The news about the death of an Afghan BBC journalist, Ahmed Omed Khpulwak, has served to remind both journalists in the field and postgraduate journalism students such as myself about the dangers of conflict reporting.
On Sept. 8th, NATO declared that the soldier responsible for the death of Khpulwak will not be prosecuted.
International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) stated that: "After a thorough investigation, it was determined the reporter was killed in a case of mistaken identity".
ISAF discovered that many of the shots which the soldiers heard coming from his direction was coming from his side. The BBC has asked NATO to investigate the situation after what was referred to by them as "conflicting reports".
This tragic incident has worked to illumine the dangers of conflict reporting. This links back to my experience at City University.
Having asked around the course, it would appear that a large number of my fellow postgraduates at the School of Journalism are intending to pick 'conflict reporting' as their postgraduate specialism.
I understand that the journalists who embark upon this career path are among the bravest. They work to bring the horrors of war to the public eye - igniting public opinion via the media. This public opinion is then conveyed in polling booths across the western world - insuring that wars do not last as long as politicians and their lobbyists would like them to.
Yet Khpulwak has demonstrated that events completely beyond a conflict journalist's control can lead to death.
I wonder if this scenario reflects the same problem with cigarettes. The economists advising the government have convinced the powerful that personal harm can be negated by providing information and demonstrating the unperceived 'true level' of harm. One of the more recent fruitions of this sentiment has seen a debate about making cigarette packing "plain".
Perhaps it is the case that a lot of aspiring journalists do not understand the sheer danger of conflict journalism - judging it through the clean pages of established war correspondents' novels?
Perhaps it is the case that this youthful craving for adrenaline overrides the risk-judgement in the minds of young journalists?
Perhaps I am just overcautious?
Either way, it would appear that 'conflict reporting' is still a very appealing option in the eyes of aspiring journalists.