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Frontline: Reporting from the World's Deadliest Places
‘If you are in a battle and you are filming, your adrenalin rises to a very high level. You can get hooked on that. [...] You have to get in and get your pictures out. It's a wonderful challenge.' Remember turning on the television and seeing shots of rockets fired at night in the first Gulf War, the first massacre victims in Kosovo, the US bomb that killed women and children in a bunker in Baghdad, and Mullah Omar declaring holy war for the Taliban? The men and women at the Frontline news agency believed the public should see the true horrors of war and courageously went where other news organisations feared to tread. Risking everything to show the truth, they travelled the world’s most dangerous places in a quest to live life to the full, a quest some paid for with their lives. This is their story.
465 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 2005
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
July 15, 2018
Coming from any other writer than David Loyn, I’d say the stories in Frontline: Reporting from the World’s Deadliest Places were unbelievable. These are amazing tales of the cameramen & journalists of Frontline Television News as they tried to make a commercial success of freelance TV news gathering from the world’s most hostile environments: Somalia, Gaza, Kuwait, Iraq, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Bosnia, Chechnya, you name it… This is a can’t-put-it-down book; and the handful of chapters about Vaughan Smith (“the only man in the world who goes to Kabul for R&R”) and his infiltration of the first Gulf War are alone worth picking up a copy.
But the book is not simply tales of derring-do. Loyn presents a nuanced and layered perspective of how the news gathering operations of Frontline fit into the industry as a whole. Frontline existed at a unique point in time where equipment became sufficiently compact for freelancers to operate independently, and before the economic model completely bottomed out and it became impossible for freelance video journalists to make a go of it. Loyn notes that there is collateral damage in the crash of the economic model, quoting Smith: “…Vaughan Smith thinks the industry is in danger of losing something else – a diversity of ideas and images on the screen. Organisations with big staff commitments often cannot afford to take a different view from the establishment.” (p. 440)
Frontline: Reporting from the World’s Deadliest Places is a great book for anyone interested in the conflicts of the last few decades; and should be required reading for journalists, especially any journalist who has ever benefited from the Rory Peck Trust.
But the book is not simply tales of derring-do. Loyn presents a nuanced and layered perspective of how the news gathering operations of Frontline fit into the industry as a whole. Frontline existed at a unique point in time where equipment became sufficiently compact for freelancers to operate independently, and before the economic model completely bottomed out and it became impossible for freelance video journalists to make a go of it. Loyn notes that there is collateral damage in the crash of the economic model, quoting Smith: “…Vaughan Smith thinks the industry is in danger of losing something else – a diversity of ideas and images on the screen. Organisations with big staff commitments often cannot afford to take a different view from the establishment.” (p. 440)
Frontline: Reporting from the World’s Deadliest Places is a great book for anyone interested in the conflicts of the last few decades; and should be required reading for journalists, especially any journalist who has ever benefited from the Rory Peck Trust.
April 27, 2015
I picked up this book when I was in London last fall visiting the Frontline Club, having learned about this organization while doing research for a new novel. Frontline (unrelated to the PBS television series) was founded by a handful of Brits during the Soviet-Afghan War—all of them freelance correspondents: writers, photographers, videographers, filmmakers, etc. Journalists who are not on staff at major news outlets often jump into conflict hot spots with no funding, no insurance, and no support of any kind. This book describes the birth of a freelance agency specifically set up for such war correspondents. Frontline’s founders conceived it as a for-profit business—or rather, one that would in time earn a profit. With pooled resources, they started an agency through which footage, stills, and writing could be sold to the BBC and other news organizations. As time went on, finances became increasingly problematic. A telling illustration of the difficulty of making a go of it: In the 1990s, footage that brought £700 could continue earning a videographer more money through the sale of usage to other outlets, including burgeoning Internet sites. By 2003 that fee was halved, and broadcasters demanded more control, including Internet rights—for no extra dough. The Frontliners eventually had to face the music, calling it quits as a business early in the Iraq War. Worse than the money lost and the impressive work that was (by and large) poorly compensated, Frontline lost members in some of the most violent places on the planet, deep in the heart of war zones many news organizations hesitate to send their own staff correspondents.
The good news is that Frontline perseveres, even if in an entirely different guise. The Frontline Club is a charity with a mission to support worthy causes, such as the Frontline Fund, raising money for the families of fixers killed or injured while working with the international media. Housed in a London building a stone's throw from Paddington Station, the ground floor is an outstanding restaurant where you may spot international journalists —provided you know what they look like—and can view an impressive photographic collection. (If you go, save room for the sticky toffee dessert.) Upstairs, the clubroom is a large, comfortable spot for members to gather, lamplit tables, worn leather cigar chairs, and walls lined with cases of memorabilia, letters, antique implements, and more photographs. It was a quiet night when my husband David and I visited, so we were privileged with a private tour. The top floor of the building provides low-cost lodging for international journalists traveling through London. Frontline Club members enjoy reciprocal membership in other press organizations and have access to lectures, films, and workshops and training in safety practices and dealing with trauma—something that has become even more critical in recent years, given the accumulation of kidnappings and brutal murders of war correspondents.http://www.frontlineclub.com/the-fron...
I generally reserve 5 stars for books in which the language grips me hard. There were times that I wanted to reach into the text, nudge and shape its direction and tone, or ask the author for more information, for clarity in spots that left me dangling and confused. Story lines holding promise for deeper exploration occasionally end abruptly, causing this reader to lapse into a a frustrated huff and toss the book aside for a while. I always came back for more.
But make no mistake: This book is chock-full of truly moving stories, laugh-out-loud funny anecdotes, tragic miscalculations, and derring-do. There are eccentric renegades who risked everything—possessed of a passion to bring awareness of the true costs of war to a lackadaisical public. Some of these journalists left behind lineage, title, family castles, and so forth, modern swashbuckling types who make one think of George MacDonald Fraser's "Lord Flashman" novel series. David Loyn brings them to life with descriptions of clothing, habits, dialogue, flaws and peccadillos. We feel skin prickling with the desert heat, the lurking danger, and the slap-happy recklessness of adrenalin junkies who might as well be juggling dynamite.
I’m glad to have found this book and this organization. If you follow news of conflict around the world, if you’ve wondered what attracts some to plunge into jeopardy, I recommend "Frontline: Reporting from the World’s Deadliest Places" without hesitation.
The good news is that Frontline perseveres, even if in an entirely different guise. The Frontline Club is a charity with a mission to support worthy causes, such as the Frontline Fund, raising money for the families of fixers killed or injured while working with the international media. Housed in a London building a stone's throw from Paddington Station, the ground floor is an outstanding restaurant where you may spot international journalists —provided you know what they look like—and can view an impressive photographic collection. (If you go, save room for the sticky toffee dessert.) Upstairs, the clubroom is a large, comfortable spot for members to gather, lamplit tables, worn leather cigar chairs, and walls lined with cases of memorabilia, letters, antique implements, and more photographs. It was a quiet night when my husband David and I visited, so we were privileged with a private tour. The top floor of the building provides low-cost lodging for international journalists traveling through London. Frontline Club members enjoy reciprocal membership in other press organizations and have access to lectures, films, and workshops and training in safety practices and dealing with trauma—something that has become even more critical in recent years, given the accumulation of kidnappings and brutal murders of war correspondents.http://www.frontlineclub.com/the-fron...
I generally reserve 5 stars for books in which the language grips me hard. There were times that I wanted to reach into the text, nudge and shape its direction and tone, or ask the author for more information, for clarity in spots that left me dangling and confused. Story lines holding promise for deeper exploration occasionally end abruptly, causing this reader to lapse into a a frustrated huff and toss the book aside for a while. I always came back for more.
But make no mistake: This book is chock-full of truly moving stories, laugh-out-loud funny anecdotes, tragic miscalculations, and derring-do. There are eccentric renegades who risked everything—possessed of a passion to bring awareness of the true costs of war to a lackadaisical public. Some of these journalists left behind lineage, title, family castles, and so forth, modern swashbuckling types who make one think of George MacDonald Fraser's "Lord Flashman" novel series. David Loyn brings them to life with descriptions of clothing, habits, dialogue, flaws and peccadillos. We feel skin prickling with the desert heat, the lurking danger, and the slap-happy recklessness of adrenalin junkies who might as well be juggling dynamite.
I’m glad to have found this book and this organization. If you follow news of conflict around the world, if you’ve wondered what attracts some to plunge into jeopardy, I recommend "Frontline: Reporting from the World’s Deadliest Places" without hesitation.
November 2, 2013
Buku ini menceritakan mengenai sejarah penubuhan
Frontline News Television
. Walaupun demikian,badan penyiaran ini yang bermula pada tahun 1989 telah ditamatkan perkhidmatannya pada tahun 2003. Perkara demikian berlaku kerana beban kewangan dan suasana/operasi kewartawanan yang semakin tidak memihak kepada individu/kumpulan wartawan bebas,terutamanya apabila melakukan liputan di kawasan-kawasan konflik bersenjata di serata dunia.
Secara asasnya,selain membincangkan sejarah (dari penubuhan sehingga penutupan) Frontline (yang dibentangkan secara berperingkat-peringkat di dalam beberapa bab yang terdapat di dalam buku ini),buku ini juga bertindak sebagai memoir pengalaman yang dilalui oleh beberapa ahli Frontline dan juga mereka yang menyokong atau mempunyai pertalian secara tidak rasmi dengan organisasi tersebut,termasuklah penulis buku ini sendiri. Dari Afghanistan,Iraq sehingga ke rantau Balkan merupakan antara lokasi yang menjadi perbincangan tersebut. Pengalaman menjadi wartawan perang yang bebas daripada kongkongan syarikat-syarikat penyiaran gergasi telah menyebabkan beberapa ahli Frontline kehilangan nyawa!
Secara keseluruhannya,buku ini merupakan sebuah buku yang menarik mengenai dunia kewartawanan peperangan. Buku ini,saya fikir,bagus dibaca oleh mereka yang mahu menjadi seorang wartawan perang,baik bebas atau tidak. Banyak ilmu yang boleh ditimba dan membuka horizon kita mengenai bidang tersebut.
Secara asasnya,selain membincangkan sejarah (dari penubuhan sehingga penutupan) Frontline (yang dibentangkan secara berperingkat-peringkat di dalam beberapa bab yang terdapat di dalam buku ini),buku ini juga bertindak sebagai memoir pengalaman yang dilalui oleh beberapa ahli Frontline dan juga mereka yang menyokong atau mempunyai pertalian secara tidak rasmi dengan organisasi tersebut,termasuklah penulis buku ini sendiri. Dari Afghanistan,Iraq sehingga ke rantau Balkan merupakan antara lokasi yang menjadi perbincangan tersebut. Pengalaman menjadi wartawan perang yang bebas daripada kongkongan syarikat-syarikat penyiaran gergasi telah menyebabkan beberapa ahli Frontline kehilangan nyawa!
Secara keseluruhannya,buku ini merupakan sebuah buku yang menarik mengenai dunia kewartawanan peperangan. Buku ini,saya fikir,bagus dibaca oleh mereka yang mahu menjadi seorang wartawan perang,baik bebas atau tidak. Banyak ilmu yang boleh ditimba dan membuka horizon kita mengenai bidang tersebut.
January 6, 2012
I'm so glad that I've got this book on my kindle since I've meant to get this book for a while and it's unavailable in my country. Being in a media circle,and heard of the names of the people in the book makes me enjoy David Loyn's writing more. The story of "Frontline"'s people itself is fascinating and with fantastic writing style of Loyn, I am hooked! It's highly recommend for people interested in modern war correspondants' story. I'm surprised though that I can't find any other reviews anywhere.
October 1, 2012
A really gripping story or really an interwoven collection of gripping stories about journalism on the battlefield. If you aren't someone who has thought about the role media play in our society, this book will get you thinking. Is any story worth the life of the people delivering it to you?
July 21, 2013
An illuminating and gripping read for anyone interested in journalism. In war, it's usually the stories of soldiers and civilians that get told. But this book provides a glimpse into the world of the storytellers themselves.
December 3, 2014
What a rollicking adventure and a sad commentary on the decline of good journalism. Reminds me why I became a journalist in the first place and makes me regret that I wasn't old enough a few decades ago, to be a part of this golden age.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews