User:Charmayne18/Michelle lang2

Michelle Lang, also known as Michelle Justine Lang, (31 January 1975 - 30 December 2009) was a print journalist from Calgary Herald and CanWest News Service who was assigned to cover the Afghanistan War  where she was killed near Kandahar, Afghanistan. Lang was the first Canadian journalist to be killed on a mission while being an embedded journalist with military unit in the Afghanistan War.

Death
Lang was an an embedded journalist on assignment covering a patrol by a NATO unit with Canadian soldiers on 30 December. While traveling in a military convoy south of Kandahar, their vehicle hit an IED roadside bomb. Four Canadian soldiers and Lang died from the blast.

Context
In an article written by Patrick Cockburn explains what it means to be an embedded journalist and the dangers of the job. He also explains how it’s changed from being safe to dangerous. He says the term embedded journalism became a bad name in Iraq and Afghanistan. This phrase came to ‘evoke an image of independent correspondents truckling to military mentors who wanted to get information on the war.” The only way to gather this information was to accompany the army. In the early 1970’s he believed that it was safer to be a journalist. In one case Lebanon was giving passes to pass through there checkpoints. In 1984 the Iranian backed groups started to kidnap journalist as on effective way pressure governments and publicize the kidnapers. He explains that embedded can cause limitations in locations. Afghanistan is a known for guerrilla wars, the commander is known for attacking the opponent when there weak.

An article argues the use of embedded reporters and how it has led to media military collaboration. The writer explaions there a collaborative effort by both the government and all the free press and has led to a propaganda war.

Impact
A total of nineteen journalist eleven of them foreign have been killed in Afghanistan since September 11  including afghan journalist Zakia Zaki. Lang was the seventh woman journalist to be killed in 2009. Other journalists were killed in an election related massacre in the southern Philippines.

Reaction
Irina Bokava, the director-general of UNESCO, condemned the killing of Michelle Lang, as well as the kidnaping of the 2 French journalists. ““Violence against journalists constitutes an attack on the fundamental human right of freedom of expression; it is therefore a direct threat to democracy. I also condemn the abduction of the two French television journalists, who are being held hostage because they too were doing their duty of gathering information. The fates of these three media professionals cruelly underline the dangers that journalists face when they go into areas of conflict to provide news coverage. I call on the Afghan authorities to do their utmost to obtain the release of the French journalists, and to take measures to increase press security in the country.”

The editor and chief Scott Anderson of CanWest news service said “were all devastated by the loss and our thoughts are with her family and fiancé.” Says journalist put themselves at risk when doing these kinds of stories.

Darah Hansen who worked with Lang in there CanWest news service talked with Lang before she left. Hansen said she wanted to tell Michelle what Afghanistan was like. Hansen had been there a year earlier and said: “Once you’re off the main base, you are not safe. If you’re travelling with Canadian soldiers or any soldiers in that country, you are a target. If you’re travelling by yourself, you are a target.” She said Michelle was a smart and serious journalist.

Personal
Michelle was an alumnus of Magee Secondary School and Simon Fraser University. Her first job as a reporter was at the Prince George Free Press. She later moved on to Moose Jaw Times Herald and the Regina Leader-Post, and then moved to Calgary to become a print journalist for the Calgary Herald. She won a National Newspaper Award in 2008 for best beat reporting.

The Calgary Herald established the Michelle Lang Fellowship which gives students internship opportunities to report and write for two of of Canada's biggest newsrooms so they can follow their passion in journalism while collaborating with others.