What makes them so special?

[Occhidiangela]

Let's see, someone forced a bunch of folks to take jobs as journalists, forced them to cover war, civil unrest, and totalitarian regimes all over the globe, and the poor dears are catching lead now and again. They don't get to be overpaid voyeurs and purveyors of info-porn in the shape of "it bleeds so it leads" stories without . . . risk. Horrors! Oh, the inhumanity of it all! :wacko:

Meanwhile, back at the ranch in the Sudan, slavery and ethnic cleansing continue to be featured in National Geographic . . .

Iraq War Leads To Increase In Journalists Killed

By Megan McCloskey, The Washington Times

Note: what's in regular type is from the article, what is in quote boxes are my comments. Occhi

The Iraq war pushed the number of journalists killed on the job last year to 36, up sharply from the 19 killed in 2002, according to a report by an organization that monitors international press freedom. "It was quite a discouraging year," said Ann Cooper, the director of the Committee to Protect Journalists. But 2003 was considerably better than 1994, the worst in the past decade, when 66 newsmen and women were killed.

Please pardon me for getting ill.  Let's see, a war goes down, a bunch of reporters show up in a war zone, and some of them get hit by hot lead.  This surprised . . . who?  In case this esteemed journalist had not noticed, though some of her colleagues did, in the past two months, over one hundred Haitians have died in civil unrest.   What is 66 newsmen dead, globally, compared to the annual death rates thanks to civil war, 'civil unrest' or insurgency and dirty little wars in countries like the Sudan.  1994 had a few actions in Africa, IIRC Ivory Coast and Liberia, that caused some blood shed.  Bosnia!  Chechnya.  Oh, that's right, RWANDA!  Congo!  Yeah, Half a Million Dead!  (Hmm, or was Rwanda back in 1993?) . [/I

]

The CPJ's annual report, "Attacks on the Press," details the state of the press around the world, reporting attacks on individual journalists as well as systematic government interference. "The most dramatic story in terms of press freedom and journalist security is obviously Iraq," where 13 journalists were killed in the past year, Mrs. Cooper said. These included four killed by U.S. fire. Two of those were cameramen killed April 8 when an American tank attacked the Palestine Hotel in central Baghdad, which housed many foreign correspondents.

[I] Here's a bogus premise.  Attacks on journalists and freedom of the press are directly related, inside or outside a war zone.   Wow, what fascinating logic.   Ernie Pyle died in a War Zone.  Since when is a journalist covering a war guaranteed immunity from lead?  See Chris Hedges' book "War is a Force That Gives Us Meaning ."  That is an interesting look at war, in a modern context, as seen by a veteran war correspondent.

Besides the obvious dangers posed to journalists by the war in Iraq and the U.S.-led war on terrorism,

Wait a  minute, do you mean the dangers posed to journalists in the warzones?  Be specific, missy.

the two events have given some countries an excuse to restrict independent reporting, the CPJ reported. "The United States has a huge responsibility," Mrs. Cooper said, adding that it "is the country that everyone looks to as the beacon of press freedom."

Yes, and guess what?  Freedom of the press is still alive and well in the US.  Now, how about the rest of you 178 nations in the world?  Hmm, our friends in Italy are doing OK, our French Colleagues are doing all right, buy hey, what about our dear Saudi friends?  Oh no, what about Malaysia?  Heavens, how about in Cuba?

Karin Karlekar, who tracks press activity for Freedom House, said, "It seems that countries that were already interested in clamping down on the press are using [U.S. actions] as an excuse to do so."

What?  Those people are too stupid to think for themselves?  I'll let the US issue rest for a moment, but I suppose that this person thinks that Western Europe, a pretty nice bastion of free press, is obviously seen as a collection of second rate wankers who could not set an example, even with Ms Cooper spotting them the "x"?  That dog won't hunt!

Referring to post-September 11, 2001, laws such as the Patriot Act, she said the prevailing attitude is, "If the U.S. can pass laws like that, then so can we."

Let's see, Patriot Act curtailed Freedom of the Press . . . how?  American journalists are being shot in the street by cops?  Newspaper buildings are being set on fire?  INternet news sites are being shut down left and right?   Really???  Geeze, I guess stupidity is endemic, world wide, and Ms Cooper is its new poster child.  Let's see, next the US will pass a law mandating five cups of coffee for breakfast for all citizens, and those damned fools will play stupid simon on that one too . . . Only they will change coffee to hemlock and blame the US for advocating more breakfast drinks. 

Morocco, which in past years has exhibited relative tolerance toward a critical press, passed an antiterrorism law in 2003 that resulted in the closing of four newspapers and the detainment or imprisonment of five journalists, the CPJ report said.

I see, only passing that law caused that.  There was no possible other contributory cause.  Sure.  This Cooper person probably needs to go back to journalism school and learn about "getting some facts" to back up her assertions.   That is what good journalists do.   See a fellow named . . . Bernstein.  Try a guy named . . . Broder.  Halberstam ring a bell?  How about even a little old Texas gal named . . . Molly Ivins. 

Indonesia followed the United States' lead and embedded reporters with the military during an offensive against separatists in the Aceh province. Citing what it deemed patriotic coverage by the U.S. press during the Iraq invasion, military officials required journalists to report news "with the spirit of capitalism," Mrs. Cooper said.

Spirit of Capitalism?  What a twit.  What does Indonesia's government, and it's rather less than Western Democratic tradition, have to do with freedom of the press?  "Russia, in 1988, sent Pravda reporters to Afghanistan to bring back stories of how well the lads are doing in killing off the enemy."  That is a bit closer parallel, methinks.  And what does that have to do with US Joint Doctrine on Media relations?  "Stay in your lane, speak in your paygrade, don't lie."  This alleged reporter knows less than nothing. That guy in Indonesia knows how to use the media as a weapon of war.  Of course, it may backfire on him, the media is a sword with two edges.  It is part of information age warfare, and has been with us since at least "Remember The Maine!"

While the world was busy watching the fall of Baghdad, 29 journalists in Cuba were sentenced to between 14 and 27 years in prison. "There was a terrible crackdown in Cuba that happened almost opportunistically by Fidel Castro," Mrs. Cooper said.

  There clarity for you, "almost opportunistically."  Let's see, the whole world really is glued to its TV sets and does not care one whit about Cuba.  Hmmm, come to think of it, I don't give a crap about Cuba, maybe she is on to something here!   :blink:  Castro's been screwing with his people, including journalists, since he took over, in 1959.  How was this latest move any change to 40 years of policy and suppression of a Free Press in Cuba?

As an advocacy group, CPJ relies on international pressure and public opinion to affect a country's policy, but those tactics are of little use in politically and economically isolated Cuba. However, the documentation of Cuba's press freedom record is not in vain, Mrs. Cooper said. "It lets journalists know they are not alone," she said. "Messages do get to prisoners, even in places like Cuba."

  She forgets that it relies mostly on Hot Air.  Like the crap she is spouting.   Yeah, them journalists in Cuba get the message just about the same time that the electrodes hit their tender parts.   Funny how CPJ gets its voice heard in America, where freedom of the press is a fact, not a dream, while their voice is a bit muted in the places that need to hear it the most.
As to the rest, cry me a river.  Those poor journalists.  They have to take risks to get a good story in a damned dangerous world.  UH, lady, it comes with the badge.  That is why good journalists win things like Pulitzer prizes, and why guys like Hedges get their books published.

Occhi

EDIT to clear up who wrote what.