Reporting from the Danger Zone: Stories from the front line

Stories from the front line

Rwanda, Bosnia, Syria: the way wars are fought has changed and life has become ever more dangerous for journalists in conflict zones.

Out on 10 August, Reporting from the Danger Zone by Dr Maria Armoudian (Routledge, 2016) features interviews with 30 investigative reporters who regularly put their lives at risk in pursuit of a story.

Among those profiled are award-winning New Zealand journalist Jon Stephenson, American Pulitzer prize winner Roy Gutman and top BBC foreign correspondent Allan Little.

Witnessing genocide, being kidnapped and abducted, and forced to go under cover or into hiding are among their experiences.

Having worked in radio and print journalism as well as politics herself before moving into academia, American-born Dr Armoudian says she was interested in “telling the story of getting the story”.

“Ethical journalism is getting harder and harder. There is a morass of information out there. War-makers and terrorists try to control information and spin their messages, often via social media.”

She believes ethical journalists counteract this spin, particularly when extremists grab microphones. Danger Zone looks at how, when, and why journalists risk everything to get at the facts.

A disturbing development has seen journalists becoming the target of terrorists and extremist groups in ways they weren’t before.

“You saw that most shockingly with the videoed execution of people like American journalists James Foley and Daniel Pearl,” says Dr Armoudian. “But they are only two examples of the risks that danger zone journalists face.”

She says the journalists interviewed in Danger Zone also work in a range of challenging political environments.

“They face military censorship, hostile rebels and a new kind of conflict zone that is murky and unclear. Wars are no longer clear battles between two adversaries, and local journalists. My interviewees faced so many daunting obstacles, including arrests and kidnappings in the Middle East and Africa and corrupt and oppressive governments in South East Asia and Mexico.”

She says resourceful and committed journalists use a wide range of strategies to get their stories, including sneaking in and out of Syria with fake IDs and clothing that would blend in with the locals.

Interviewing both local and foreign correspondents, some who chose to remain anonymous to protect themselves, Dr Armoudian found those reporting conflict in their own countries were particularly emotionally affected by their work.

“For local journalists, these are their friends and family members being killed.”

She believes the book is a testament to journalists’ dedication to uncovering the truth in highly dangerous situations; getting stories that have made a difference across broadcast, radio, print and online from people who are storytellers by profession.

Reporting from the Danger Zone is published by Routledge, (Taylor and Francis Group) and retail for $39. It will be available at selected bookshops and online from Amazon.

Dr Maria Armoudian is a senior lecturer in Politics and International Relations at the University of Auckland. She is the author of Kill the Messenger: Media’s Role in the Fate of the World. (Prometheus Books, 2011)

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