THE QUESTION
BBC's Alan Johnston is still missing after 100 days. Have Western journalists lost their "white flag" of neutrality? How can they get it back?
Posted by David Ignatius on June 21, 2007 11:41 AM
FROM THE PANEL
Michael Young is the Opinion Editor and a columnist for Lebanon’s The Daily Star newspaper. He is also a contributing editor and contributor at Reason magazine, where he writes bi-weely articles.
Being a Bargaining Chip May Mean Survival
Western reporters long ago lost their "white flag" of neutrality. My own concern, however, is as much for local reporters in crisis countries, whose fates rarely get written up. While captured Western journalists are valued prizes to be bartered for political gain, local reporters lack such value and are quickly killed.
Michael Young Beirut, Lebanon |Jun 23, 2007 at 2:36 PM
Bashir Goth is a veteran journalist, freelance writer, the first Somali blogger and editor of a leading news website. He is also a regular contributor to major Middle Eastern and African newspapers and online journals.
Self-Righteous Obsession Dehumanizes
Bashir Goth Somalia/UAE |Miriam Leitao is a reporter and columnist for O Globo and Radio CBN in Brazil. She is also a commentator on Globo TV Network and runs her own blog, www.miriamleitao.com, hosted at Globo online at www.oglobo.com.br. She was awarded Columbia University’s Maria Moors Cabot Prize in 2005.
In Rio, Journalism Under Siege
Miriam Leitao Rio de Janeiro, Brazil |Endy M. Bayuni took up the job of chief editor of The Jakarta Post, Indonesia’s independent and leading English language newspaper, in August 2004 shortly after he returned from a one-year Nieman Fellowship at the Harvard University.
Endy has been with the newspaper since 1991, working his way up from Production Manager (Night Editor), to National Editor, Managing Editor, and Deputy Chief Editor through all those years. He previously worked as the Indonesian correspondent for Reuters and Agence France-Presse between 1984 and 1991, and began his journalistic career with The Jakarta Post in 1983. Endy completed his Bachelors of Arts degree in economics from Kingston University in Surrey, England, in 1981.
If Neutrality is a Myth, Try Fairness
Endy Bayuni Jakarta, Indonesia |READER RESPONSE
» | There is an assumption that Johnston's kidnapping, like many similar incidents in Iraq, is the work of terrorists, with a defined political agenda.
T...
» Ben Graham | What happened to Mr. Johnston was tragic and for him unforeseen. His kidnappers have a different world view than he as to the sanctity of press freed...
» BobL-VA | Yes they have lost their white flag. Considering most radicals and insurgents in Iraq would view western journalists as biased they have no reason to...

