Johnston abduction has 'sharpened minds'
LONDON -- As the fate of kidnapped BBC Gaza reporter Alan Johnston hangs in the balance, his abduction has prompted news organizations here to re-assess the impact and risk of reporting from hostile environments.
Kidnapped on his way from work in March, Johnston will have been missing for 100 days on Wednesday and is believed to be held by armed Palestinian group the Army of Islam.
The threat of kidnap in such regions as Iraq, Gaza, Somalia and the Palestinian territories is a mounting concern for broadcast news organizations and their personnel, and an increasingly dangerous fact of life for reporters and crews based there.
"From our point of view, there is a constant fear of kidnap, and the risk is always there. It is something we fear all of the time," said Andrew North, the BBC's Baghdad correspondent, in an interview from the BBC's news compound in Iraq.
"Since Alan was kidnapped, the situation has gotten even worse here because of the kidnapping last month of five Britons from a government ministry," he added. "That has underlined the threat here; we think about it all the time."
Even within the Green Zone -- the four-square-mile protected area in Baghdad where Westerners are based -- the situation is deteriorating, North said, adding that mortar fire, bombings and gunfire are an ever-present threat.
"Nowhere is safe", he said. "A gun battle broke out near the house where we are based a few nights ago, and we all ended up ducking for cover."
The BBC is one of the few remaining news organizations to have a permanent bureau in Baghdad alongside U.S.
Kidnapped on his way from work in March, Johnston will have been missing for 100 days on Wednesday and is believed to be held by armed Palestinian group the Army of Islam.
The threat of kidnap in such regions as Iraq, Gaza, Somalia and the Palestinian territories is a mounting concern for broadcast news organizations and their personnel, and an increasingly dangerous fact of life for reporters and crews based there.
"From our point of view, there is a constant fear of kidnap, and the risk is always there. It is something we fear all of the time," said Andrew North, the BBC's Baghdad correspondent, in an interview from the BBC's news compound in Iraq.
"Since Alan was kidnapped, the situation has gotten even worse here because of the kidnapping last month of five Britons from a government ministry," he added. "That has underlined the threat here; we think about it all the time."
Even within the Green Zone -- the four-square-mile protected area in Baghdad where Westerners are based -- the situation is deteriorating, North said, adding that mortar fire, bombings and gunfire are an ever-present threat.
"Nowhere is safe", he said. "A gun battle broke out near the house where we are based a few nights ago, and we all ended up ducking for cover."
The BBC is one of the few remaining news organizations to have a permanent bureau in Baghdad alongside U.S.
- 6/19/2007
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Johnston kidnap has 'sharpened minds'
LONDON -- As the fate of kidnapped BBC Gaza reporter Alan Johnston hangs in the balance, his abduction has prompted news organizations here to reassess the impact and risk of reporting from hostile environments.
Kidnapped on his way from work in March, Johnston will have been missing for 100 days on Wednesday and is believed to be held by armed Palestinian group the Army of Islam.
The threat of kidnap in such regions as Iraq, Gaza, Somalia and the Palestinian territories is a mounting concern for broadcast news organizations and their personnel, and an increasingly dangerous fact of life for reporters and crews based there.
"From our point of view, there is a constant fear of kidnap, and the risk is always there. It is something we fear all of the time," said Andrew North, the BBC's Baghdad correspondent, in an interview from the BBC's news compound in Iraq.
"Since Alan was kidnapped, the situation has gotten even worse here because of the kidnapping last month of five Britons from a government ministry," he added. "That has underlined the threat here; we think about it all the time."
Even within the Green Zone -- the four-square-mile protected area in Baghdad where Westerners are based -- the situation is deteriorating, North said, adding that mortar fire, bombings and gunfire are an ever-present threat.
"Nowhere is safe", he said. "A gunbattle broke out near the house where we are based a few nights ago, and we all ended up ducking for cover."
The BBC is one of the few remaining news organizations to have a permanent bureau in Baghdad alongside U.S.
Kidnapped on his way from work in March, Johnston will have been missing for 100 days on Wednesday and is believed to be held by armed Palestinian group the Army of Islam.
The threat of kidnap in such regions as Iraq, Gaza, Somalia and the Palestinian territories is a mounting concern for broadcast news organizations and their personnel, and an increasingly dangerous fact of life for reporters and crews based there.
"From our point of view, there is a constant fear of kidnap, and the risk is always there. It is something we fear all of the time," said Andrew North, the BBC's Baghdad correspondent, in an interview from the BBC's news compound in Iraq.
"Since Alan was kidnapped, the situation has gotten even worse here because of the kidnapping last month of five Britons from a government ministry," he added. "That has underlined the threat here; we think about it all the time."
Even within the Green Zone -- the four-square-mile protected area in Baghdad where Westerners are based -- the situation is deteriorating, North said, adding that mortar fire, bombings and gunfire are an ever-present threat.
"Nowhere is safe", he said. "A gunbattle broke out near the house where we are based a few nights ago, and we all ended up ducking for cover."
The BBC is one of the few remaining news organizations to have a permanent bureau in Baghdad alongside U.S.
- 6/19/2007
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Johnston abduction has 'sharpened minds'
LONDON -- As the fate of kidnapped BBC Gaza reporter Alan Johnston hangs in the balance, his abduction has prompted news organizations here to re-assess the impact and risk of reporting from hostile environments.
Kidnapped on his way from work in March, Johnston will have been missing for 100 days on Wednesday and is believed to be held by armed Palestinian group the Army of Islam.
The threat of kidnap in such regions as Iraq, Gaza, Somalia and the Palestinian territories is a mounting concern for broadcast news organizations and their personnel, and an increasingly dangerous fact of life for reporters and crews based there.
"From our point of view, there is a constant fear of kidnap, and the risk is always there. It is something we fear all of the time," said Andrew North, the BBC's Baghdad correspondent, in an interview from the BBC's news compound in Iraq.
"Since Alan was kidnapped, the situation has gotten even worse here because of the kidnapping last month of five Britons from a government ministry," he added. "That has underlined the threat here; we think about it all the time."
Even within the Green Zone -- the four-square-mile protected area in Baghdad where Westerners are based -- the situation is deteriorating, North said, adding that mortar fire, bombings and gunfire are an ever-present threat.
"Nowhere is safe", he said. "A gun battle broke out near the house where we are based a few nights ago, and we all ended up ducking for cover."
The BBC is one of the few remaining news organizations to have a permanent bureau in Baghdad alongside U.S.
Kidnapped on his way from work in March, Johnston will have been missing for 100 days on Wednesday and is believed to be held by armed Palestinian group the Army of Islam.
The threat of kidnap in such regions as Iraq, Gaza, Somalia and the Palestinian territories is a mounting concern for broadcast news organizations and their personnel, and an increasingly dangerous fact of life for reporters and crews based there.
"From our point of view, there is a constant fear of kidnap, and the risk is always there. It is something we fear all of the time," said Andrew North, the BBC's Baghdad correspondent, in an interview from the BBC's news compound in Iraq.
"Since Alan was kidnapped, the situation has gotten even worse here because of the kidnapping last month of five Britons from a government ministry," he added. "That has underlined the threat here; we think about it all the time."
Even within the Green Zone -- the four-square-mile protected area in Baghdad where Westerners are based -- the situation is deteriorating, North said, adding that mortar fire, bombings and gunfire are an ever-present threat.
"Nowhere is safe", he said. "A gun battle broke out near the house where we are based a few nights ago, and we all ended up ducking for cover."
The BBC is one of the few remaining news organizations to have a permanent bureau in Baghdad alongside U.S.
- 6/19/2007
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
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