Risks rise for journalists covering hot spots, news executives say
By The Associated Press,
freedomforum.org staff
05.22.02
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VIENNA, Austria — Journalists face unprecedented risks in their quest to provide readers with comprehensive coverage of world events, news executives agreed at a conference on the importance of unbiased news.
"The Various Faces of Reality," a two-day symposium sponsored by the Austria Press Agency, examined how newsgathering has changed over the past century — and how dangerous it has become to cover a world in turmoil.
Since the Associated Press was founded 154 years ago, 26 of its journalists have lost their lives while on assignment. A third of those victims were killed in the last nine years, said AP President and CEO Louis D. Boccardi, who delivered the keynote address. Boccardi is also a Freedom Forum trustee.
On May 3, the names 51 journalists killed in 2001 were added the Freedom Forum's Journalists Memorial, a sculptural tribute to those who have died covering the news.
The many deaths of journalists are a troubling trend, Boccardi said on May 13. "You see in those sobering numbers a tragic toll, and a reminder that our business has become a much more dangerous one," he said.
Worldwide, according to Freedom Forum figures, about 1,450 journalists have died pursuing a story over the past 200 years. Probably a third have died in the last decade.
Although the AP and other news organizations provide hostile-environment training to staffers who work in war zones, and journalists wear protective clothing and take other precautions, "the fact is that there are more dangerous places in the world than there used to be," Boccardi said.
The APA conference, which brought together the heads of news agencies from across Central and Eastern Europe, also focused on the key role that the media can play in countries with emerging democracies.
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