Canadian journalist Michelle Lang was killed last week in Afghanistan, along with four Canadian soldiers – Sergeant George Miok, Corporal Zachery McCormack, Sergeant Kirk Taylor and Private Garrett William Chidley.
The nation grieves for its fallen soldiers – as it should – but what of the journalist? Already, comments have been made that Lang merely gambled and lost, that reporters take needless risks. Sometimes, when journalists die reporting the news, the sentiment expressed is that they deserved their fate, that they nurtured an internal death wish.
However, this trend is markedly less noticeable in Canada and Lang has been included as one of the military’s own, both by the Canadian government and the general public.
We all collectively wince when we hear of another solider, another RCMP member, another firefighter being killed. And this is a justified reaction. Losing a human life dedicated to saving the lives of others is a tragedy felt by all. And I feel the same way about journalists, Canada’s or another country’s, home or abroad, newsprint or television. What pains me more, however, is that many seem to be able to discount the loss of a journalist’s life as something even less than collateral damage.
In 2009, 70 journalists were killed. Many more are still missing. Recently, a Russian journalist working on stories exposing government corruption and KGB-esque tactics died while in prison. He had been held for a year, without charge. Currently, there are 136 journalists imprisoned as a direct result of their investigative work.
The plight of journalists is not widely known. Even in Canada, there is no legislation to protect our reporters, our truth seekers. While any threat of physical harm in Canada is largely harmless, (and bodily harm threats do happen, and even to me even since moving to work in Saskatchewan!) reporters can be sued and they risk losing it all with every story they write.
Had I not had children, there is a sizeable chance I would have chosen to report overseas, in areas of conflict. My first desire to travel to a warzone was during the Kosovo Conflict in 1999.
Death wish? Not so much. The desire to cover a war, a fire, a train wreck with potentially leaking explosive chemicals is the same as the desire to write about a unique individual who has given much to charitable causes. The need to get to the bottom of an education scandal, a doctor shortage or the talent behind a successful hockey team – it is all the same. It is born of curiosity, a need to know and more powerfully, a need to share information.
Above all, real journalists are united by a desire for justice and a need to get as close to the ‘truth’ as possible. The underlying motivation is simplistic – journalists are moved to try and help people. This may not seem the case when watching CNN’s coverage of Tiger’s nookie addiction. Television news is supposed to be centred on good journalism, but its advantage of being able to show the world in moving pictures has become its disadvantage.
Most of the population, honestly, would prefer to know how many women Tiger’s iron spent time with than to see heartwrenching images of a toddler’s limb dismembered from a roadside bomb. That’s human nature. It is also the nature of the business beast. Reporting on T&A is a lot less expensive than reporting from a war zone and unless a terrorist on a plane has coated his genitals in explosive powder, people would rather hear about Tiger’s wood.
But journalists have contributed much to our world. When the authorities fail, when the justice system flounders, a good reporter is society’s last watchdog. Think of Watergate. Think of America’s slaughterhouse district, pre-union. Think of all the healthcare stories that have come out, stories about elder abuse, child abuse, suicide rates among farmers in the 80s and then look at the action which was subsequently taken.
Sex reporting aside, real inside, investigative journalism is one of the most important safeguards of democracy. It is a public service and believe me, 99 per cent of reporters are not compensated any more than new police officers or a low-ranking solider. And it is one of the most thankless jobs on the planet. Unless writing about a bake sale, every single story a journalist writes is going to make at least one person mad. Probably more than one person. Sometimes, just one paragraph can anger an entire organization for years. And when the shit hits the fan, the messenger is always shot first.
I remember shortly after moving to Saskatchewan, I was working on a story involving a large corporation. The company’s in-house lawyer tried to threaten me, to scare me off the story. I had just started at this particular newspaper and had seen enough accounts of litigation with demands a reporter is fired in lieu of financial compensation to know precisely what I was dealing with. It wasn’t enough to scare me off, but it was a sobering reminder of the culture we now live in. Truth, unless it is doggedly pursued, often takes a backseat to money and influence, no matter who is hurt by it.
The Committee to Protect Journalists helps free imprisoned reporters, helps to financially support the families of journalists killed or imprisoned and heralds the importance of a free press even in the most dangerous corners of the world. Visit their site and learn how you can help at www.cpj.org.
Lang was engaged to be married, a young, vibrant woman working for the Calgary Herald. An award-winning writer, she will be sorely missed by her colleagues and her readers.
I am proud of Canada’s miliary. I supported our Afghanistan mission, but had I not, I would still have supported our soldiers. The ones we lose on the battlefield, I do not accuse of having had a death wish. Instead, I celebrate their humanity and respect their desire to make the world a better place. It is heartwarming to see we are beginning to treat our journalists in the same manner.