News is an important component of human life, getting information is among the rights that are enjoyed by the people. However, rarely do people think about the sources of the news, about those people who go out to gather, and process the news so that they can be disseminated to the public. The journalist who is the core of any story is always not regarded as much as the news reporters are despite the fact that they are the one who go to the ground to gather the news. The public expects news about any occurrences around the world regardless of the cost of getting the information. No matter how dangerous a calamity is, news about are supposed to be gathered, processed and reported. It is such conditions that expose the lives and health of the journalists at risk. Often what is not reported is the cost on journalists in getting the scoop (Digital S). News outlets have changed their practices and relied more on freelance journalists for submissions. This leaves the freelancers to deal with what sometimes is a lot more combat than enlisted soldiers are.
The coverage of the recent occurrences of violence around the world has resulted in an increase in the number of journalists who die in the course of their duty. Most of these killings have mainly been reported in the countries experiencing conflicts in the Middle East such as Syria, Iraq, Philippines, among others. The murder of these journalists occurs as some of the involved parties attempt to prevent the transfer of information to the international community. Also, the local journalists have been barred from passing the information as it happens on the ground since the local media in these regions remains undue state control. All sorts of journalists, freelance or internet journalists, have been affected by the killings. Also, journalists have increasingly become the targets of terrorist groups who view them as a threat and a possible cause of their downfall. Among those killed in the course or their duty include Ali Abbas, who was slain in Damascus by an al-Qaeda related terrorist group. Those journalists who are suspected to be leaking information on the opposition side are also likely to fall victims of murder in the war-torn regions. The largest percentage of journalist murder victims are mainly local reporters, who attempt to cover the events as they occur in their nations. Journalists are mainly the advocates of human rights during the times of war and conflicts. This makes them to be the major targets of the criminal gangs in most countries.
Also, some of the journalists have been arrested and tortured in some states as a result of exposing some information about the groups involved in the conflict. Among the recent cases was the beheading of an American journalist in Syria among many others. Censored media have prevented the airing of vital information that is highly needed by the people. The violation of these censorship protocols has resulted in the arrest and torture of some journalist (Seow 56). However, this is a breach of the freedom of the press, and such a ban should be lifted to ensure progress in the media broadcast.
Those journalists who have been held hostage are mainly used as a basis for asking for ransom, from their respective governments, for the terrorists to grant them their freedom. However, in some cases, these kidnaped journalists end up being killed in tragic ways as the terrorist groups attempt to prove their superiority. The kidnapping of these journalists causes distress to the family members and may prove hard for them to cope with such circumstances.
Emotional trauma has also been another effect of war coverage on journalists. Most of them have been witnesses to grisly acts of terror where people are subjected to inhuman acts by the terrorists. In most cases, covering stories where children are the victims of the ongoing conflict may cause the journalists trauma due to compassion and the sensitivity of the issue. This is because, most children are left to suffer when their parents are killed during such violence and the journalists having to report the truth without having to distort it. These traumatizing scenes may have a long-term effect on the people involved and therefore may ruin their future and that of their family members (Ward). Trauma in journalism may lea to occurrence of denial and avoidance as the person affected tries to avoid the repetition of such an event again in their lives. It is also likely to cause social difficulties as these journalists attempt to get back into the society they belonged to.
Over the years, there has been no justice for the journalists who die in the line of their duties. This has worsened the situation, and more of these journalists are likely to suffer in the future. Little efforts have been put by eliminating the issues of impunity as most states have failed to implement their commitment to control the targeting of journalists during the war. The perpetrators of such heinous crimes ought to be identified in order to strengthen the protection of the journalists at all times. Hence, authorities should avoid biases and conduct adequate investigations whenever such cases of violence against journalists arise. Unpunished acts of impunity have led to an increase in the number of casualties in the field of journalism. International bodies such as the United Nations have focused their attention on the threat being imposed on journalism by terrorist acts, which is likely to inhibit the freedom of the media. Various plans of actions have been launched to protect the journalists in such war zones hence condemning the attacks against these fundamental sources of news for most people around the world. Also, the intergovernmental bodies should be involved in maintaining peace and enhance protection for the journalists. The necessary avenues of complaints should be used to address the plight of these reporters.
Works Cited
High Stakes of Media Messages: Decoding Visual Narratives from the Iraq War in the U.S. and British Presses. Digital Scholarship@UNLV, 2014.
Peace Journalism: Principles and Structural Limitations in the News Coverage of Three ConflictsSeow Ting Lee. Mass Communication and Society 2010. DOI: 10.1080/15205430903348829
Hatkoff, Craig. "The plight of journalist Peter Greste." Al Jazeera Blogs. N.p., n.d. Web. 9 Dec. 2014.
Ward, Stephen J. "Trauma and Journalists." Center for Journalism Ethics. N.p., n.d. Web. 9 Dec. 2014.
