FNC’s Steve Centanni penned an article in his (and my) hometown paper, The San Jose Mercury News…
According to research by the Committee to Protect Journalists, a New York-based advocacy group, 15 journalists have been kidnapped in Gaza since 2004. All were freed and unharmed.
But these abductions in Gaza were just part of a much larger picture. Reporters Without Borders found that at least 871 members of the media were detained around the world last year, and 129 have been imprisoned so far this year. They, too, were just doing their jobs. And some paid a very high price indeed.
The Committee to Protect Journalists reports 31 journalists have been killed in the first seven months of 2007. Reporters Without Borders puts the number at 59. This is not only a tragedy for those hardworking journalists and their families, but for the larger cause of freedom of speech, freedom of the press.
Journalists must be free to cover difficult stories in dangerous places. The riots, wars and humanitarian disasters are the visible fault lines of our society. If we don’t shed light on them, we lose a vital opportunity - a chance to save lives, lift people out of poverty and build the foundations of a more peaceful world.
