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The Journalists of Afghanistan

The journalists of Afghanistan face grave danger on the job. The Committee to Protect Journalists has documented the death of six Afghan media workers inside Afghanistan in the last three years alone and the death of a seventh is under investigation.

Many of the Afghan journalists work with the foreign media at great personal risk, providing vital support, services and insight. Their work is crucial to the world’s understanding of events in Afghanistan, but their important contributions are rarely recognized.

Too often, they believe that their lives are not as valued as those of their Western colleagues. This was felt most recently after the death in September 2009 of Afghan journalist Sultan Mohammed Munadi from The New York Times. Munadi was killed in a raid which rescued his British colleague Stephen Farrell.

The Lyons Award has never been presented to an Afghan journalist. In choosing Afghan journalists for the prize, the Nieman Class of 2010 honors the conscience and integrity of all their colleagues in Afghanistan.


Read James Reynold’s introduction »

Read a list of the Afghan journalists killed in recent years »

Read the press release »