According to the international humanitarian law, journalists who are accredited by and accompanying armies will be regarded as part of the military entourage. Although it is dangerous for journalists to involve in the war, they continue to get into the war. They usually face physically or psychologically or both challenges, some of them need to face death because they are usually shot as spies or some other reasons.
The Geneva Convention which was ratified in 1949 set out standards to the journalists in wars that if captured by opposing forces, journalists can expect to be treated as prisoners of war. Great number of journalists dies in the combats of wars. "Recent conflicts bear this out. During four weeks of fighting in Iraq, 15 journalists and media workers died and two are still missing. Accidents killed some, but most died in combat."(International Labor Organization) Another anecdote shows 94 media workers and journalists died in Yogoslav wars of the1990s which also points out the unsafe conditions of journalists.
In 1977, the Geneva Convention added new standards to the reality that "journalists engaged in a professional mission in the areas of armed conflict shall be considered civilians" contrast to some other journalists who wear the military uniform. As people known, civilians cannot be deliberately targeted by military forces during the war. So, if journalists are harmed, killed will be regarded as crimes. However, there are still more and more "embedding" journalists in military units in order to win the "hearts and minds" of the public. The "embedding" journalists who are attached to a military unit in the war can get more access to the battle fields, but more exposure to risks too.
More and more organizations come out to try to get more protection for journalists such as European Broadcasting Union (EBU) who protested against the differences between the treatments of "embedding" journalists and the journalists who are not attached to the armies. In March of 2003, the International Federation of Journalists, with the supports from the European Union, published an impressive and thorough "survival guide" for journalists' safeties which can be downloaded at www.ifj.org. In this "survival guide", journalists can find various helpful tips, information such as equipment, training, precautions, preparations, insurance, first aid, and post-traumatic stress disorders.
It is good to see more and more people and organizations begin to focus on the safety of the journalists and try to make some differences. However, no one is able to guarantee those changes and the "survival guide" will make journalists' safer and build better conditions for them according to the brutal battle fields.
