Senseless killing of journalists

[kes]

Before anyone ask what is so great about journalists, journalists are usually the ones who risk their lives in war zones to bring news to the public.

Committee to Protect Journalists http://www.cpj.org/

Peace.  

[Manc Man]

Geraldo carries a gun and whips up anti muslim sentiment.

The Pentagon announces that it has formed a Department to develop "news stories", some true some false, to be planted overseas.

"The Insider"

Only innocents should expect to walk through a battle untouched. There are very few innocent journalists.

It's a surprise more aren't killed.

May be they should be duly recognized as tools of oppression and western hegemony..

[rubber ducky]

Manc Man, i would consider looking at the works of the following
James Nachtewey
Sebastio Salgado
Stan Grossfield
Chien Chi Chang
you might change your stance that journalists are tools of western hegemony. Many journalists i know put their lives on the line to tell a story of the lives of people around the world. And any good journalist can tell you there's no such thing as netrality and objectivity or "innocence" as you would put it, but if you look at the works above, you'll find many, many journalist are neither for nor against the west. Their position depends on the issue. They have a point of view and that's nothing to be ashamed about. Furthermore, i would hardly consider the Pentagon's PA dept as journalism. More like Public Relations. Finally, who the heck bases their knowledge of a profession based on a movie? I'm sure any lawyer can tell you that their professional lives are nothing like Ally Macbeal.

[Bruno]

Eight journalists were killed in Afghanistan. One of them was an aquaintance who was getting married in January. They provided information that otherwise would only have been available through the Pentagon and Afghan Islamic Press. They were brave and principled people.

[makanaka]

Pearl's murder was sickening. The hideous death of a good sceptic - he was one of those who had questioned Clinton's bombing of the pharma plant in Sudan.

What I found equally scary is that on the same day that his murder was confirmed, US Defence Secy Rumsfeld admitted that US troops had killed 16 anti-Taliban Afghan fighters, but refused to apologise. His explanation: "War is untidy."

[Joseph27]

It was indeed a sad thing to hear of that Journalist being murdered - like so many of his ilk - Pearl was working his butt off to bring the stories that are editted by greedy ass publishers and editors so that they dont offend certain powerful individuals and hurt the interest of these said groups.  

I have usually found journalist to be some of the hardest working people - focused and obsessed with getting the story.  Please note that I would not include someone who sneaks pictures of some royal shagging their riding horse as being a journalist but rather just an unscrupulous dog

[rubber ducky]

for everyone that is interested, there's a book called "Requim" put together by Horst Faas and Tim Page. In it, you will see some of the final pictures shot by photogs in Vietnam just moments before they were killed. essentially, it's the last of what these men and women saw before they died.

[want_to_believe]

can only agree and think to murder i journalist is really bad . But than, some regimes or at this time , some redical moslem groups dont like that the truth is coming out . This makes the Journalists even work more dangoures , but they still do it . Journalists have my full support !!!!

[Collie Entragian]

What was the reason brought up for Pearl's murder?

[nualum]

The few journalists I have known are all decent types, thoroughly professional and as fair and objective as it is possible to be. However, there are others who are also called journalists who are not so professional or objective.

A current issue of salon.com reports on the proliferation of stories about how Enron CEO Lay had been a friend of Pres. Clinton. Conclusive proof according to these journalists is that he had slept many times in the Lincoln bedroom of the White House. The idea, I suppose, is to deflect attention from the links betweeen Mr. Lay and Mr. Bush.

Since there are official records of who sleeps in the White House, the facts are easily checked. Lay never slept in the White House. Nevertheless, this misinformation has been published recently by the Washington Times, the Chicago Tribune, USA Today, and Fox News. The moral of the story is that we can't believe all we read, even if it has been published by a reputable news source under the by-line of a journalist.

Regrettably, the term journalist covers a wide spectrum of individuals including undercover agents, zealots, idealists, and a lot of decent, hard-working individuals. That there are unsavory types does not in any way justify violence against them, but it is one reason why combatants in combat zones sometimes suspect the motives and bona fides of people using journalist credentials. Perl may have gotten caught up by that suspicion. Actually, the most dangerous place for a journalist these days is in Africa.

[nosy]

I don't think you will have anybody disagreeing with you here. What they did was indeed a cowardly act. As I have always said, there is no excuse for killing innocent people. Journalists are our only chance of getting to the truth. Admitedly, some media eg CNN are a joke but there are some good sources around. All thanks to those men and women who put their lives on the line and tell the story. I am sure they are compensated for that too. The wouldn't be doing it otherwise. Why can't people understand that killing is not going to achieve anything.

[want_to_believe]

i think cnn is a good source for information. They have normaly the best coverage on all international news ... and dont forget they more or less redefined the way of news coverage during the Kuwait liberation.

[nualum]

I think BBC is more objective than CNN and covers more of the world. Nevertheless, television generally gives briefer coverage and less analytical coverage to the news than serious newspapers and magazines. Television simply doesn't have the time to spend on a single story. Occasionally, television will do an investigative piece which is also analytical, but television is severely limited by its requirement for visual images and sound bites.

[nosy]

CNN sucks! If you compare BBC with CNN, you realise that CNN gives you anything but good coverage. Hardtalk is great. I agree that in general, you are not going to get much analysis out of TV news. I think this is why people are so naive and ignorant when it comes to world events. Their main source of information is sky TV news or CNN!

[seditiousdeviant]

imho CNN is blatant propaganda targeted for the american market. news has nothing to do with catchy sound effects and patriotic banners sporting demagogic catchphrases such as "america under attack" or "america at war" or "america strikes back". I agree BBC is better, they have better allround coverage - but remember watching them after 9-11? they too added the big boom boom drumbeat after anouncing each headline for an upcoming news story. sad. and this ****e is what people form their opinions on...