Fox News Team Severely Beaten, Hospitalized In Cairo

[Geee]

Fox News:

FOX News Channel's veteran foreign correspondent Greg Palkot and his camerman Olaf Wiig have suffered severe injuries in Cairo while covering the unrest in the Egypt capital. Palkot was badly beaten and Wiig has a possible broken jaw after being attacked by pro-Hosni Mubarak supporters yesterday. Both were hospitalized overnight. Out of concern for the safety of its journalists, Fox News kept the incident a secret until their release from the hospital today. In 2007, the same camerman, Olaf Wiig, was taken hostage in the Gaza strip with correspondent Steve Centanni. They were released 2 weeks later.

This marks the most brazen attack yet on American journalists in Egypt where violence has been escalating, with 10 anti-Hosni Mubarak protesters killed over the past 24 hours in Tahrir Square alone. Yesterday, CNN's Anderson Cooper and ABC News' Christiane Amanpour were confronted by angry mobs supporting Mubarak but left largely unscathed. The Egyptian military has been rounding up foreign journalists, possibly for their own protection, and keeping them away from the areas of intense fighting.

[ErnstBlofeld]

Why were they doing in a middle of a riot where gunshots can be heard?I guess they must be desperate for that Pulitzer Prize.

[Geee]

Ummmm! I believe that reporters have been in the middle of conflicts for as long as I can remember-reporting!

[ErnstBlofeld]

Ummmm! I believe that reporters have been in the middle of conflicts for as long as I can remember-reporting!

 

I believe that they have taken a degree of saftey though.Journalists always had some sort of armed escort(either military or civilian) with them in conflict zones. These journalists had none and they got the s@#t kicked out of them.

[pollyannaish]

Palkot's reporting is some of the best out there. The thing that I appreciate about him is that he is willing to take the risks to get the real story instead of playing it safe and getting the 'approved' story. He doesn't seem to be as naive as the rest of them.

 

That said, all of these reporters are targets simply because they are Americans. There is no way to keep them safe.

 

Prayers for their healing. And for the safety of ALL Americans in the middle of this conflict...and there are many.

[pollyannaish]

Ummmm! I believe that reporters have been in the middle of conflicts for as long as I can remember-reporting!

 

I believe that they have taken a degree of saftey though.Journalists always had some sort of armed escort(either military or civilian) with them in conflict zones. These journalists had none and they got the s@#t kicked out of them.

 

That is the risk these guys take to keep the rest of us informed. It is part of the job and they know it. The ones I can't stand are the ones that act like we are their "friends" because we are journalists. Amampour is kind of like that and it strikes me as pitifully naive. These other guys were just doing their jobs knowing the risks. Bless them for that.

[ErnstBlofeld]

Ummmm! I believe that reporters have been in the middle of conflicts for as long as I can remember-reporting!

 

I believe that they have taken a degree of saftey though.Journalists always had some sort of armed escort(either military or civilian) with them in conflict zones. These journalists had none and they got the s@#t kicked out of them.

 

That is the risk these guys take to keep the rest of us informed. It is part of the job and they know it. The ones I can't stand are the ones that act like we are their "friends" because we are journalists. Amampour is kind of like that and it strikes me as pitifully naive. These other guys were just doing their jobs knowing the risks. Bless them for that.

 

Olaf Wiig is the same guy along with Steve Centanni who was kidnapped by Hamas 5 years ago.Fox News had to pay $2 million dollars for their release. It seems he does not learn his lesson.

[pollyannaish]

 

Olaf Wiig is the same guy along with Steve Centanni who was kidnapped by Hamas 5 years ago. It seems he does not learn his lesson.

 

 

I would say he is a committed journalist that is looking to report the truth on the street. Remember, the safest journalists in Iraq were the folks that conspired with the Hussein regime to hide the truth on CNN.

 

We will never know the truth without courageous people willing to put themselves in harms way to tell the story.

 

There needs to be MORE journalists willing to do that, and fewer pantywaists willing to take whatever they are spoon fed through official channels.

[ErnstBlofeld]

 

Olaf Wiig is the same guy along with Steve Centanni who was kidnapped by Hamas 5 years ago. It seems he does not learn his lesson.

 

 

I would say he is a committed journalist that is looking to report the truth on the street. Remember, the safest journalists in Iraq were the folks that conspired with the Hussein regime to hide the truth on CNN.

 

We will never know the truth without courageous people willing to put themselves in harms way to tell the story.

 

There needs to be MORE journalists willing to do that, and fewer pantywaists willing to take whatever they are spoon fed through official channels.

 

I think he should hire bodyguards like other journalists. I hear that Blackwater is available.

[pollyannaish]

 

Olaf Wiig is the same guy along with Steve Centanni who was kidnapped by Hamas 5 years ago. It seems he does not learn his lesson.

 

 

I would say he is a committed journalist that is looking to report the truth on the street. Remember, the safest journalists in Iraq were the folks that conspired with the Hussein regime to hide the truth on CNN.

 

We will never know the truth without courageous people willing to put themselves in harms way to tell the story.

 

There needs to be MORE journalists willing to do that, and fewer pantywaists willing to take whatever they are spoon fed through official channels.

 

I think he should hire bodyguards like other journalists

 

But tell me something Ernst. If you are a man on the street, very wary of the government...are you going to tell the truth to some American with a posse of thugs standing behind him? Palkot and Wiig put their own safety at risk in order to do what they could to get honest assessments from people on the street. I admire that.

 

Would they have been safer with bodyguards? Certainly. Would their reporting have been as fair and balanced and thorough? Absolutely not.

 

I gotta give them credit for being committed to doing their jobs well. Like I said, this is the kind of journalism that we're missing in this country.

[ErnstBlofeld]

Getting the story does not mean getting yourself killed.

[Casino67]

Ernst, you are sounding anti-journalist now. Greg and Wiig were reporting from above the square when a fire bomb hit nearby and forced them to leave their 'safe' position. When they escaped, they ran right into the mob. ((I am hearing this story being reported on Fox as I type.))

 

They were not putting themselves in danger willingly. The two of them haven't survived all this time being stupid. But they are willing to take the risk they do to get the story.

 

Give them a break.

[ErnstBlofeld]

 

Olaf Wiig is the same guy along with Steve Centanni who was kidnapped by Hamas 5 years ago. It seems he does not learn his lesson.

 

 

I would say he is a committed journalist that is looking to report the truth on the street. Remember, the safest journalists in Iraq were the folks that conspired with the Hussein regime to hide the truth on CNN.

 

We will never know the truth without courageous people willing to put themselves in harms way to tell the story.

 

There needs to be MORE journalists willing to do that, and fewer pantywaists willing to take whatever they are spoon fed through official channels.

 

I think he should hire bodyguards like other journalists

 

But tell me something Ernst. If you are a man on the street, very wary of the government...are you going to tell the truth to some American with a posse of thugs standing behind him? Palkot and Wiig put their own safety at risk in order to do what they could to get honest assessments from people on the street. I admire that.

 

Would they have been safer with bodyguards? Certainly. Would their reporting have been as fair and balanced and thorough? Absolutely not.

 

I gotta give them credit for being committed to doing their jobs well. Like I said, this is the kind of journalism that we're missing in this country.

 

Its better to be alive than getting yourself killed over a deadline.

[ErnstBlofeld]

Ernst, you are sounding anti-journalist now. Greg and Wiig were reporting from above the square when a fire bomb hit nearby and forced them to leave their 'safe' position. When they escaped, they ran right into the mob. ((I am hearing this story being reported on Fox as I type.))

 

They were not putting themselves in danger willingly. The two of them haven't survived all this time being stupid. But they are willing to take the risk they do to get the story.

 

Give them a break.

 

I am not acting like a anti-journalist. It is to use common sense to use good judgement than to die over a deadline set by a guy in a cushy office in New York. Journalists are in a rush for stories because of this competitive 24 hour news market and they have thrown their common sense into the wind.

[pollyannaish]

Ernst, you are sounding anti-journalist now. Greg and Wiig were reporting from above the square when a fire bomb hit nearby and forced them to leave their 'safe' position. When they escaped, they ran right into the mob. ((I am hearing this story being reported on Fox as I type.))

 

They were not putting themselves in danger willingly. The two of them haven't survived all this time being stupid. But they are willing to take the risk they do to get the story.

 

Give them a break.

 

Amen. They are not stupid or naive. They are committed to doing their jobs well without the help of official thugs. And in this case, they were the victims of circumstance.

 

Honestly, I know second hand of a guy who is over there running a parochial grade school. He was in the states when this broke out and his wife and daughter were there. He worked to get them back here...and then immediately went back for two reasons. First, he wanted someone there to protect the property with the help of local Christians. Second, he wants to be available to help anyone who might need emergency care. This guys KNOWS he is in harms way, but the most important thing to him at this point is not to protect himself at all cost, but to be a service to others. I can't tell you how much I respect that from people. It's heroism at its best.

[ErnstBlofeld]

Ernst, you are sounding anti-journalist now. Greg and Wiig were reporting from above the square when a fire bomb hit nearby and forced them to leave their 'safe' position. When they escaped, they ran right into the mob. ((I am hearing this story being reported on Fox as I type.))

 

They were not putting themselves in danger willingly. The two of them haven't survived all this time being stupid. But they are willing to take the risk they do to get the story.

 

Give them a break.

 

Amen. They are not stupid or naive. They are committed to doing their jobs well without the help of official thugs. And in this case, they were the victims of circumstance.

 

Honestly, I know second hand of a guy who is over there running a parochial grade school. He was in the states when this broke out and his wife and daughter were there. He worked to get them back here...and then immediately went back for two reasons. First, he wanted someone there to protect the property with the help of local Christians. Second, he wants to be available to help anyone who might need emergency care. This guys KNOWS he is in harms way, but the most important thing to him at this point is not to protect himself at all cost, but to be a service to others. I can't tell you how much I respect that from people. It's heroism at its best.

 

All they care about getting the story and throwing their saftey in the wind. There is an invention called the zoom lens.

[pollyannaish]

But Ernst! It's not the pictures that matter. It's the conversations! If it was just the pictures...we'd let the satellites do the job and go home.

 

This is a human story, not a technological one. Just like the story of the birth of our own country was a personal one. ALL revolutions are personal and about individual stories. That's what makes them so complex and unpredictable.

[ErnstBlofeld]

But Ernst! It's not the pictures that matter. It's the conversations! If it was just the pictures...we'd let the satellites do the job and go home.

 

This is a human story, not a technological one. Just like the story of the birth of our own country was a personal one. ALL revolutions are personal and about individual stories. That's what makes them so complex and unpredictable.

 

While getting their human story, they were pounded by a anti-American mob and ended up in the hospital with severe injuries.

[Casino67]

Ernst, you are sounding anti-journalist now. Greg and Wiig were reporting from above the square when a fire bomb hit nearby and forced them to leave their 'safe' position. When they escaped, they ran right into the mob. ((I am hearing this story being reported on Fox as I type.))

 

They were not putting themselves in danger willingly. The two of them haven't survived all this time being stupid. But they are willing to take the risk they do to get the story.

 

Give them a break.

 

Amen. They are not stupid or naive. They are committed to doing their jobs well without the help of official thugs. And in this case, they were the victims of circumstance.

 

Honestly, I know second hand of a guy who is over there running a parochial grade school. He was in the states when this broke out and his wife and daughter were there. He worked to get them back here...and then immediately went back for two reasons. First, he wanted someone there to protect the property with the help of local Christians. Second, he wants to be available to help anyone who might need emergency care. This guys KNOWS he is in harms way, but the most important thing to him at this point is not to protect himself at all cost, but to be a service to others. I can't tell you how much I respect that from people. It's heroism at its best.

 

All they care about getting the story and throwing their saftey in the wind. There is an invention called the zoom lens.

 

Ernst, pay attention. They were in a room above the square with a zoom lens reporting from that room until a firebomb drove them out. And, journalism is all about getting the story, but no sane journo is going to deliberately place them self in a situation that is not survivable. Repeat sane.

[ErnstBlofeld]

Ernst, you are sounding anti-journalist now. Greg and Wiig were reporting from above the square when a fire bomb hit nearby and forced them to leave their 'safe' position. When they escaped, they ran right into the mob. ((I am hearing this story being reported on Fox as I type.))

 

They were not putting themselves in danger willingly. The two of them haven't survived all this time being stupid. But they are willing to take the risk they do to get the story.

 

Give them a break.

 

Amen. They are not stupid or naive. They are committed to doing their jobs well without the help of official thugs. And in this case, they were the victims of circumstance.

 

Honestly, I know second hand of a guy who is over there running a parochial grade school. He was in the states when this broke out and his wife and daughter were there. He worked to get them back here...and then immediately went back for two reasons. First, he wanted someone there to protect the property with the help of local Christians. Second, he wants to be available to help anyone who might need emergency care. This guys KNOWS he is in harms way, but the most important thing to him at this point is not to protect himself at all cost, but to be a service to others. I can't tell you how much I respect that from people. It's heroism at its best.

 

All they care about getting the story and throwing their saftey in the wind. There is an invention called the zoom lens.

 

Ernst, pay attention. They were in a room above the square with a zoom lens reporting from that room until a firebomb drove them out. And, journalism is all about getting the story, but no sane journo is going to deliberately place them self in a situation that is not survivable. Repeat sane.

 

There are no sane journalists anymore. They all on that edge just because of that one story that will win them the Pulitzer prize.

[SrWoodchuck]

There are no sane journalists anymore. They all on that edge just because of that one story that will win them the Pulitzer prize.

Ernst!

 

Absolutes may seem like they give a person wide margins; but in reality they make a person seem like a "blindered" horse.

 

What you posted above, is a silly statement on several levels.

 

Facts need to be based on first-hand knowledge. Without reporting from a "man-on-the-street" there is mostly hearsay, and few opinions or decisions can be logically made from hearsay, or gossip. A "war correspondent" that fears for his life & refuses to report from a war zone; is useless. Most journalists consider themselves to be in a profession, acting as professionals, and most consider their reporting & the body of their work as their legacy in professional journalism. You really can't be blamed for your naivete; as there hasn't been much professional reporting from the main stream media in many years.

 

I believe that most journalists do their reporting for more than a paycheck or a Pulitzer. The fact that Mr. Wiig was involved, even after his prior kidnapping; shows a professional demeanor & a willingness to remain on the very edge of journalism, coming from his professionalism. Christine Amanpour.......not so much.

 

We can't all be "noble" Senators.....or get medals for helping them become elected.

[Casino67]

There are no sane journalists anymore. They all on that edge just because of that one story that will win them the Pulitzer prize.

Ernst!

 

Absolutes may seem like they give a person wide margins; but in reality they make a person seem like a "blindered" horse.

 

What you posted above, is a silly statement on several levels.

 

Facts need to be based on first-hand knowledge. Without reporting from a "man-on-the-street" there is mostly hearsay, and few opinions or decisions can be logically made from hearsay, or gossip. A "war correspondent" that fears for his life & refuses to report from a war zone; is useless. Most journalists consider themselves to be in a profession, acting as professionals, and most consider their reporting & the body of their work as their legacy in professional journalism. You really can't be blamed for your naivete; as there hasn't been much professional reporting from the main stream media in many years.

 

I believe that most journalists do their reporting for more than a paycheck or a Pulitzer. The fact that Mr. Wiig was involved, even after his prior kidnapping; shows a professional demeanor & a willingness to remain on the very edge of journalism, coming from his professionalism. Christine Amanpour.......not so much.

 

We can't all be "noble" Senators.....or get medals for helping them become elected.

 

SrWoodchuck

BRAVO!!

[ErnstBlofeld]

There are no sane journalists anymore. They all on that edge just because of that one story that will win them the Pulitzer prize.

A "war correspondent" that fears for his life & refuses to report from a war zone; is useless. Most journalists consider themselves to be in a profession, acting as professionals, and most consider their reporting & the body of their work as their legacy in professional journalism.

 

 

War corrrespondents are buried within the army or army pool. They are protected and controlled. These guys were getting the human interest while a anti-American mob armed with sticks and God knows what pounded the living crap out of them.Meanwhile the street mob is threatening the beheading of Western journalists. The Fox crew were left exposed and should of requested help before proceeding into the mob.What were these journalists thinking?That they were going to waltz into a Anti-American mob chanting anti-American slogans and expect an non-eventful interview.

[Pepper]

Palkot's reporting is some of the best out there. The thing that I appreciate about him is that he is willing to take the risks to get the real story instead of playing it safe and getting the 'approved' story. He doesn't seem to be as naive as the rest of them.

 

That said, all of these reporters are targets simply because they are Americans. There is no way to keep them safe.

 

Prayers for their healing. And for the safety of ALL Americans in the middle of this conflict...and there are many.

BUMP

 

Greg Palkot is someone whom I have grown to admire and respect over the years. He is NOT a showboater. He has been consistent in his reporting and has matured. My best wishes for a quick recovery for him.

 

 

See here earlier in this thread.

[Pepper]

Its better to be alive than getting yourself killed over a deadline.

 

That's an easy observation to make from the comfort of computer. And if it were a mere deadline, I'd agree.

 

I wager that someone like Palkot has as much inside information as Obozo's staff and I bet his stories were watched by them.

 

I can see Paul Revere keeping his horse in the stable instead of getting the news out.