Does it Get Any More Dangerous than to be a Journalist Covering Iraq? Especially When You Have to Watch Out for Both Sides!

Philip Stone November 24, 2004

The journalistic casualty statistics for Iraq are staggering: 62 journalists and critical support staff dead since the conflict began. “It’s already the worst war in modern times for journalists and news media people, and it’s getting worse, ” according to Rodney Pinder, director of the International News Safety Institute (INSI).

“Gone are the days when a journalist could wear a jersey blazoned with the letters TV and move from one side to the other in relative safety,” Chris Cramer, president of CNN International Networks and honorary president of the INSI, said at News Xchange, an international media conference held in Portugal last week.

Even worse, according to Reuters global managing editor David Schlesinger, the US military is to blame for the deaths of three Reuters employees, something the Pentagon hotly denies.

Conditions in Iraq are so bad that many European media, including TV networks in France and Germany, decline to send crews to Iraq. Even if they wanted to the problem is finding staff willing to go. And that in turn has opened up a new problem – ill-prepared freelancers are taking their place taking greater risks that normal rules for employees would prohibit.

Schlesinger’s fight with the Pentagon dates back to when US forces were taking Baghdad in April 2003. Even though the military had been told that the Palestine Hotel was being used by the international media, including housing the Reuters bureau, a US tank fired from across the river for a direct hit. A cameraman for Reuters and one from Spain’s Telecinco were killed, and three reporters were injured. Since then Reuters has lost two more photographers to US fire -- the most recent on November 1 -- and Schlesinger, who is based in Washington, hotly disputes the Pentagon’s explanations for each event.

The Pentagon has denied responsibility for the deaths and says such incidents are inevitable in war. The Pentagon also makes the case that not one journalist who has been embedded with US troops has been killed.

So how bad is it in Iraq? In their own words:

“Being a foreign correspondent in Baghdad these days is like being under virtual house arrest. I can’t go grocery shopping any more, can’t eat in restaurants, can’t strike a conversation with strangers, can’t look for stories, can’t drive in anything but a full armored car, can’t go to the scenes of breaking news stories, can’t be stuck in traffic, can’t speak English outside, cant’ take a road trip, can’t say I am an American, can’t linger at checkpoints, can’t be curious about what people are saying, doing, feeling. And can’t and can’t” – Farnaz Fassihi, Wall Street Journal

“The situation is so dangerous in Baghdad that I could hardly leave my hotel while I was there.” – Ezio Pasero, Il Messaggero

“You feel they hate you only because you are a foreigner and you are constantly scared that they may pull out a gun and shoot at you.” – Elisabetta Pique, La Nacion, Argentina.

“In Iraq you just can’t move around without disguising yourself for fear of being kidnapped (this said before two French journalists were kidnapped and now held for more than 100 days). You must rely almost entirely upon your fixers and translators. They are the ones who work foremost as journalists.” – Tony Capuozzo, TG5, Italy

Those comments bring up THE question: How important is the story? Is it worth dying for?  There is but one answer – no story is worth dying for, but the story cannot be ignored and news organizations must do whatever they can to minimize the risk.

That’s why Schlesinger continues to snipe at the Pentagon in the hope someone gets the message and reinforces military rules that journalists are NOT fair game. But that will never solve the issue when a soldier in combat claims he could not  tell in the distance whether it’s a gun or a television camera being pointed at him.

And that’s why organizations like INSI are so important by holding safety-training programs for journalists, ensuring they have the right body armor, and that they can be easily recognized as journalists – something that in Iraq may help with the coalition forces but could mean the opposite by the insurgents.

And while the statistics say that 62 journalists and major staff were killed thus far this year, the more insidious statistic is that 38 were Iraqi.  At News Xchange Reuters made its annual GBP1,000 television award to freelance Iraqi cameramen . The money was given to INSI to help fund safety training. Within a matter of days major global news organizations added another GBP7,000 to the fund. “This additional cash will allow INSI to organize much-needed safety training for at least 10 freelance Iraqi camera operators,” according to Pinder.

As if the losses in Iraq are not bad enough, the killing of journalists continues globally.  According to the International Federation of Journalists 101 journalists, have been killed thus far this year – nine in the Philippines alone -- making 2004 the deadliest year for journalists since 1994 when 115 journalists were killed.

Rodney Pinder can be reached at rodney.pinder@newssafety.com.