"It used to be that when media wore PRESS emblazoned on their vest, or PRESS or MEDIA was on their vehicle, it gave them a degree of protection."He stated that, contrary to today, both sides of a conflict use to see reporters as independent citizens telling both sides of the issue at hand.
However, there is a sad truth at hand. According to the Reporters Without Borders, in 2015 alone, 18 professional journalists have been killed (no doubt, we remember all too well the tragedy of the Charlie Hebdo shootings), 160 professional journalists have been imprisoned, and 175 netizens (Citizen-journalists) have been imprisoned.
"But guess what: That labeling now is more likely to make them a target," Pruitt continued in a speech to Hong Kong's Foreign Correspondence Club.Extremist groups like the Islamic State have evolved to using social media to tell their mission and story, instead of traditional press. Therefore, extremist groups view reporters as expendable hostages who can provide leverage in a negotiation. (Yes, despite the slogans, America does negotiate with terrorists.)
However, despite this shift in attitude, the rest of the world most definitely still needs the traditional reporters and press. Although the Internet has been revolutionary and has given the public a voice for (in a lot of cases) the first time, the average man can't and does not desire to travel to Syria or revolutionary Ukraine.
That's all I have to say today, but I'll be back tomorrow.
"If someone would like to know why their own government has decided to go on a fishing expedition through every personal record or private document - through library books they've read and phone calls they've made - this legislation gives people no rights to appeal the need for such a search in a court of law. No judge will hear their plea, no jury will hear their case. This is just plain wrong." -Barack Hussein Obama
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