Network Execs May Pull Female Reporters From Egypt After Lara Logan Attack
Just hours after confirmed reports of CBS reporter Lara Logan falling victim to a
brutal sexual assault in Egypt before being rescued by a group of brave women and soldiers, several network executives met to discuss if female journalists belong in the Middle East.
"It's terrifying what happened to Lara, and we would be irresponsible to not have internal conversations about if young female reporters should ever be put in such dangerous situations," a concerned CBS executive tells me. "However, the last thing we want to do is blame the victim for being a female."
What happened to Logan on Feb. 11 has sent shockwaves through American news organizations, with three different senior management sources telling me several networks are debating removing female journalists from Egypt altogether until safety can be guaranteed.
"There can be no doubt with two out of the three network news broadcasts being anchored by women [Diane Sawyer and
Katie Couric] that women have proved they are as good, if not better, reporters than men. However, the simple fact exists that in certain environments, being a woman is more dangerous, and one such place is the Middle East," a top CBS source tells me.
But is it fair to exclude excellent reporters from covering important stories based on gender? A friend of Lara's tells me, "No way. What happened to her is terrible, but the last thing she would want is handing over dangerous stories to just the boys. After all, Anderson Cooper
got attacked. What news organizations should be doing is everything they can to protect all their employees regardless of gender."
Esquire landed an interview with Logan just last week, on her way back to Cairo after being kicked out of the country the week before. "This is the Tiananmen Square of the cyber age," she told the magazine. "There's no question."
Reporter Foster Kamer incredulously asked Logan if CBS was "insured for this s**t" and if she was crazy to go back to the thick of the protests. "You know," Logan answered, smiling, "I don't worry about things like that."
►
CBS' Lara Logan Hospitalized After 'Brutal' Sexual Assault in Egypt
A Slumping Mad Men Heads to Its Season Finale
Who Should Play Christian & Anastasia In 'Fifty Shades Of Grey'?
Add a comment
Edna Turner - So your message is simple: I should tell the pigs who raped this woman, "Gee, since you're willing to rape me I guess you win. I AM a piece of meat you attack or kill if the mood strikes you." Really?? Wouldn't you rather punish the animals who did the crime instead of the victim? And if your answer is no, you should take a good hard look at your values.
Reply
Like that's going to happen in that country.
Political correctness will get you killed! And using PC as an excuse to send good looking females to report is a sorry excuse. Some of the highest incident rates of human trafficking of females as sex slaves is in Islamic countries. Get real, people!
Reply
Hopefully, Logan's attackers can be brought to justice. I am thankful for Logan and other reporters who go to the dangerous places to get the truth, just like I am thankful for others who do the dangerous jobs (fire fighters, police, marines, etc). There is always a difficult balance between taking chances to get the truth, and wanting to keep our reporters out of harm's way. If any network restricts female reporters or decides no one should be allowed to cover the news when there is risk, then the element behind Logan's attack would have won. Other reporters have been seriously injured and even killed, but we still need the news. I would like to see Logan's reporting again when she is ready.
Reply