A conflict overlooked by most non-journalists was the civil war in Sierra Leone (western Africa) in 1999–2000. It was considered another “bleeding field” for reporters, as a dozen lost their lives there, including Reuters correspondent Kurt Schork and APTN cameraman Miguel Gil Moreno. Schork, who had left a career in corporate law to become a conflict journalist, was 53 when he died. A 2001 Media Studies Journal article cites Schork’s haunting admonition to his colleagues. “War reporting,” Schork said, “is a job, is a craft—not a holy crusade. The thing is to work and not get hurt. When that is no longer possible, it is time to get out.”
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