WASHINGTON,
May 15 (APP): Washington’s museum of journalism, Newseum, added the
names of 70 international reporters including seven Pakistanis, who died
in the line of duty last year, to a dedicated memorial. The somber
ceremony reminded the world of dangers journalists face in conflict-hit
and several other regions of the world, where groups or countries do
not allow freedom of expression. The names of fallen journalists have
been added to a separate panel in the memorial, and their stories are
included in the interactive kiosks in the Journalists Memorial Gallery.
Seven Pakistani journalists killed last year included Nasrullah Khan
Afridi, Wali Khan Babar, Shafiullah Khan, Asfandyar Abid Naveed, Faisal
Qureshi, Javed Naseer Rind, and Syed Saleem Shahzad.
With these new names, there are now 2,156 journalists honored on the memorial, dating from 1837.
The annual ceremony was attended by family, friends and colleagues of the fallen journalists.
Chris Wells, former senior vice president of Freedom Forum, a U.S-based free press advocacy group, presided over the ceremony.
According to Wells, the diverse group of journalists had been “brought together in a fellowship [that] none of them would have chosen”
“They spoke different languages; they worked in different spheres of news gathering,” she said. “Some of them were known to millions on the nightly news; some of them worked in anonymity. Some of them knew of impending danger, but many of them were surprised.”
“The common thread that united them all was their commitment to journalism and the fact that they left us all too soon.”
In his remarks, James C. Duff, chief executive officer of the Newseum, called the Journalists Memorial “one of the most powerful and important galleries in the Newseum.”
Alejandro Junco, president and chief executive officer of Grupo Reforma, the largest print media company in Latin America, was the keynote speaker.
In a speech titled, “Burning the Fog,” Junco talked about journalists who aren’t afraid to publicly expose wrongdoing, despite the personal dangers.
“For 40 years, I have worked alongside journalists working to burn away the fog of anonymity,” Junco said, “working to help eliminate those bad influences on people’s lives” the bad incentives, the bad systems, the bad practices.”
“This year is less than five months old and already, across the world, 18 journalists have been killed; 179 have been imprisoned,” he said.
Among the honored were several journalists who died while covering the unrest that spread throughout the Arab world last year. They include photojournalists Tim Hetherington, Chris Hondros and Anton Hammerl.
After the ceremony, guests gathered at the Journalists Memorial, where several personal items belonging to Hetherington and Hondros were presented to the Newseum for future display in the Time Warner World News Gallery.
In 2011, seven journalists were killed each in Iraq and Pakistan while five deaths were reported in Libya and Chile.
With these new names, there are now 2,156 journalists honored on the memorial, dating from 1837.
The annual ceremony was attended by family, friends and colleagues of the fallen journalists.
Chris Wells, former senior vice president of Freedom Forum, a U.S-based free press advocacy group, presided over the ceremony.
According to Wells, the diverse group of journalists had been “brought together in a fellowship [that] none of them would have chosen”
“They spoke different languages; they worked in different spheres of news gathering,” she said. “Some of them were known to millions on the nightly news; some of them worked in anonymity. Some of them knew of impending danger, but many of them were surprised.”
“The common thread that united them all was their commitment to journalism and the fact that they left us all too soon.”
In his remarks, James C. Duff, chief executive officer of the Newseum, called the Journalists Memorial “one of the most powerful and important galleries in the Newseum.”
Alejandro Junco, president and chief executive officer of Grupo Reforma, the largest print media company in Latin America, was the keynote speaker.
In a speech titled, “Burning the Fog,” Junco talked about journalists who aren’t afraid to publicly expose wrongdoing, despite the personal dangers.
“For 40 years, I have worked alongside journalists working to burn away the fog of anonymity,” Junco said, “working to help eliminate those bad influences on people’s lives” the bad incentives, the bad systems, the bad practices.”
“This year is less than five months old and already, across the world, 18 journalists have been killed; 179 have been imprisoned,” he said.
Among the honored were several journalists who died while covering the unrest that spread throughout the Arab world last year. They include photojournalists Tim Hetherington, Chris Hondros and Anton Hammerl.
After the ceremony, guests gathered at the Journalists Memorial, where several personal items belonging to Hetherington and Hondros were presented to the Newseum for future display in the Time Warner World News Gallery.
In 2011, seven journalists were killed each in Iraq and Pakistan while five deaths were reported in Libya and Chile.
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