Genghis
I'm sure there is a place for you journos to chat, but please god not on PPRuNe; how about a journo forum of some sort, more suited to such discussions? Apologies if that is what you actually meant. PPRuNe is increasingly crowded, it seems, and new PPRuNe fora should ideally be aviation based, doncha think? BTW that is purely my view.
Regarding the journos being killed in Iraq- I have great respect for their tenacity and dedication, but, frankly, if you want to report from the middle of chaotic battle situations, you have to expect casualties. The media these days want to get as close as possible to the action, and bring as much explosive force and viscera as possible to our screens. This really says more about us than it does about them, I guess. I am sure the armed forces only allow it because they want to use the pictures for their own purposes; ditto the Iraqi authorities. If you want to wander around a war zone with a camera crew, you need to have the same expectation of iminent death as the fighters do. Baghdad is now even more of a war zone than it was on day one; it is extremely dangerous to be there for anybody; some journalists will die if they stay there. I am astonished that anybody should find this surprising.
Perhaps the real question that needs to be asked, is how much is enough...
I also write on an occasional basis for different publications (none aviation-based), so can see it from both sides.