Somalia is a scary place for journalists...and everyone else

Just read about a freelance journalist and photographer being held hostage in somalia... http://au.news.yahoo.com/a/-/world/5597153/kidnapped-aussie-appeals-help/
...this is why i personally would always want the backing of a large organization if i was going to report on controversial issues abroad. freelancers take more risks to tell the stories that are harder to get-- and have no one to bail them out when things go horribly wrong.

Meanwhile last week Reporters without borders announced the death of journalist Abdirisak Warsameh Mohamed, of Radio Shabelle, who was shot as the Somali army launched a major offensive against Islamist “al-Shabab” insurgents in the heart of the capital Mogadishu. He is the third journalist to be killed in Somalia since the beginning of 2009. The killing of 11 journalists since 2007 has made it Africa’s deadliest country for the media.