Journalism museum, the Newseum, and Google have joined forces to launch the Journalists Memorial channel, described as “A Tribute to Journalists Who Have Died Pursuing the Truth.”
For those of us who write about feature creep on beer apps from our bathtubs, journalism holds only the dual dangers of trolls and sponge-based injuries. For those who are out in the field, especially in dicey places, it holds the dangers of imprisonment, beatings and death. With the flare up of wars and now mass protests, 2011 has already seen 16 fatalities.
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According to the Committee to Protect Journalists, if the trend stays steady, this year will see the death of almost 50 journalists. The highest fatality rate they have tracked since they started in 1992 was 72 in 2009. Since that time, 861 journalists have been killed on duty and 145 are currently in prison.
(Iran and China lead the list for imprisonment of journalists, with 34 each. Unsurprisingly, they lead the race in imprisonment and harassment of bloggers and other social media participants as well. Tyrants don’t draw a thick line between amateur and professional.)
The Journalists Memorial is casting a wider net, however, and is asking the public to help identify videos about and by killed journalists, according to a post by Steve Grove on the Official Google Blog
“This channel will become a digital version of the Newseum’s Journalists Memorial, which is re-dedicated annually to honor journalists worldwide who have died during the preceding year. This year, 77 names are being added to the list of the more than 2,000 journalists who have been recognized for their sacrifices since 1837.”
Here’s just one video about just one journalist.
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