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Paul
McNulty tells the story of two different but equally heroic journalists
Pembroke
Stephens was the Berlin correspondent of the Daily Express during
the 30s and 40s. He was among the first journalists to acknowledge and
report
on the dangers of the Hitler regime. He wrote stories highlighting the
plight
of German Jews. His reports were strongly critical of Nazi policy, and
he ended
up being expelled from Germany. “It is impossible to tell the truth,
the real
truth, about Germany , and remain an accredited correspondent in
Berlin,” he
said after being kicked out.
Stephens’ vigorous anti-Hitler reports strongly influenced
British resolve against the Nazi regime, and were contrary to much of
the reports
in Britain at the time, with the Daily Mail particularly sycophantic to
the
Nazis.
Stephens continued his crusade against totalitarian regimes
and his next posting was in China, to report on atrocities which the
Japanese
were committing there. According to John Simpson’s book, Unreliable
Sources,
Stephens was killed after being shot in the head on the last day of the
Chinese
army’s stand against the Japanese in 1937. His friend, the
magnificently
monikered O’Dowd-Gallagher, correspondent for the Daily Mail, was there
as it
happened. He sorrowfully wrote up the story of Stevens’ death, but — in
a mark
of the esteem in which Stephens was held — Gallagher sent the story not
to his
own paper, but to the Daily Express - Stephens’ paper.
“I
couldn’t,” explained
Gallagher, “scoop him on his own obituary.“
The aftermath of the recent Haitian earthquake left a
horrifying trail of destruction in its wake. Journalists flocked to the
region
to cover the story, and found themselves in the midst of one of the
biggest
humanitarian crises of modern times. The earthquake destroyed Haiti’s
already
poor medical facilities, so even journalists were called upon to aid
medical
efforts.
Sanjay Gupta, a reporter for CNN (and qualified
neurosurgeon) had to perfom brain surgery on a 12-year-old girl who was
found
with concrete embedded in her skull. “Yes, I am a reporter, but I am a
doctor
first.”
Gupta didn’t rest on his laurels after this though, as many
journalists would have done. Later on in the same week as the
neurosurgery, he
reported from a temporary UN medical camp near Port-au-Prince, filled
with more
than two dozen critically ill and injured patients, and other patients
recovering from surgery. A team of medics from Belgium had only earlier
that
day set up the makeshift medical facility.
As
Gupta’s report continued, the UN ordered the doctors to
leave the camp, as there had been gunfire nearby and their safety
couldn’t be
guaranteed.
"I've
never been in a situation like this. This is quite
ridiculous," he said on air.
Gupta
then assumed responsibility for the camp with only a
stethoscope and some bags of IV fluids left behind by the Belgians. The
ubiquitous camera crew followed him as he moved from patient to patient
(a move
which drew criticism), accompanied only by a single nurse from the
Belgian group
who refused to leave. That night he tweeted, "3.45am,pulling all-nighter at Haiti Field Hosp. lots
of work, but all patients stable. Turned my crew into a crack med team
tonight.
proud."
Another doctor-turned reporter, Jennifer Ashton, who works
for CBS in the US, was involved in an equally valiant effort. A
15-year-old
girl was discovered under a collapsed building, with her arm trapped
under the
rubble. Ashton aided in the amputation of the girls arm, which involved
the use
of an electric saw, typically used to evacuate people from cars.
paulmcn8@gmail.com
