After reading the assigned articles, I was shocked about the enormity of the situations that journalists face in Syria. When I think of what is going on in the country, I think of unlucky people who have been forced to flee their everyday lives and escape their homelands. Prior to last class (and these readings), it never occurred to me that there are people moving toward the danger instead of against it; even with the inadequacy (in respect to volume and occasionally quality) of the reporting about the Syrian crises, I essentially ignored the fact that these journalists exist as people. The kidnappings, murders (both intentional and unintentional), and other war-related casualties that journalists face are so infrequently discussed, and when they are published as news, the stories usually reflect some kind of agenda – for example, when Jim Foley was killed, most news outlets (particularly those on the right wing of the political spectrum) spun the story to report the evils of ISIS and the group’s hatred of the West. Very few articles focused on Foley, the journalist; the media was intent on framing him as Foley, the victim of terrorism. By doing so, the news organizations – an industry to which Foley himself belonged! – ignored the humanity of the journalist, which may further exacerbate the conditions that reporters face abroad by detracting from one of the key issues in the Foley story.

While journalism itself is not about sentimentality and emotion, the dangers that reporters face in warzone situations does contribute to the flawed stream of articles that come from places like Syria. Reporting cannot exist without reporters, but because conditions in Syria are so terrible, consumers should not expect to have the typical, readily- available stream of information at their fingertips. This is tragic, because it will be impossible to help victims (reporters and citizens) in Syria without actually knowing what is going on. The journalists that risk their lives to cover these stories need to be offered more incentives to continue their work; payment of only a few dollars per story is insufficient for the type of work they’re doing, but unfortunately, the news media as a single entity seems reluctant to offer anything more.