GUEST BLOG—By Myron
Belkind and Donna Leinwand Leger of the National Press Club, Washington DC.--The
National Press Club joins with journalists around the world as we mourn the
death in Afghanistan of veteran Associated Press photographer Anja
Niedringhaus, 48, an internationally acclaimed and Pulitzer Prize-winning
German photographer.
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Anja Niedringhaus |
Niedringhaus was shot to death and AP reporter Kathy Gannon
was gravely wounded Friday when an Afghan policeman opened fire on them with
his AK-47 as they sat in their car as part of a convoy that was traveling in
eastern Afghanistan's Khost Province to cover the country's upcoming election,
which Taliban have threatened to disrupt.
[UPDATE: Gannon, 60, a veteran AP reporter, former bureau chief and a
special correspondent for the region, was shot twice and underwent surgery, the
AP said. She is in stable condition and expected to recover, the AP said.]
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OTHER COVERAGE:
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"Anja and Kathy together have spent years in
Afghanistan covering the conflict and the people there. Anja was a vibrant,
dynamic journalist well-loved for her insightful photographs, her warm heart
and joy for life. We are heartbroken at her loss," said AP Executive
Editor Kathleen Carroll, speaking in New York.
Niedringhaus won the 2005 Pulitzer Prize in breaking news
photography as part of an AP team who covered the war in Iraq. Click here to
see some of Niedringhaus' photos.
From 2006 to 2007, she was a Nieman Fellow at Harvard
University, where she met classmate of National Press Club member Andrea
McCarren and her husband, Press Club Executive Director Bill McCarren.
Bill McCarren recalled Niedringhaus as a "completely
class act" and natural leader who patiently taught the kids in the program
how to properly hold a camera and charmed her colleagues.
"Of the many big personalities we were lucky enough to
spend a year with at the Nieman program none was bigger than Anja
Niedringhaus," McCarren said. "When a group got together to tell
stories Anja always had the topper, got the biggest laugh used just the right
words even though (English) was her second language."
AP President Gary Pruitt said Niedringhaus is the 32 AP
staffer to die in pursuit of news since the AP was founded in 1846.
"This is a profession of the brave and the passionate,
those committed to the mission of bringing to the world information that is
fair, accurate and important. Anja Niedringhaus met that definition in every
way," Pruitt wrote in a memo to staff.

President
Gary Pruitt
The
Associated Press
New York
Dear Gary:
The National
Press Club expresses its deep condolences to the family, friends and colleagues
of Anja Niedringhaus and pays tribute to her for her excellence in photography
that set the highest standards for our profession.
She always
captured the best photos in the most difficult of circumstances – from wars and
conflict zones to Wimbledon -- and her lifetime of professional achievements,
including a Pulitzer Prize for photography, will be a permanent legacy and
tribute to her.
The National
Press Club would like to honor Anja’s memory by displaying her photos at a
special exhibit and would be pleased to work with the AP to do so as early as
possible.
We also wish
to pay tribute to the high professional standards set by Kathy Gannon for her
reporting from Afghanistan and Pakistan over the past three decades and hope
she will make a speedy recovery from the wounds she received in the same attack
that killed Anja.
Today is a
terrible loss for The Associated Press and our profession at large, and
journalists around the world will rededicate their efforts to ensuring that
they continue to report and photograph the news despite obstacles and dangers,
as Anja did in her life and as we know Kathy will do following her recovery.
Sincerely,
Myron
Belkind
President
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