How are Journalists Portrayed in the Media?

  
 Video Link:   http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fAVC6oocKTk
At an insightful Q&A, I asked how journalists are perceived today with kidnappings and killings of journalists abroad. Are journalists targeted? The panel did not think that journalists were being targeted, except noting that Daniel Pearl case was high-profile due to the nature of his killing.  Mark Boal, having covered stories in Iraq and is the writer of the Oscar-winning film, "The Hurt Locker," said in the 80's  journalists "neutrality" was replaced by a perception that journalists could become a target.  On a related note: Mark and the director of "The Hurt Locker" are planning to launch a film about the hunt for bin Laden and the "war-on-terror" and now that he has been killed, the film takes on a current relevancy.


The panel's discussion primarily focused on movies and films in which reporters were "stereotyped" to a degree by Hollywood filmmakers:

WHAT:

As part of National Ethics Week and the kick-off to the SPJ Region 11 Conference, SPJ/LA and the national Ethics Committee spotlight how journalists are portrayed in the movies and on TV.

WHO:

• Joe Saltzman, professor, USC Annenberg School for Communication & Journalism; director, Image of the Journalist in Popular Culture Project
• Mark Boal, journalist, Oscar-winning screenwriter (“The Hurt Locker”), film producer
• Jolie Mason, founder, Los Angeles Radio Reading Service

Joel Bellman, SPJ/LA board member and press deputy for Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky, moderator