Words of Fire

Independent Journalists who Challenge Dictators, Drug Lords, and Other Enemies of a Free Press

Anthony C. Collings

• Publisher: NYU Press
• Year: 2001
• Print ISBN:
  9780814716052
• eBook ISBN:
  9781479826391
• Topic: Psychology
• Subtopic: Abnormal Psychology
• Index: Psychology

If journalism is the first draft of history, then independent journalists are surely its most daring composers.
Along such celebrated and high-profile figures as Christiane Amanpour and Wolf Blitzer, there exists a stratum of journalists self-employed, working under dire conditions, and with minimal resources who often place themselves at ground zero of world events. In this gripping account, Anthony Collings takes us into the world of independent journalists, and the daily challenges they face confronting dictators, hostile military, and narcoterrorists. Unfettered by any ties to those in positions of power, these guerrilla journalists are often the first on a story whether reporting on corruption in Mexico, organized crime in Russia, or sexual scandal in the Middle East and accordingly face the brunt of their subject's wrath.

Collings, who has himself been held captive while on assignment, here focuses less on those nations in which the press is either largely free (such as the U.S. or Western European democracies) or aggressively restricted (as in China), and more on those "battleground countries" where the eventual outcome of the struggle between state and fourth estate remains unclear. Relying on interviews, professional contacts, and his own experiences, Collings explores the dilemmas and strategies of journalists who persevere in the face of war, repressive governments, and criminal aggression, with particular emphasis on the role of the Internet.

At a time when journalism is increasingly a profession under siege, Words of Fire forces into the spotlight a more positive side of the profession, those who pursue journalism not for profit or fame but as a personal crusade.

Index

Abacha, Sani: Ajibade case, 51, 216

Anyanwu case, 44, 45, 47, 199

counterfeit periodicals circulated by, 149

as number-one enemy of press freedom, 47–48

Ojudu and guerrilla journalists challenging, 51, 177

shoot on sight order against Olorunyomi, 200

ABC (Mexican newspaper), 23

Abiola, Kudirat, 48

Abiola, Moshood K. O., 45, 48, 50

Abubakar, Abdulsalam, 45, 47

Adams, Paul, 104

advocacy groups for journalists, 7–8, 195–209

Alliance of Independent Journalists, 74, 75, 206

Article 19, 207

Digital Freedom Network, 94, 181, 207

Freedom Forum, 183–84, 194, 198, 207–8

Freedom House, 2, 3, 4, 5, 147, 168

Glasnost Defense Foundation, 95, 206

Hong Kong Journalists Association, 42, 120, 203

IFEX (International Freedom of Expression Exchange), 206–7

Independent Reporters and Editors, 62

Sociedad de Periodistas, 202–3. See also Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ); Reporters Sans Frontières (Reporters Without Borders; RSF)

Afghanistan, 4, 218

Africa: Cameroon, 117

Central African Empire, 135–37

Democratic Republic of the Congo, 202

druglords attacking journalists in, 73

Gabon, 115–16

Ivory Coast, 121–24

Kenya, 148

Mauritania, 118

political change in, 211

Rwanda, 96–98

Senegal, 211

South Africa, 3, 211

Sudan, 119

violence against journalists in, 138

Windhoek Declaration on press freedom for, 209

Zaire, 117–18. See also Ethiopia; Nigeria; North Africa; Sierra Leone; Zambia

African Concord (Nigerian magazine), 50

Agafonov, Sergei, 33

Agence France-Presse, 79, 156

Ahmad, Zafaryab, 119

AJI (Alliance of Independent Journalists) (Indonesia), 74, 75, 206

Ajibade, Kunle, 51, 216

Al-Arab al-Youm (Jordanian newspaper), 154

Albanians, 170, 174–76

Albats, Yevgenia, 32

Al-Bilad (Jordanian newspaper), 103

Albright, Madeleine, 176

Al-Darrat, Abdullah Ali Al-Sanussi, 141

Alempour, Mohyedin, 94–96

Alesana, Tofilau Eti, 145

Alferyev, Vadim, 68

Alger...

Table of contents

• Cover Page
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Dedication
• Contents
• Acknowledgments
• Map: World Press Freedom
• Introduction
• I Looking for Trouble: The Behavior of Independent Journalists
• II Pushing the Envelope: Stories That Trigger Attack
• III Shoot the Messenger: Types of Attacks on Journalists
• IV The Messenger Reacts: Responding to Attacks
• Conclusion: Tomorrow’s News: The Outlook
• Notes
• Bibliography
• Index
• About the Author