'The Deadly Cost of News'

SMU's The Embrey Human Rights Program presents a screening of Killing the Messenger: The Deadly Cost of News at 7 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 20, 2014, in SMU's Hughes-Trigg Student Center Forum.

The screening will be followed by a conversation with filmmaker Eric Matthies and SMU adjunct assistant professor Kael Alford.

Murder is the leading cause of work-related deaths for journalists as censorship increases worldwide. Journalists reporting from Mexico, Russia and the conflict zones of Iraq, Afghanistan and Syria tell their personal stories of kidnapping, intimidation, and beatings.

They’ve experienced the loss of colleagues in the field and have been close to death themselves. Their stories are heartfelt, captivating, engaging and at moments – shocking. If no story is worth a life, then why is murder the number one cause of journalists’ deaths worldwide? In addition to those who have been killed, dozens have been attacked, kidnapped, or forced into exile in connection with their coverage of crime and corruption.

Killing The Messenger: The Deadly Cost of News, features exclusive, first-hand accounts of journalists who have faced dire consequences in their pursuit of the news. SMU adjunct assistant professor Kael Alford is interviewed in the film about her work in Iraq.

For more information contact: saikman@smu.edu