U.S. broadcaster Fox News said Monday one of its correspondents was seriously injured while reporting in Ukraine.
British American journalist Benjamin Hall was hospitalized while “newsgathering outside of Kyiv,” according to a memo from Fox News Media chief executive Suzanne Scott.
Fox News said it had few details about the incident or the extent of Hall’s injuries but added that Hall is being treated in a hospital.
Hall, a State Department correspondent who joined Fox News in 2015, has covered conflicts in Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan. He previously reported for U.S. and British media, including The New York Times, The Times of London and the BBC.
The State Department Correspondents’ Association said it was “horrified” to hear of Hall’s injuries.
“We know Ben for his warmth, good humor and utmost professionalism. We wish Ben a quick recovery and call for utmost efforts to protect journalists who are providing an invaluable service through their coverage in Ukraine,” association president Shaun Tandon said in a statement.
While reporting from Kyiv, Hall pushed back against a comment made by one of his colleagues at Fox that media are pushing for an emotional response with their reporting.
“Speaking as someone on the ground, I want to say that this is not the media trying to drum up some emotional response. This is absolutely what’s happening,” Hall said in a broadcast earlier in March.
Journalist killed
Hall’s injuries come a day after American filmmaker and journalist Brent Renaud was killed and his colleague Juan Arredondo was injured in Irpin, a suburb on the outskirts of Kyiv, when their vehicle was fired on near a checkpoint.
The journalists were in the region working on a documentary about refugees, Time magazine said Sunday in a statement.
State Department spokesperson Ned Price on Sunday described the attack on Renaud and Arredondo as “another gruesome example of the Kremlin’s indiscriminate actions.”
At a United Nations Security Council meeting Monday, Russian Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia denied that Russia was responsible and denied any Russian forces were operating in that area.
Nebenzia claimed that Renaud wasn’t a journalist, saying, “That was something The New York Times itself stated.”
Renaud was carrying a Times press pass at the time of the attack, leading to some early reports that he was on assignment for the U.S. daily.
The Times later issued a statement paying tribute to Renaud and stated that he was not working with them.
Renaud and Arredondo were 2018 Nieman Foundation for Journalism fellows at Harvard University, along with VOA Eastern European Correspondent Myroslava Gongadze.
Nieman curator Ann Marie Lipinski described Renaud in a statement as an “exceptional” filmmaker who brought “kindness and deep humanity” to his work.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Monday shared a letter addressed to Renaud’s family, saying, “The people of Ukraine … are mourning with you.”
The letter, posted to Zelenskyy’s official Twitter page, paid tribute to Renaud’s bravery and professionalism, saying the journalist “lost his life while documenting human tragedy, devastation and suffering of the millions of Ukrainians.”
‘Costs and stakes for journalists’
Washington’s National Press Club has called for an investigation into whether Renaud’s killing is a war crime.
The filmmaker’s death is “a tragic reminder of the costs and stakes for journalists covering war and attacks on civilians,” a joint statement by National Press Club president Jen Judson and National Press Club Journalism Institute president Gil Klein.
“That so many journalists — local and foreign, freelancer and staffer are putting their health, lives and livelihoods on the line in order to cover the human costs of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is a reminder to the world of why a free and independent press is so important and worthy of protection and support,” the statement added.
The National Press Club and media freedom groups have called on all sides to ensure the safety of media covering the conflict.
Members of the Council of Europe Platform for the Protection of Journalism and the Safety of Journalists released a joint statement to demand the safety of news crews.
“We emphasize that journalists are considered civilians under international humanitarian law and are not legitimate targets,” the statement said.
Several journalists have reported being fired at while reporting in Ukraine. Ukrainian cameraman Yevhenii Sakun, who worked for LIVE TV, was killed during a Russian strike on a TV tower in Kyiv on March 1.
Media watchdog Reporters Without Borders on Saturday opened a press center in the Ukrainian city of Lviv to provide protective equipment, first aid training, and other resources to journalists.
“With this center, we are fighting for the independence of the media in Ukraine and beyond,” said Alexander Query, the center’s coordinator.
Source: Voice of America