I’m discovering that war journalism is a lot like surfing: 99 percent paddling out to sea, 1 percent riding a wave that could crush you at any time. The newest rumor was that Sert, Gaddafi’s hometown, had just fallen. Journalists ran out of the hotel in a herd. Anything seemed possible, which prompted me to finally borrow a flak jacket and helmet. Curiously it’s mostly the television journalists who are wearing protection. Maybe the print guys are just looking for an easy way out of their perishing industry, or perhaps TV correspondents don the gear for dramatic effect as they stand sheepishly in front of the camera. The older journalist I was with offered her set to the driver, because it’s almost always the person guiding reporters around who gets shot.
Read the rest at Vice Magazine: NOTES FROM A LIBYAN LURKER IV - TAILGATING IN BEN JAWAD - Viceland Today
