But I'm a Journalist!

Earlier this week, four NY Times journalists were held by Qaddafi troops in Libya. Although they were threatened and beaten, all four were handed over unharmed the next day. In this video, the four journalists talk about their experience. There are several aspects of this remarkable video that jump out at me as being worthy of discussion. First is the calm tone and detached way the journalists speak about their own, very recent, traumatic experience. They almost seem to be curious about the story, investigating and thinking about it journalistically the same way they would look at any other story. The first journalist notes the way his experience showed him the "three different Libyas" that exist in the rebel camp, on the Qaddafi front lines, and in the center of the country. The second, the only woman in the group, talks about how her being groped and mistreated shows her something interesting, journalistically, about what's happening in Libya. The second interesting point is the indignance of all of them have about this experience. Although they don't seem as traumatized as you would expect, they are a little taken aback at their treatment because they are journalists. It seems like they have some kind of expectation that their role in the conflict be recognized as apolitical and of importance to both sides. But I'm a journalist! they seem to say, why would I be treated this way? There has been so much talk in the last few years about how journalists will all be replaced with "citizen journalists" and bloggers in this glorious new post-newspaper age. But the crises of the last few months--both in the Middle East and Japan--have reminded the world that there are some things only a journalist can and will do. Of course, I don't think Qaddafi's forces roughed up these Times reporters because they were thinking about the irrelevance of the professional journalists in the Age of Twitter. (Although you never know...) But it is interesting to note that maybe now that the lines between producer and consumer of news has gotten so blurry, the argument for journalistic diplomatic immunity doesn't work the way it once was. So you're a journalist? So is every kid with a cameraphone and a Twitter account. If every citizen is a journalist, is every journalist just a citizen--and in this case, an American citizen in a hostile land?