Freelance Journalists Can Face Considerable Risks and News Organizations Need to Do More to Protect Them

Writing in light of the Iranian detaining of New America Media Journalist Shane Bauer and his friends, NAM editor Andrew Lam, author of “Perfume Dreams: Reflections on the Vietnamese Diaspora,” pens this:

In an era of shrinking foreign bureaus, struggling news organizations are relying more and more on freelance journalists. For the go-it-alone intrepid reporter or photographer abroad, as well as journalists working for non-traditional media and less powerful outlets such as Current TV, opportunities to cover stories in hot spots overseas abound.

But many, as in the case of Shane Bauer, a freelance writer and photographer for this news outlet, are taking far more risks than those who go abroad with the backing of a major media institution. Bauer, while hiking with his two friends, reportedly has been detained by Iranian authorities.