusses Jackie's Decision To Go To Iraq "When your twin goes off to war, she never really returns. And you are the one left desperate, grasping for an arm, a leg, anything familiar to hold onto, to push her back into the womb you once shared." (WP)
Cooking in the Red Zone OK, now we're getting personal. Jackie discusses cooking in dangerous area outside the highly secure "Green Zone." (WP Food Section)
Garrett Graff has thoughtful entry at FishbowlDC on whether this attack will finally make the American public realize what incredible sacrifices our soldiers and press are making in Iraq. As he notes (in referencing a recent story from the NYT):
Bob Woodruff was in Baghdad for ABC reporting the good news that the Bush administration complains is ignored by the news media, and he ended up as a glaring illustration of the bad news.
Throughout this week we're going to be looking at the sacrifices journalists have been making to cover the war, along with other dangerous stories around the world.
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