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David
Rohde’s gripping five-part series on his abduction in
Such
decisions are, of course, subject to scrutiny and debate. At the same time, there is simply no way for
a reporter to cover critical issues in dangerous places without occasionally
running into serious trouble. The question is not only what journalists can do
to reduce the risk, but how media organizations expect the public to respond
when things go wrong.
These
were some of the questions batted around at a fascinating forum hosted last
month by “Frontline/World,” the PBS series that features the work of
independent documentary filmmakers from around the world. Excerpts from the discussion are posted on
the Frontline Web
site.
I
spoke briefly at the forum about what I call the “normalization of risk” among journalists
who cover conflict. As one participant put it, when you are reporting in a
conflict zone things feel safe until they suddenly aren’t. No music comes up to warn you that danger is
lurking. Explaining to a sometimes skeptical public that risks are part of the
job is among the issues CPJ faces when calls come into our offices after a
journalist is kidnapped or arrested.
Participants also spoke about the risk to sources, and Adam Ellick of the Times made a very interesting observation. He said that as a reporter he has sometimes overruled sources who wanted to go on the record if, in his own judgment, it was too dangerous for them to do so. In these dangerous times, I think that’s a very sensible practice.
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