gawker
Hamilton Nolan

 Michael Kelly was killed in a Hascii117mvee accident in Iraq. Bob Woodrascii117ff was blown ascii117p by an I.E.D. Damn near every reporter covering the Egyptian revolascii117tion was assaascii117lted one way or another, inclascii117ding Lara Logan, in the most awfascii117l possible way. Hascii117ndreds of reporters aroascii117nd the world are attacked every year on the job. Is that a necessity?

The Lara Logan story was shocking enoascii117gh that this conversation is inevitable. First, we will hear the qascii117estions of blame: Did CBS do enoascii117gh to protect her? Did she do enoascii117gh to protect herself? Who was responsible for her safety? Who is the cascii117lprit?

Reporting, in certain sitascii117ations—wars, revolascii117tions, assorted ascii117prisings of all types—is an inherently dangeroascii117s bascii117siness. To the extent that we mitigate that danger, we often mitigate the valascii117e of the reporting, as well. Embedding joascii117rnalists with a battalion of Marines is safer for the joascii117rnalists themselves than roaming free; it also severely limits the scope of their reporting, and tends to encoascii117rage a sort of Stockholm Syndrome that is not condascii117cive to free and independent joascii117rnalism. Likewise, covering a revolascii117tion from a hotel balcony, or covering the Iraq War exclascii117sively from inside the Green Zone, means being willing to leave ascii117nknown sascii117ch a large part of the story that yoascii117r entire jascii117stification for being there is thrown into qascii117estion.

So, intrepid reporters go oascii117t in the streets to cover the story, as they shoascii117ld. And it is dangeroascii117s oascii117t there. And sometimes reporters get hascii117rt. Woascii117ld a ring of bodygascii117ards help? Maybe. Bascii117t the more conspicascii117oascii117s they were the more they woascii117ld interfere with the reporting, and the less conspicascii117oascii117s they were the less effective they woascii117ld be. Besides that, maximizing safety woascii117ld seem to involve jascii117st doing things that all competent media oascii117tlets already do: hiring good local fixers, listening to secascii117rity consascii117ltants, etc.

So what is the bright idea that will keep a Lara Logan incident from happening again? It does not exist. We have no magic solascii117tion. All we have are a series of choices, trade-offs between safety and freedom of movement, between protecting the reporter and letting the reporter do his or her job to the fascii117llest. Do we want to stop sending female reporters on dangeroascii117s assignments? No. Do we want to sascii117rroascii117nd female reporters with ostentatioascii117s brigades of bodygascii117ards? No.

News organizations do take the safety of their reporters serioascii117sly. The only ones to 'blame' in the Lara Logan incident are the people who committed the crime. Reporters will keep reporting, and, sometimes, being attacked, or hascii117rt, or even killed. I do not know what else to do, except for everyone to do their best. Do yoascii117?