Despite the protections of international law and the precautions that many journalists take, death still stalks war correspondents. It's a hazard of the job. According to ABC News, the Russian invasion of Ukraine recently brought this to light after three journalists, Oleksandra Kuvshynova, Pierre Zakrzewski, and Brent Renaud, died on assignment.
Kuvshynova, 24, was a Ukrainian producer and fixer working as a consultant for Fox News. She died alongside Fox News cameraman Zakrzewski, 55, near Kyiv in the city of Gorenka on March 14, 2022. After shelling began, the vehicle they rode in exploded due to incoming fire. Benjamin Hall, a Fox News State Department correspondent, also accompanied them in the car, and he was hospitalized for his injuries. According to The Hill, Hall has now safely evacuated Ukraine.
This tragedy came fast on the heels of freelance journalist Brent Renaud's death on March 13, 2022. An award-winning filmmaker, Renaud was working on a documentary with Sugar23, Day Zero Productions, and Time Studios. Juan Arredondo, a photojournalist, accompanied Renaud and reported from his hospital bed that after crossing a bridge and reaching a checkpoint, troops opened fire. Renaud, Kuvshynova, and Zakrzewski join a growing list of war correspondents (both decorated and inexperienced) who have paid the ultimate price for a story. And this is, unfortunately, not new; per the Seattle Times, during the Syrian conflict alone, 54 citizen journalists and 23 professional journalists have risked it all (and lost) trying to tell the world what's happening.
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