As recent events in Myanmar so vividly portrayed, the role of journalists in today's media-driven society can be very dangerous. More than 1,000 journalists have been killed in war zones or assassinated in the past ten years, as reported by the International News Safety Institute. 

The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) reports that as of September 28, 2007 thirty-five journalists have been killed around the world. In Iraq, CPJ states that 112 journalists have been killed, along with 40 support workers.

Physical danger isn't the only threat. The more popular weapon used against reporters is lawsuits aimed at bankrupting them. The CPJ says that in one country alone (Brazil), criminal and civil defamation lawsuits against the media "have numbered in the thousands over the past five years."

The CPJ feels that physical, legal and economic attacks on journalists are increasing in many parts of the world. New York Times columnist Nicholas Kristof told the Overseas Press Club on April 26, 2007 that he was hit with three subpoenas last year, a first for him and that he expects more reporters to wind up in jail.

In many countries, the press is controlled through assassinations, destruction of equipment and offices, detention in jails, and lawsuits. In more "civilized" countries, they can exert press control by refusal to deal with media deemed to be "unfair" and by economic reprisals of one sort or another.

When dealing with members of the press, keep in mind that we should not only respect their time and deadlines, but that we should also show them a little respect for what they do.