Groups Propose Journalist Safety Guidlines

By: Lucia Moses Alarmed by increasing hostility toward reporters covering conflicts, The Newspaper Guild-Communications Workers of America and other media groups are working on proposed safety guidelines that they hope will become standard in the industry.

The murder of Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl and warfare in Afghanistan and the Middle East are the most recent flash points -- but domestic events such as demonstrations outside meetings of the World Trade Organization also have threatened journalists' safety. The Committee to Protect Journalists counted 37 journalists killed on the job last year (including nine in Afghanistan alone), the most since 1995.

The guidelines, yet to be adopted by the Guild, call for staffers working in hostile areas to be provided with safety training and the proper equipment. They also say only experienced journalists should be assigned to hazardous situations and that staffers should maintain neutrality by not carrying firearms.

The Guild intends to try to work safety standards into labor contracts, which would give the union enforcement power. "This is a health-and-safety issue, and health-and-safety issues are proper subjects of collective bargaining," Guild President Linda Foley said.

Training and equipment don't come cheap, however. Newspaper culture also is an issue, as journalists tend to resist regulations governing their work, said Philip Bennett, assistant managing editor for foreign news at The Washington Post, which is studying the guidelines.