Page 240 - Battleground The Media Volume 1 and 2

Journal sts n Per l | 1

anchorman Bob Woodruff was seriously injured when an improvised bomb
went off near the tank where he was traveling as an embed. Woodruff, who was
standing in the hatch of the tank with most of his body exposed, sustained seri-
ous head injuries. Although he was in a coma for weeks and underwent several
surgeries, he survived and made a miraculous recovery.

LEssEning ThE DangErs?

Journalists pick their profession despite the dangers. Some of them choose
ways to lessen the amount of risk they face. For example, journalists may turn
down assignments to war zones or stay away from investigative reporting. Yet
other journalists face the risks with quiet stoicism because they understand
that the regular people they cover often have it even worse than the journalists.
“There is a constant concern for safety,” explains ABC News correspondent Jake
Tapper, who has spent a great deal of time in Iraq. “It takes a real toll on you,
but it makes you appreciate how difficult, in a far deeper way, it is for the troops
there and the Iraqi people.”
Yet many journalists are willing to face great risks because they believe that
they are telling stories that need to be told. “Journalism is a high calling and
sometimes a mortal one. Journalists risk their lives to bring the story of war
home,” said Tom Rosenstiel of the Project for Excellence in Journalism. “They
are as courageous as aid workers, doctors, nurses, even soldiers. People who give
their lives so that the public can understand the world should be perceived as
patriots and heroes.” Whether reporters are perceived as heroes or not, the re-
ality is that the profession of journalism is now, and will always be, laden with
risks.

see also Al-Jazeera; Anonymous Sources, Leaks, and National Security; Bias
and Objectivity; Embedding Journalists; Government Censorship and Freedom
of Speech; Paparazzi and Photographic Ethics; Parachute Journalism; Presiden-
tial Stagecraft and Militainment.
Further reading: Collings, Anthony. Words of Fire: Independent Journalists Who Challenge
Dictators, Druglords, and Other Enemies of a Free Press. New York: New York University
Press, 2001; Committee to Protect Journalists. www.cpj.org; Daniel Pearl Foundation.
www.DanielPearl.org; Foerstel, Herbert N. Killing the Messenger. Westport, CT: Prae-
ger, 2006; International Press Institute. www.freemedia.at; Klebnikov Foundation. www.
paulklebnikovfund.org; Reporters Without Borders. www.rsf.org; Sullivan, George. Jour-
nalists at Risk: Reporting America’s Wars. Minneapolis: 21st Century, 2004.
Beth Knobel