I have to give credit where credit is due to reporters in combat zones, focusing mainly on the conflict in Libya. Journalists in Libya have gone above and beyond to get the best possible coverage of the ongoing conflict. Reporters have had rockets land just a hundred feet away from them, been taken captive, and gotten in to heated, physical arguments with Quadaffi's minders. I would just like to give praise to their journalistic integrity and willingness to be on the front lines to get a story, which is a beam of light in this modern day world of soft news.
http://www.cnn.com/2011/WORLD/africa/03/27/libya.woman.attack.cnn/index.html?hpt=Sbin
That was a really crazy article. I am not sure what to think when I see reporters behaving in this way. I think there is a very fine line between bravery to get a story and expose the truth and pure stupidity. In an article that I posted on my blog, four journalists were held captive for a few days before being released and they recounted their tale. They noted though, that - the story is not worth dying for, but sometimes they lose sight of that. To me, that is terrifying. I believe that there are very few things worth dying for and that is a sentiment often thrown around to convince people to do things that are completely ludicrous. I am not condemning the reporters and their resilience, I am simply commenting, that we would do well to watch the reporters with a grain of salt. Do we care about integrity? If so, are we bothered by their desire to get the good shots and the good stories, just so they can sell newspapers?
ReplyDeleteIt's interesting how people have been saying that bloggers will replace journalists, that the role of the journalist has been undermined by modern technology...until events like these happen and we realize there are some things only a real journalist can/would do.
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