If anyone has been following the news lately, there have be tons of stories about journalists reporting in war torn countries, coming back to Canada and US and talking about their experiences. Do you care about their stories?
I personally feel like they need to do their job and stop being the victims. Im getting a little tired of reporters being the victims in all this, I mean why does it matter if Anderson Cooper gets punched in the face by a protester? What do journalists expect when they show up with cameras to a mass protest in a country going through a horrible time and people dying all over the place??

Here is an interesting quote about Lara Logan.
Lara Logan should be applauded for her courage and regarded as a heroic reporter. And I hope the media won’t exploit her misfortune and begin barring women from covering wars and other hot-button stories.

http://www.marketwatch.com/story/cbs...MW_news_st mp


What exactly makes her a hero? Doing something many people have done before?

For the most part, journalists who allow themselves to be put in situations that would be considered "dangerous" are doing so in order to bring light to an issue that would otherise be ignored. There are many instances where journalists have been instrumental in uncovering gross violations of human rights by inserting themselves in communities where their safety is compromised in order to gain access to those who have been experiencing persecution, oppression, etc. It's not like they're going out on the field to be martyrs --- many journalists genuinely believe that they are performing a service to tell these stories so that they can be brought to the attention of the general public, who are then able to advocate for change at a higher level.

Originally Posted by Elusive1234

For the most part, journalists who allow themselves to be put in situations that would be considered "dangerous" are doing so in order to bring light to an issue that would otherise be ignored. There are many instances where journalists have been instrumental in uncovering gross violations of human rights by inserting themselves in communities where their safety is compromised in order to gain access to those who have been experiencing persecution, oppression, etc. It's not like they're going out on the field to be martyrs --- many journalists genuinely believe that they are performing a service to tell these stories so that they can be brought to the attention of the general public, who are then able to advocate for change at a higher level.

I agree. I don't know if I'd consider all journalists "heroes", but they are going above and beyond their job. I doubt any journalist was told "You need to report from this dangerous country, or you're fired". Most of them do it because they want to get the truth out. This was especially important in Egypt, when Internet communications were cut off from inside the country.

I don't think journalists should be flaunting their injuries or difficulties, but I think it's imporant to talk about them to see how people are being treated in other countries.

Originally Posted by jo87

If anyone has been following the news lately, there have be tons of stories about journalists reporting in war torn countries, coming back to Canada and US and talking about their experiences. Do you care about their stories?
I personally feel like they need to do their job and stop being the victims. Im getting a little tired of reporters being the victims in all this, I mean why does it matter if Anderson Cooper gets punched in the face by a protester? What do journalists expect when they show up with cameras to a mass protest in a country going through a horrible time and people dying all over the place??

Here is an interesting quote about Lara Logan.
Lara Logan should be applauded for her courage and regarded as a heroic reporter. And I hope the media won’t exploit her misfortune and begin barring women from covering wars and other hot-button stories.

http://www.marketwatch.com/story/cbs...MW_news_st mp


What exactly makes her a hero? Doing something many people have done before?

I completely disagree with you. Journalists aside, you could say that about any job.

In other cases: if a doctor contracted a desease from a patient, are you going to say, "you knew you were getting into this situation when you went to med school, so don't complain about contracting, for example, SARS (when this was a huge epidemic some years ago)."

Or, say, to Sidney Crosby, who has been off the ice for 20+ games now with two concussions. Would you tell him that he shouldn't be informing the media about this because injury is always a possibilty and as a hockey player he should expect that?

OR to us students for complaing about a strike because we know full-well that strikes can always occur and we should have taken that into consideration when we paid for our meal plans this September?

I think they have complete rights to talk about their personal experiences. It's up to the viewer as to whether he/she wants to listen to the journalist's story.

Originally Posted by lizziepizzie

I think they have complete rights to talk about their personal experiences. It's up to the viewer as to whether he/she wants to listen to the journalist's story.

I agree with lizzie oh pizzie.

We make a conscious choice on what we want to expose ourselves to. This is even more important nowaday with the Internet giving us so much choices.

Don't like hearing about daily murders and car crashes? Don't read the local news.

I personal do this by exposing myself only to the Scientific news feed or just random fun stuff.

Originally Posted by Kathy2

I agree. I don't know if I'd consider all journalists "heroes", but they are going above and beyond their job. I doubt any journalist was told "You need to report from this dangerous country, or you're fired". Most of them do it because they want to get the truth out. This was especially important in Egypt, when Internet communications were cut off from inside the country.

I don't think journalists should be flaunting their injuries or difficulties, but I think it's imporant to talk about them to see how people are being treated in other countries.

First-hand accounts from journalists like Sonia Verma, who was detained at gunpoint by Egyptian military during the protests, allowed for a more compete understanding of citizen treatment during the media blackout. Like Lara Logan, she did not intend to "become the story". Rather she was engulfed in a similar situation as all those who were protesting what they saw to be injustice in their land.

Often times, breaking the silence on incidences of injustice becomes the first step towards putting an end to these acts. Journalism provides evidence necessary for this to happen .