Two women face the Press, one in elation, one in despair. Lois Greste learnt yesterday that the son she hadn't seen for more than a year was on his way home. Junko Ishido was shown devastating proof that she would never see her boy again.
These mothers in Brisbane and Tokyo could never have imagined when their sons set out on their journalistic careers that one day they would become the story.
Peter Greste and Kenji Goto had travelled thousands of miles to the Middle East to tell the stories of people trying to live their daily lives in what has become a perpetual warzone.
These mothers in Brisbane and Tokyo could never have imagined when their sons set out on their journalistic careers that one day they would become the story.
Peter Greste and Kenji Goto had travelled thousands of miles to the Middle East to tell the stories of people trying to live their daily lives in what has become a perpetual warzone.
Greste was arrested, along with his bureau chief and other colleagues, within days of taking up his post with Al Jazeera English in Cairo in December 2013. Greste, Mohamed Fahmy and Baher Mohamed (pictured), who were tried and convicted last summer, were just three of many journalists arrested trying to cover the violent turmoil in Egypt before and after the overthrow of the democratically elected but deeply unpopular President Morsi.
Their case led to the international "Journalism is not a crime" campaign and their trial (overseen by a judge in RayBans) was denounced in the West as a travesty. They did, however, succeed in getting their convictions overturned in January and were to face a retrial. In his release yesterday Greste almost certainly benefited from being Australian; Fahmy's Canadian citizenship may also bring about his release and deportation.
But that would still leave Mohamed and at least nine other journalists in jail in Egypt for the crime of trying to do their jobs. Two have been in detention for more than a year without being charged.
Their case led to the international "Journalism is not a crime" campaign and their trial (overseen by a judge in RayBans) was denounced in the West as a travesty. They did, however, succeed in getting their convictions overturned in January and were to face a retrial. In his release yesterday Greste almost certainly benefited from being Australian; Fahmy's Canadian citizenship may also bring about his release and deportation.
But that would still leave Mohamed and at least nine other journalists in jail in Egypt for the crime of trying to do their jobs. Two have been in detention for more than a year without being charged.
Goto, who had spent much of his career seeking out personal stories beyond the headline-grabbing violence of the Middle East and Africa, had gone to Syria on a mission to rescue his friend Haruna Yukawa from Isis. The pair met in Aleppo last year and travelled together to Iraq. Yukawa is said to have wanted to become a military adviser and Goto had offered guidance on what to do in danger spots.
When Yukawa was captured by Isis, Goto set out to help him, crossing into Syria in late October. In a video announcing his intention to venture into the Isis stronghold of Raqqa he acknowledged the risks involved and said that "if anything happened" the responsibility was all his and people should not speak ill of the Syrian people.
This weekend Goto became the third journalist to be killed by a black-clad masked jihadist with a British accent. Isis is known to be holding at least eight more journalists, most of whom were kidnapped more than seven months ago.
When Yukawa was captured by Isis, Goto set out to help him, crossing into Syria in late October. In a video announcing his intention to venture into the Isis stronghold of Raqqa he acknowledged the risks involved and said that "if anything happened" the responsibility was all his and people should not speak ill of the Syrian people.
This weekend Goto became the third journalist to be killed by a black-clad masked jihadist with a British accent. Isis is known to be holding at least eight more journalists, most of whom were kidnapped more than seven months ago.
They include the Briton John Cantlie, pictured, who has featured in a series of Isis propaganda videos. He was kidnapped with the American James Foley in November 2012 - the second time he had been snatched in Syria in six months.
On the first occasion he was rescued after a week. Three men, including an NHS doctor, were charged with kidnapping Cantlie and the Dutch photojournalist Jeroen Oerlemans, but the case collapsed just before it went to trial at Kingston Crown Court because the two journalists could not give evidence, and the judge issued not guilty verdicts against the three accused.
On the first occasion he was rescued after a week. Three men, including an NHS doctor, were charged with kidnapping Cantlie and the Dutch photojournalist Jeroen Oerlemans, but the case collapsed just before it went to trial at Kingston Crown Court because the two journalists could not give evidence, and the judge issued not guilty verdicts against the three accused.
At least eight journalists - most of whom worked for Charlie Hebdo - died because of their work in the first month of 2015, according to the Reporters Sans Frontières website. That figure is certainly an under-estimate because RSF lists only confirmed deaths - it does not, for example, include Goto. A further 165 are in jail and more than 30 are being held hostage. The International Federation of Journalists puts the death toll among journalists and media workers at 23.
In Britain, where we pride ourselves on our democracy and freedom of expression, 64 journalists have been arrested in police operations arising from the 2011 hacking scandal. Some were undoubtedly guilty, others are in court or awaiting trial, but the vast majority were cleared either by a jury or without ever being charged, sometimes after years in limbo on police bail.
In Britain, where we pride ourselves on our democracy and freedom of expression, 64 journalists have been arrested in police operations arising from the 2011 hacking scandal. Some were undoubtedly guilty, others are in court or awaiting trial, but the vast majority were cleared either by a jury or without ever being charged, sometimes after years in limbo on police bail.
In the post phone-hacking era it has become fashionable for people to regard journalists as scum. Most of us are not as courageous as Goto, Greste and Cantlie. Writing showbiz for a redtop is not as dangerous or noble as reporting from a warzone, but most of us started in the same place: with a desire to find things out and bring information to people.
We are all human; most of us have - or had - our mothers' love, and we want to make them proud of us in return.
Ours is an honourable, exhilarating and even glamorous calling. We don't expect it to kill us or put us in jail, we don't expect it to cause our families months or years of anguish. This weekend we have seen how it can - and does.
That is why we celebrate with Lois Greste and weep with Junko Ishido today.
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