The National Association of Broadcasters said Friday it was donating $10,000 to the Committee to Protect Journalists in honor of James Foley and Steven Sotloff, the American journalists murdered by ISIS terrorists while covering the war in Syria.
"The horrific killings of James Foley and Steven Sotloff serve as reminders of the dangers to journalists seeking to cover events people have a right to know about," said NAB president Gordon Smith. "NAB is extremely concerned about these threats to press freedom and reaffirms our deep appreciation for journalists who put themselves on the front line to report the news."
"James Foley and Steven Sotloff showed incredible bravery in risking – and ultimately sacrificing – their lives to tell the story of the people of Syria," said NAB joint board chairman Charles Warfield in a statement. "NAB would like to honor their memory by showing our commitment to CPJ's mission of supporting journalists' rights to safely and freely cover important events around the world."
CPJ had been calling for the journalists' release throughout their ordeal, part of its mission is to put a spotlight on the dangers of covering conflicts across the globe, as well as providing support to the families of the victims. CPJ has called the back-to-back beheadings of the two as "unprecedented" in CPJ's history and a ramping-up of the efforts—dating from the death of Wall Street Journal reporter Danny Pearl in 2002—to use videos of carnage to send a "broad message of terror."
"Rather than bypassing the media to transmit a message, Islamic State made journalists' murders the message itself," says CPJ.
"We are grateful to the National Association of Broadcasters for its generous contribution to CPJ, which will help support this crucial work," said CPJ executive director Joel Simon."
