Media Casualty Count in Iraq
While the administration continues to blame the media for one-sided coverage of the situation in Iraq, here are some sobering numbers from
Reporters Without Borders about the people who are trying to get the story amid the carnage.
- 86 journalists and media assistants have been killed in the first three years of the war in Iraq, making it the deadliest war for journalists since WWII. (About 60-65 journalists were killed covering the conflict in Vietnam from 1955 to 1975.)
- 38 journalists have been kidnapped in Iraq, 5 of those were executed, and 3 are still being held.
- 92 percent of those killed were men. The average age of those killed was 35.5 (The large majority of those killed were Iraqis.)
- 67 percent of the journalists killed worked for a TV news outlet.
- 44 percent of those killed worked for Iraqi news outlets, 39 percent were from the foreign press, and 17 percent were from the Arabic-language press.
- 53 percent of the killings were committed by unidentified forces, 35 percent were committed by armed groups, and 12 percent were committed by the US military.
- 76 percent were killed by gunfire and 14 percent were victims of car bombs or other explosions.
- 24 percent of those kidnapped were Iraqis, 42 percent were from a coalition-member country, and 34 percent were from another foreign nation.