Deadly Words

Journalists report on what is going on in the world so that the rest of us can make informed decisions. They are a necessary component of modern society, for without them we would be stumbling in the dark, unaware and lacking the interpersonal link that is news.

Sometimes that news, those words that are written to inform, are dangerous. Words on a sheet of paper can anger, and there are those who do not want words about them to be made public. Certainly the recent leak of classified information about United States government spying on its citizens has generated outrage and anger.The actions of Edward Snowden have been followed by exclamations of shock, threats of incarceration and jail sentences stretching out to infinity.

A journalist in Northern Ireland has run afoul of a more dangerous element than a democratically elected government, and the threats issued to her are deadly.

It is not the first time that a journalist's words have brought on intimidation from the group being written about. The Ulster loyalists have been known to mail bullets to journalists with whom they disagree, suggesting that another story will be the writer's last. Another exposure of the gang's secrets will be silenced.

Martin O'Hagan

The National Union of Journalists is calling on the dissident groups, both republican and unionist, to stop trying to scare their members into silence. The journalists need look no further than the case of Veronica Guerin, who dared to report on criminal gangs that were terrorizing Dublin until her words were silenced by her assassination.

In 2001, Martin O'Hagan was shot down because he dared to expose a paramilitary group, revealing the true nature of the organization that wanted the world to think it was just a bunch of freedom fighters. Journalists realize that they could be just as dead for daring to inform the public. They certainly are aware that Mr. O'Hagan's killers have never be found.

Writing stories should not be a dangerous profession, but in some places a reporter takes their life in their hands by daring to express the truth.

We owe them a debt of gratitude for being so brave, for not backing down when they are intimidated. A news story that reveals the truth that some would like hidden should not require an armed guard and living with fear that a string of words must be carefully chosen or completely erased to safeguard the writer's life.