A Conflict Journalist

Kevin Sites

I attended the World Affairs Conference both Monday and Tuesday this past week at UNK. Though I did not hear the message(s) every speaker delivered, I will say, I was most inspired and interested in what Conflict Journalist, Kevin Sites, discussed.

Sites took part in a project, sponsored by Yahoo!, where he came in contact with the task of covering as many conflict war zones as he could in one year. Sites proceeded in this challenge alone. His equipment consisted of a hand-held video camera, a camera, pen and paper and other portable digital technology in which aided him in transmitting his multi-media reports back to his production crew at home, in the US.

Working for NBC, Sites was faced with a difficult decision. He had captured some gruesome footage of a US soldier who shot, at point blank, a man from the opposing side. After pondering whether or not to use Sites’ video, NBC decided to use his footage and the video aired, however it had gone through many edits before his footage was actually released. The entire scene of the shooting was not captured in full, leaving audience members confused and wondering. Sites choose to leave this high-profile network and turned to his blog, where he posted the actual, non-edited footage. He decided that through his blog, he would fulfill his duties as a journalist—capturing information and giving his audience the truth.

It was being across the world, interviewing civilians and obtaining their stories in the forms of video, still photography and/or text that really changed Sites and opened his eyes to the many struggles and truths of our world. I was touched by the stories he told describing the lives of numerous rape victims, combatants, and other civilians living through these difficult times.

The manner in which Sites presented himself and the message he had to tell was very professional and he related well to the crowd before him. I was privileged enough to have him come to my Blogging class on Tuesday and hear a little more of his experiences. He told us that if we took one thing from him he wanted it to be, “Take a gap year, a year off after graduation, before we get tied down with a job, and get out and experience what is out there.” Along with the many other pieces of information I received from Sites, I will definitely keep that one at the top!