The Role of Journalists in Covering Crises: Reflections from Reporter (2009), Assignments of Journalism

Download The Role of Journalists in Covering Crises: Reflections from Reporter (2009) and more Assignments Journalism in PDF only on Docsity! Assignment: Reporter (2009) Reflection Paper Reporter (2009) examines the critical and dangerous role of journalists in covering crises, as well as the risks that come with them. The documentary follows New York Times columnist Nicholas Kristof on a reporting trip to the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Kristof's goal is to shed light on the unseen realities of the African community as they struggle to survive in a war-torn country. Personal encounters and meaningful conversations aided Kristof in delving deeply into certain circumstances. Kristof later wrote an opinion piece titled Africa's World War[1], which was published on June 14, 2007, about his trip to Central Africa. The documentary reaches the one-hour mark, and we meet Yohanita Nyiahabimama, 41, a former teacher, who is dying of starvation. Because of her small and fragile frame, I mistook Yohanita for a child. When she revealed her actual age, the gravity of the situation became clear. Not to dismiss the earlier encounters, but if one searches for "hunger" on Google Images, the results will show images of malnourished black people, primarily children, similar to Yohanita's. We are used to seeing these images for simple knowledge or research purposes, but the Reporter emphasizes their existence. People are dying of hunger and starvation; these people will not live to serve as our visual representation of hunger or malnutrition.. In terms of images and messages, the Reporter emphasizes the importance of visual data as a call to action. For instance, it is discussed how an image of a single malnourished child can generate more donations, responses, and feedback than a photo of a group of malnourished children in a completely similar situation. Now the question is, why does our level of compassion dier depending on how specific issues are portrayed? Why do we care so much about some issues while completely ignoring others? Do we need meaningful, heartfelt images or moving stories to respond to and recognize the existence of these life-threatening issues?