Earlier this week, British officials used their terrorism laws to detain for nine hours the Brazilian citizen, David Miranda, the partner of Guardian journalist, Glenn Greenwald, in London’s Heathrow Airport.
The act has rightfully angered the journalism community and government watchdogs. But while the act smacks of harassment, some comments, such as that of Nick Cohen, columnist for the conservative weekly, The Spectator, came as a surprise. Cohen called the detention “a clarifying moment that reveals how far Britain has changed for the worse.” That’s a stretch. After all, for four years, 1988 to 1994, Britain passed, upheld and enforced a broadcasting ban during the Northern Ireland conflict, prohibiting the airing the voices of people the state deemed persona non grata, persons who are now high ranking public officials in Northern Ireland. The Republic of Ireland was not much better. They, too, banned the voices of the same people. While some journalists made a mockery of the British Broadcasting Ban by airing the faces and allowing actors to lip sync their words, others were powerless in the face of obey-or-lose-your job.
One other thing is more disturbing than bad behavior of governments against freedoms of the press, however. That is that thepress corps seems to forget its other, harassed brethren, some who suffer much worse fates than Mr. Miranda.
For example, far less coverage has come for broadcast technician Ahmed Sharif Hussein. Three gunmen who disguised themselves as students, shot and killed the 40-year-old outside his home near Mogadishu, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ). Mr. Hussein is one of eight media professionals killed in Somalia over the past year.
In Egypt, journalists have long been facing harassment, attacks, detentions, raids and in worst cases, death. Egypt and Somalia are number 4 and 5 deadliest countries for journalists, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists.
Number 6 happens to be Russia, where Edward Snowden, Mr. Greenwald’s source has gotten asylum.
Journalists and government watchdogs are right to express their anger over the detention of Mr. Miranda. But should we also, as a media corps, shine as strong a light on these other journalists’ struggles—media professionals facing extraordinary dire conditions to bring us important developments from the danger zones of the world.
Truthout Is Preparing to Meet Trump’s Agenda With Resistance at Every Turn
Dear Truthout Community,
If you feel rage, despondency, confusion and deep fear today, you are not alone. We’re feeling it too. We are heartsick. Facing down Trump’s fascist agenda, we are desperately worried about the most vulnerable people among us, including our loved ones and everyone in the Truthout community, and our minds are racing a million miles a minute to try to map out all that needs to be done.
We must give ourselves space to grieve and feel our fear, feel our rage, and keep in the forefront of our mind the stark truth that millions of real human lives are on the line. And simultaneously, we’ve got to get to work, take stock of our resources, and prepare to throw ourselves full force into the movement.
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There are many terrifying planks to the Trump agenda, and we plan to devote ourselves to reporting thoroughly on each one and, crucially, covering the movements resisting them. We also recognize that Trump is a dire threat to journalism itself, and that we must take this seriously from the outset.
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