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Press Freedom Organizations
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Article
19
This British group takes its name from the article of
the Universal Declaration of Human Rights that protects
free expression. Its Web site includes a virtual
handbook on press freedom and censorship, with documents
on print media, film and the Internet.
Cartoonists
Rights Network
Journalists aren't the only media professionals who get
in trouble for their work. The Cartoonists Rights Network
keeps track of editorial cartoonists who have been censored
or punished for taking pokes at the powerful. This Web
site features short profiles of cartoonists and samples
their most irreverent work.
Committee
to Protect Journalists
The Committee to Protect Journalists has documented and
protested against abusive treatment of journalists worldwide
since 1981. Its Web site includes its list of journalists
killed during the past 10 years and its picks for
the 10
worst places to be a journalist.
Freedom
Forum
The Freedom Forum promotes First Amendment rights and
ethnic diversity in American newsrooms. It runs an online
Newseum
with exhibits on major stories of the past century and
monthly profiles of award-winning
photojournalists.
Index
on Censorship
This quarterly British magazine publishes a regularly
updated list of free speech violations in more than 70
countries. Its Web site features current news and analysis
of international press restrictions.
International
Federation of Journalists
The International Federation of Journalists is the world's
largest organization of journalists, with 450,000 members
in more than 100 countries. The group supports journalists
who wish to organize independent trade unions and provides
aid to journalists in need.
International
Press Institute
The International Press Institute, based in Vienna, has
opposed infringements on press freedoms for more than
50 years. The group recounts the stories of individual
journalists and honors 50
press freedom heroes on its Web site.
PEN America
This well-known writers' organization defends free expression
and publicizes abuses against all kinds of writers, including
reporters, novelists and poets.
Reporters
Sans Frontières
This French press watchdog organization keeps track of
those who attempt to silence independent journalists.
The group's trilingual Web site includes reports on the
current state of press freedom in every country and a
list of currently
imprisoned journalists.
UNESCO
Each year, the United Nations Educational, Scientific
and Cultural Organization commemorates World
Press Freedom Day on May 3. Established in 1991, the
day is meant to remind governments around the world, and
the public, of the importance of a free, independent press.
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Remembering Slain Journalists
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APTN cameraman Nazeh Darwazeh, killed in clash, was often on the front lines
On April 19, 2003, Nazeh Darwazeh, a Palestinian cameraman for the Associated Press Television News (APTN), was shot to death while covering clashes between IDF troops and Palestinians in the West Bank city of Nablus.
CPJ Outraged by Shooting Death of Palestinian Cameraman
Read here the response of the Committee to Protect Journalists to the shooting death of Associated Press Television News (APTN) Palestinian cameraman Nazeh Darwazeh.
"Israelis Kill British TV Cameraman"
This article, published in the May 4th 2003 edition of The Sydney Morning Herald, describes the fatal shooting of British cameraman James Miller, who at the time of his death was filming a documentary for HBO about the impact of terrorism upon children in the southern Gaza Strip town of Rafah.
The Last Photograph
In this harrowing account published in the July 26th 2002 edition of the Israeli paper Ha'aretz, columnist Gideon Levy describes the fatal shooting of Palestinian freelance journalist Imad Abu Zahra in Jenin.
Reporters Sans Frontières - Issam Hamza Tillawi
On September 22nd, 2002, Issam Hamza Tillawi, a host and journalist for the Voice of Palestine, was killed by a shot in the back of head while on assignment. Read this bulletin from the French organization, Reporters Sans Frontières, for more information about the circumstances of his fatal shooting.
Attacks Against Journalists in the West Bank and Gaza Since September 2000
The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) recently published the names of journalists harassed, beaten and killed in the West Bank and Gaza since Septermber 2000 through May 2002. A brief account follows each entry. In the report, CPJ contends, "(t)hat since May 2002, 4 journalists have been killed in the Occupied Territories -- all by Israeli gunfire".
The
Daniel Pearl Foundation
During his career at the Wall Street Journal, journalist
Daniel Pearl gained a reputation for brilliant reporting
and original writing. The foundation founded in his honor
remembers his accomplishments
and encourages journalists, young writers and musicians
to follow in his footsteps. The Wall Street Journal
has also put some of Pearl's best
stories online.
Death
of an Irish Heroine
In June 1996, investigative reporter Veronica Guerin was
shot and killed in Dublin. Guerin, who had made a name
exposing Ireland's criminal underworld, had already been
shot and assaulted in retaliation for her investigations.
In March 2002, the conviction of the man sentenced to
life in prison for murdering Guerin was overturned. In
this profile, a BBC correspondent pays tribute to Guerin.
Freedom
Forum Online Memorial
The Freedom Forum maintains an online memorial for journalists
and photographers killed on the job over nearly two centuries.
The list starts with James Lingan, who was stomped to
death in Baltimore in 1812 by an angry mob upset by his
reporting about local politicians. Other honorees include
legendary war photographer Robert
Capa, killed by a mine in Vietnam in 1954, and Mozambican
investigative journalist Carlos
Cardoso, killed in November 2000 after reporting on
government corruption.
Impunity
No More
This Web site, produced by the Inter American Press Association,
honors Latin American journalists killed for their reporting
on corruption, crime and human rights abuses. It includes
profiles of recently slain journalists as well as the
results of investigations into their deaths. Featured
journalists include Brazilian television reporter Tim
Lopes, killed in June 2002 while reporting on drug
trafficking in Rio de Janeiro, and Jean
Leopold Dominique, a prominent Haitian radio reporter
shot dead outside his station in April 2000.
Postcards
From Hell
Italian freelance photographer Raffaele Ciriello was killed
by gunfire from an Israeli tank while covering a gun battle
in Ramallah in March 2002. He was the first foreign journalist
to be killed since the current cycle in the Israel-Palestinian
conflict began in September 2000. His personal Web site,
Postcards From Hell, maintained by his supporters, presents
striking images from Afghanistan, Kosovo, Sierra Leone
and other places around the globe where he worked.
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Keeping Journalists Safe
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Battlefield
Bylines
During the Vietnam War, American journalists had nearly
unfettered access to the action on the ground. That changed
during the Gulf War, when the Pentagon announced strict
new rules for reporters following U.S. troops on the battlefield.
This PBS NewsHour segment looks at how the Pentagon
and the press are negotiating their often tense relationship
as another major war approaches.
Into
Harm's Way
"In this business, there's always the sense that you're
telling them to be careful, but with a wink and a nod,
because you want the story," says Bill Spindle, who edits
Middle East news for The Wall Street Journal, in
this frank discussion of potential dangers to journalists
in the upcoming war on Iraq.
Danger:
Media at Work
This op-ed by Chris Cramer, president of CNN international
networks, discusses risks to journalists in the field
and defends the practice of "embedding" journalists with
the military in the context of a war with Iraq.
Ten
Days in Colombia
In January 2003, American freelance journalist Robert
Young Pelton and two companions were kidnapped by right-wing
paramilitaries in a remote part of Colombia. After 10
days, they were released unharmed. (Two British journalists
working for the Los Angeles Times were also kidnapped
and released by leftist rebels around the same time.)
Young recounts his experience in this interview with National
Geographic. Asked how others might prepare to travel
in the area where he was seized, Young advises, "[Y]ou
have to have a group of armed men with you."
Frontlines
and Deadlines
As reporters head off to hot spots like Afghanistan and
the Middle East, an increasing number are first enrolling
in "boot camp" courses to teach them survival skills.
In this story, the PBS NewsHour reports on a training
course for journalists in Virginia. The story outlines
how reporters from the United States can better prepare
themselves for tough foreign assignments.
Danger:
Journalists at Work
"No story is worth your life. You are more important than
the story," advises the International Federation of Journalists
in this list of safety tips for journalists.
A
Practical Guide for Journalists
For journalists working in dangerous places, Reporters
Sans Frontières presents this concise guide to keeping
safe. The handbook includes tips for avoiding violent
situations and dodging mines, snipers and ambushes.
The
Target
The death of Daniel Pearl made a lot of journalists think
twice about their safety. In this New York Times Magazine
piece, longtime war correspondent Scott Anderson says
that he has felt more at risk lately. During the past
decade, he writes, combatants have stopped viewing journalists
as observers and started seeing them as potential targets.
(Registration required.)
U.S.
State Department Travel Warnings
The State Department publishes regular reports on potential
risks and dangers, from health risks to political violence,
faced by Americans abroad.
What
to Bring Into the Field
In this excerpt from his book Pen & Sword: A Journalist's
Guide to Covering the Military, Ed Offley provides
some packing tips for journalists planning to head to
a war zone. Sturdy, comfortable clothing is a must --
as long as it's not in camouflage design.
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