Images and stories of war and death are enough to disgust an average person, but most people push the horrors of the world out of their minds after a short while.
War correspondents are not most people. Marie Colvin was not most people.
Colvin, an American war correspondent for Sunday Times in London, was killed in a rocket attack in Syria Wednesday, along with French photographer Remi Ochlik. Colvin’s mother told news outlets that Colvin was supposed to leave the same day, but told her mother she had to stay because she wanted to finish one more story.
That last story cost her life, but was a testament to her integrity and dedication to her career, and journalism as a whole. Colvin’s relentless pursuit of truth resulted in the loss of an eye during the Sri Lankan civil war.
Her mother said it best, “The reason I’ve been talking to all you guys is that I don’t want my daughter’s legacy to be ‘no comment’ … because she wasn’t a ‘no comment’ person. Her legacy is: Be passionate and be involved in what you believe in. And do it as thoroughly and honestly and fearlessly as you can.”
Colvin gave her life for honest and accurate journalism, and she had the courage to go back, despite the horrific sights she witnessed.
All journalists should strive to be like her, even outside of war settings, because her ethical conscience draws the line between publications like Sunday Times or The New York Times and TMZ or People.
It is not a secret that as technology improves and more people become acting civilian journalists, the profession is becoming disregarded. Publications that focus on celebrity gossip, hearsay or barely skim issues only reinforce this idea, discrediting the work of true journalists like Colvin.
She’s not alone, though. There are thousands of journalists working for well-known and credible news organizations that strive to uphold the ethical and historical purpose of journalism — to serve the people and act as a watchdog, specifically for the government. Some journalists regularly put their lives on the line to get information to the public, and that includes the dark side of issues that can lead to dangerous situations.
War is not pretty. It never has been and never will be, but it is an inevitable part of life and the world needs to know what is happening — the good and the bad. This is why people like Colvin dedicate their whole lives to being the ones who don’t back down, who don’t push the truth from their minds because without them the world would look blindly past all the problems and corruption occurring in every country.
It takes more than an average person to give the world a behind-the-scenes look at war — it takes people who are not afraid of anything, especially the truth.
Elizabeth Rudd can be reached at [email protected]
– See more at: file:///Volumes/argonaut$/stories/sections/opinion/stories/2012/Feb/24/living_on_the.html#sthash.ezR4YtyD.dpuf
War correspondents are not most people. Marie Colvin was not most people.
Colvin, an American war correspondent for Sunday Times in London, was killed in a rocket attack in Syria Wednesday, along with French photographer Remi Ochlik. Colvin’s mother told news outlets that Colvin was supposed to leave the same day, but told her mother she had to stay because she wanted to finish one more story.
That last story cost her life, but was a testament to her integrity and dedication to her career, and journalism as a whole. Colvin’s relentless pursuit of truth resulted in the loss of an eye during the Sri Lankan civil war.
Her mother said it best, “The reason I’ve been talking to all you guys is that I don’t want my daughter’s legacy to be ‘no comment’ … because she wasn’t a ‘no comment’ person. Her legacy is: Be passionate and be involved in what you believe in. And do it as thoroughly and honestly and fearlessly as you can.”
Colvin gave her life for honest and accurate journalism, and she had the courage to go back, despite the horrific sights she witnessed.
All journalists should strive to be like her, even outside of war settings, because her ethical conscience draws the line between publications like Sunday Times or The New York Times and TMZ or People.
It is not a secret that as technology improves and more people become acting civilian journalists, the profession is becoming disregarded. Publications that focus on celebrity gossip, hearsay or barely skim issues only reinforce this idea, discrediting the work of true journalists like Colvin.
She’s not alone, though. There are thousands of journalists working for well-known and credible news organizations that strive to uphold the ethical and historical purpose of journalism — to serve the people and act as a watchdog, specifically for the government. Some journalists regularly put their lives on the line to get information to the public, and that includes the dark side of issues that can lead to dangerous situations.
War is not pretty. It never has been and never will be, but it is an inevitable part of life and the world needs to know what is happening — the good and the bad. This is why people like Colvin dedicate their whole lives to being the ones who don’t back down, who don’t push the truth from their minds because without them the world would look blindly past all the problems and corruption occurring in every country.
It takes more than an average person to give the world a behind-the-scenes look at war — it takes people who are not afraid of anything, especially the truth.
Elizabeth Rudd can be reached at [email protected]
– See more at: file:///Volumes/argonaut$/stories/sections/opinion/stories/2012/Feb/24/living_on_the.html#sthash.ezR4YtyD.dpuf