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needed after reporter’s death The barbaric murder of Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl sent shockwaves across America, casting a dark cloud of sadness over newsrooms everywhere, but hopefully his death will force the CIA to establish a permanent policy that no government agent will pose as a journalist — ever. Three days after Pearl disappeared Jan. 23, various news agencies received an e-mail from his alleged captors accusing Pearl of spying for the United States. A later e-mail accused Pearl, whose parents are Israeli citizens, of working for the Israeli Secret Service. CIA officials were quick to denounce any connection between Pearl and the United States government. Pearl was not a secret agent, but the mere fact his captors claimed he was should raise important red flags to the United States government. Pearl disappeared from the chaotic port of Karachi, Pakistan where he was believed to be on his way to interview a Pakistani militant thought to have connections with Richard Reid, the man accused of trying to blow up a flight with explosives in his shoes. His friends and colleagues describe him as the ultimate newspaperman, cautious and professional, always in search of the truth behind stories oft-untold. Pearl’s death hits close to home for the journalist family. His witty features were the reason I skimmed the Wall Street Journal. There was a time in my life when I wanted to be just like him. For those who have been in his shoes, Pearl’s death is especially hard. “Danny Pearl was a professional of the highest quality and should not have been exposed to the horror that was brought on him in part because our government has in the past been unwilling to say categorically that it will not use journalists as intelligence agents or use journalists cover for its own agents,” Edward Seaton editor-in-chief of the Manhattan (Kans.) Mercury said in a tribute for Poynter Institute. Journalism and especially international correspondence can be extremely dangerous business, but without reporters like Pearl, who are willing to take some personal risk, the American public would never understand what really goes on outside our borders. merica should mourn Pearl’s death not just because of its utterly tragic nature, but because he died needlessly in the pursuit of truth. Our nation owes him a debt. What better way to honor his life than to guarantee further safety for those who follow in his footsteps. “It’s a terrible loss and a tragic reminder of how many people put themselves at risk every day on behalf of telling stories,” Paul Tash editor of the St. Petersburg Times said in the same tribute. “That risk is obviously dramatic and came to a terrible result in Afghanistan. And it happens in lots of other places too, in much more mundane ways. And it’s a reminder of the terrific risk that journalists take and the obligation of the editors and readers on behalf of whom those journalists are acting.” Those of us who did not know Daniel Pearl can only sympathize with his family and friends. But we can help them honor his memory and the profession he loved almost as passionately as he adored his wife. We can implore the governments of the United States and Pakistan to punish his captors to the full extent of the law, and we can call on the best judgment of the CIA — Do all in your power to ensure the integrity of international journalism and the safety of reporters worldwide are protected. We owe it to Pearl and his colleagues. Jaime
Walker is a senior news-editorial major from Roswell, Ga. |
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