As a professional working in the media
industry, have a keen interest in photography, particularly
reportage. My exposure to and familiarity with some of the
world's leading photojournalists has developed greatly over the
past few years, and I am honoured to call many of these talented
photographers my close friends. But beyond their talent, is
their incomprehensible bravery. The dangers that they face
when traveling into and reporting from war zones became tragically
real when I shared their shock and grief in 2011 when Tim
Hetherington and Chris Hondrus were killed in Libya whilst covering
the Arab Spring, and then again one year ago today when legendary
correspondent Marie Colvin and award-winning photojournalist Rémi
Ochlik were deliberately murdered in Syria. The journalistic
and media community became outraged - and so did I.
I joined forces with Aidan Sullivan
(VP Getty Images), David Friend (Creative Director, Vanity Fair),
Tom Stoddart (preeminent photojournalist) and Lynsey Addario - a
world-renown photojournalist who has been kidnapped twice while on
assignment to report the news to the world - to do something.
Today, in memory of Marie and Rémi, we launch the A Day Without
News? campaign.
The purpose of the campaign, which
already has wide support across the international news media
community, is to draw sharper attention to the growing numbers of
journalists who have been killed and injured in armed conflict.
Through grassroots support within the community, A Day Without News? aims
to further the invaluable work of the Committee to Protect Journalists, Reporters Without Borders, Human Rights Watch, and other
organizations who are dedicated to this issue. We are working
closely with these organizations to build public support through
publicity; increasing pressure for change through diplomacy; and
facilitating the identification, investigation and prosecution of
war crimes committed against journalists.
Following meetings that we attended in
New York with the UK Mission to the UN, we were put in contact with
the UN Secretary General's office. We've already seen amazing
results - the UN
Secretary General, Ban Ki-Moon, sent us his endorsement and support
today.
Every
journalist killed, every voice lost, brings us closer to a day
without news - a day when it is too dangerous to report on the
atrocities taking place in the world. And that is a day that
the media industry - and society as a whole - can't afford to
see.
If you would like more information,
please visit http://adaywithoutnews.com.
#adaywithoutnews