Journalists risk own lives for their • passion

When we think of dangerous professions, certain occupations immediately come to mind. We think of the heroes in the New York City police and fire departments climbing to the top of the burning World Trade Center buildings, desperately trying to answer the cries for help on Sept. 11, 2001. We think of the American soldier thousands of miles away, battered and beaten, sowing America's seeds of Westernized democracy, wherever their new quest maybe.

A new profession, however, has broken through as one of the most heroic; journalism. With the number of insurgents and disapproval of the U.S. 's presence growing in Iraq, American journalists are facing the same dangers as our troops. Many reporters are trading the newsroom for a humvee and suits for bulletproof vests, but at what cost?

American journalist Jill Carroll of The Christian Science Monitor was released on March 31, 2006 after being held captive for a grueling 82 days.

Carroll is one of the 38 journalists that have been abducted in Iraq since the start of the war three years ago.

Carroll returned home to Boston and was greeted by the loving arms of friends and family. Although Carroll returned home safely, she was forced to deal with the death of her beloved friend and translator who lost her life due to a suicide bombing months earlier. Even after the loss of her friend and being subjected to extreme risks, Carroll said she could never imagine leaving an Iraq she claims to love.

The passion that journalists like Jill Carroll possess outweighs the fear of their possible fate. Whether it's their devotion to delivering the truth to the American people or the adrenaline rush similar to what many soldiers feel in the face of danger, embedded journalist keep going back for more. It's become more than a profession; it's become their lives.

ABC correspondent Bob Woodruff was critically injured after an ~ttaclcnear Baghdad this past January. At the annual Radio-Television Cottespondent Assn. Dinner, Woodruff released a statement from his bedside saying, "My entire focus is on my family and recovery and getting back to the job I love."

NBC also dealt with a loss of one of their long time correspondents, David Bloom. Bloom, a close friend of Woodruff, was killed in Iraq three years • ago. Woodruff and Bloom are both stark reminders of how at war we still are.

These men and women are as much of a representation of dedicated Americans as our soldiers are. Above all, embedded journalists want to ensure that the American public hears the truth, even if we it is difficult and overwhelming. If it were not for these three journalists and the 37 others that were captured, America would be left in complete darkness about a culture that we are still trying to grasp and a war that is growing dimmer each day. Without their work, these journalists .would be missing a part of. their soul and without their unwavering dedication, we would be missing a part of America