This Reuters photo is destined to become the symbol of the Burmese government’s brutal crackdown on pro-democracy demonstrators. Kenji Nagai, a video photographer for Japan’s APFN news service, was fatally shot while covering the protests yesterday.
It’s early, and there are no doubt details we don’t know yet. But according to the photo caption in the Boston Globe, Nagai kept shooting even after he’d been injured. The Washington Post reports that Nagai was taken away by soldiers, but it’s not clear whether he was alive or dead at that point.
The Committee to Protect Journalists has a pretty detailed account that also reports Nagai kept doing his job after he’d been shot. The CPJ’s post includes this statement:
The Committee to Protect Journalists strongly condemns the shootings and the heavy government interference and ongoing harassment of journalists who are attempting to cover the unfolding political events in Burma.
The Guardian has posted a remarkable video of Nagai covering the fall of Baghdad in 2003.
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A horrifying yet extremely powerful photo. I am glad they ran the photo the way they did.
Dan, my earlier post seems to have been cut off. It should have read..A horrifying yet extremely powerful photo. I am glad they ran the photo the way they did. Photographer Kenji Nagai is a hero and he will live on as a symbol of all that is important in what journalists do. A truly tear jerking image
Totally and completely off-topic, but Dan, do you have any further information on the Howie Carr situation? He seems to be nowhere to be heard in Boston, neither on WRKO or on WTKK.Actually, not completely off topic, the sad fact is that too many journalists have been killed reporting in war zones, which is what Myanmar has become. It’s unfortunate, but a lot of other people been also been killed in war zones. One might hope that the protests in Myanmar will get rid of the military junta ruling the place.–raj
The photo is quite ominous. When I saw it, one of my first thoughts was that Kenji Nagai may have been summarily executed by the Burmese soldier in the photo. It appears from this video that my suspicions had some merit. In fact it seems that Kenji Nagai attempted to video the soldier who shot him.
This YouTube video, per Wikipedia, is some of his footage from Iraq. Powerful stuff.
One reason I avoid the pseudo news programs like Colbert is they give me a feeling of mocking a profession where people give their lives.I maybe be over reacting… but pictures like this break that feeling home again.
Bill Baar said… One reason I avoid the pseudo news programs like Colbert is they give me a feeling of mocking a profession where people give their lives.Colbert isn’t mocking journalism, news, or any profession where people give their lives. He’s mocking blowhards like you and Bill O’Reilly. Here’s the tag line from Comedy Central:What The Daily Show with Jon Stewart is to evening news, The Colbert Report is to personality-driven pundit shows.Your post is actually a perfect example of the tripe Colbert loves to skewer. Nothing like twisting reality in order to demonize a liberal. Bonus points if you can pretend to be noble at the same time.
He’s mocking blowhards like you and Bill O’Reilly. Wish I made O’Reilly’s dough for getting called a blowhard by the anonymous.