Worth a look
Missing Journalist James Foley now thought held by Syrian government, report says
Foley in June, 2011
U.S. Journalist James Foley, missing in Syria since Thansgiving 2012, is now thought to be being held by the Syrian government.
"With a very high degree of confidence, we now believe that Jim was most likely abducted by a pro-regime militia group and subsequently turned over to Syrian government forces,” GlobalPost CEO and President Philip Balboni said on May 3 during a speech marking World Press Freedom Day. (Full story) This is the second time in 18 months that the 2008 Medill School of Journalism graduate has been taken captive in a war zone.
“The family appeals for the release of Jim unharmed,” his relatives said on a web site focused on getting him freed. He was kidnapped in northwest Syria on Thanksgiving Day, the family said.
Watch video archive of May 3 World Press Freedom Day event in Boston: “Silenced Voices: When Conflict Journalists Go Missing.”
Posts by NSZ Editor
Medill students find significant vulnerabilities in U.S. energy security policy
(May. 09, 2013)WASHINGTON, D.C. – In a three-month investigation, a team of graduate student reporters from the Medill School of Journalism, Media, Integrated Marketing Communication has found that the United States’ unquenchable thirst for oil has shaped nearly every aspect of the country’s domestic and foreign policy for more than five decades, often in controversial and dangerous ways. The graduate student team today (May 9) begins publication of its findings on the national security implications of U.S. energy policy. … (Continue reading . . .)
Medill launches specialization in national security journalism
(Jan. 16, 2013)The Medill National Security Journalism Initiative is offering a National Security Journalism Specialization in the school’s Graduate Journalism Program, a unique offering among journalism schools nationwide. The Specialization gives you the opportunity to develop the skills, knowledge and hands-on reporting expertise needed to excel in covering some of the most crucial stories of our times – those affecting the national security of our country. They range from increased use of drones to patrol U.S. borders … (Continue reading . . .)
NSJI’s Josh Meyer discusses Bin Laden book on CNN
(Sep. 06, 2012)Josh Meyer of the Medill National Security Journalism Initiative appears on CNN Sept. 4 to discuss what should happen to the SEAL Team 6 operator who wrote the book No Easy Day about killing Osama bin Laden.
NSJI awards 10 scholarships to students for energy security investigation
(Jun. 08, 2012)EVANSTON, Ill. — Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism has selected 10 McCormick National Security Journalism Scholarship recipients for an innovative 11-week reporting program under way this Fall. Their work in Medill’s Washington bureau will culminate in an investigative multimedia project on national security issues. The winners of these $7,500 graduate student scholarships are working under Josh Meyer, a 20-year veteran of the Los Angeles Times who joined the Medill faculty in 2010 to help establish the school’s National Security … (Continue reading . . .)
About J. Ford Huffman
(Apr. 23, 2012)J. Ford Huffman’s nonfiction-book reviews appear regularly in the Military Times. He has led discussions about writing and presentation in more than 60 newsrooms including the Army, Navy, and Air Force Times, which were redesigned and restructured – and Marine Corps Times introduced – in 1999. He has taught at the Defense Information School at Fort Meade and has participated in military-media panels at Expeditionary Warfare School and Marine Corps War College at Marine Corps Base Quantico. The Corps selected … (Continue reading . . .)
Coming up: War 2.0
(Jan. 12, 2012)Coming soon to National Security Zone: War 2.0, a special report by NSZ Carnegie Fellow Sharon Weinberger, who has spent the past six months examining social media and its opportunity to predict and perhaps even influence, future international events. The Pentagon is now funding efforts to develop models that can predict rising insurgencies, or even identify ways to undermine covert terrorist networks. Military-funded researchers and private companies are looking at how to apply these models … (Continue reading . . .)
Hidden Surge
(Jan. 12, 2012)Guard, Reserve not adequately served by military care system, Medill students find A three-month investigation by a team of Medill student reporters has found significant gaps between the health care and support for the 665,000 National Guardsmen and Reservists who have fought in Iraq and Afghanistan and their active-duty counterparts. The project, called Hidden Surge, found that many have been hastily channeled through a post-deployment process that has been plagued with difficulties, including reliance on self-reporting … (Continue reading . . .)
Fresh how-to guides for the military health beat and privacy issues
(Jan. 12, 2012)We’ve added two new how-to guides to our growing “NSZ 101″ collection that is aimed at helping national security reporters better cover their beat. Veteran investigative reporter T. Christian Miller of ProPublica.org explains the ins and outs of covering the military health beat. He focuses on the Department of Defense, Department of Veterans Affairs and Tricare, the military’s health care system, with contracts worth $56 billion over five years. Privacy issues are the focus of … (Continue reading . . .)
New chair of Joint Chiefs addresses MRE confab
(Nov. 20, 2011)Bryan Bender takes helm at MRE (Via militaryreporters.org)After serving two years as president of Military Reporters & Editors Association, USA Today reporter Kelly Kennedy stepped down as president. Bryan Bender of the Boston Globe was elected by the board of directors as the organization’s new president. During Kelly’s two years as president, she led MRE to conduct two very successful annual conferences which included speakers such as the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Gen. … (Continue reading . . .)
New chairman of joint chiefs to address MRE gathering
(Nov. 09, 2011)WASHINGTON — The new chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Army Gen. Martin Dempsey, will make his first appearance before the news media at the Military Reporters & Editors conference at 12:30 p.m. on Nov. 18 in Arlington, Va. Dempsey said he plans to outline his goals for the troops, and then will answer questions from the media. As chair, he serves as the top military adviser to the president and the secretary of … (Continue reading . . .)
