Journalist Deaths Hit Record in 2005: IFJ

Journalist Deaths Hit Record in 2005: IFJ

BRUSSELS - A record number of media workers died last year while doing their job, amid a growing trend toward the targeted killing of journalists, the International Federation of Journalists said on Monday.

"The numbers are staggering," IFJ general secretary Aidan White said in an annual report entitled "Targeting and tragedy - journalists and media staff killed in 2005".

"It was an unprecedented year ... the IFJ has counted 89 who were killed in the line of duty, singled out for their professional work. In 2005 the trend toward targeted assassination of editorial staff has intensified."

The largest number of deliberate killings, 38, was recorded in the Middle East, all but three of them in Iraq, making the region "by far the world's most deadly beat for reporters in the field," the report said.