Journalist Pitch The pitch is for a story that highlights the risks that journalists face in the conduct of their jobs around the world. Journalism is an essential component of a free society, so protecting the rights of journalists to do their jobs is vital. The Committee to Protect Journalists lists 61 journalists who were killed in the line of duty in 2014. 17 of these were killed in Syria, but there were 20 countries overall in which journalists were killed. Some were killed when bombs when off, some by accident, but there were also executions of journalists, particularly in Syria. The Charlie Hebdo attack can also be framed in this light -- murder of journalists seeking to exercise free speech and incite debate about the critical issues of the day.

The focus of the story should be on the ethical side of the issue. We know that killing journalists is wrong. The story should focus on the duty of journalists, and the role that they perform in society, and juxtapose this with the risks that they face in covering war, corruption and protests. The story should focus on specific case studies, so that the audience can relate better to the individuals involved. One case study can be from one of the ISIS murders, as that is a headline grabber that can be used to draw in readers. One or two other case studies should be covered as well in the story in order to portray that journalists...

He was murdered in a small town in Oaxaca, a normally peaceful state. The killing was a hit in response to coverage of a criminal gang story, in which the local mayor was implicated as a gang member. This case study shows that attacks against journalists can come from government officials, can happen in safe places, and can occur even when the reporter takes steps to protect his identity. It is evidence of the role that journalists play in society -- they help to combat against government abuses, something juxtaposed in Mexico, a country where there are safe areas with relatively little corruption and other areas where corruption is so rampant there is essentially no government control.
The other side of this story is that journalists take on these risks voluntarily. Some can be dismissed as adrenaline junkies, but most do so out of a desire to make their communities and the world a better place. The story should include an interview with at least one journalist who is still alive but has been targeted in the past, especially by government officials. The story will benefit from presenting the reader with an understanding of what motivates these reporters to put themselves in harm's way, and the different steps that they undertake…