UW-Madison alumnus and Boston Globe reporter Anthony Shadid led an informal discussion with students and members of the local media Friday regarding his journalistic work in the Middle East. Shadid was shot two weeks ago in Ramallah while covering the conflict in the region.
Discussion topics ranged from the details of Shadid's injuries to a broader discussion about the war in the Middle East and the importance of media coverage in Israel right now.
Shadid said while he feels that humanitarians and journalists are being targeted in the conflict, he did not feel that he was in any particular danger in the region.
\I didn't feel threatened at any point,"" he said. He added that he felt ""the most at ease"" on the day he was shot.
Shadid was shot in the shoulder while walking home with a Palestinian journalist near Palestinian Authority President Yasser Arafat's compound. The gunman is believed to have been an Israeli soldier. Shadid said he feels he may have been targeted because the soldier may not have known he was American. After the shooting, journalists were no longer allowed in the city of Ramallah.
Although he is a personal victim of the violence in Israel, Shadid said he still feels it is important for journalists and other members of the media to enter cities and cover the war's occurrences.
Shadid says that despite the recent restrictions on journalists, they continue to enter restricted cities.
""The more eyes and ears in these places, the better,"" he said.
Sharon Dunwoody, chair of the School of Journalism and Mass Communication, said she agrees that media coverage is important in keeping the public informed.
""The whole point of journalists covering conflict is that they provide an independent set of eyes and a window into what is going on,"" Dunwoody said.
After witnessing the violence and atmosphere first hand, Shadid said he questions the way the conflict is being portrayed in the mainstream American media.
""I think that coverage in the mainstream media is much more geared to the diplomatic, the politic."" he said. ""There's almost a desire to frame things in how they are evolving'what's the process. There's really not a process right now.""
Shadid described the atmosphere in Israel as ""crazy and unstable.""
""It's a dirty war. I think red lines are being crossed by all sides,"" he said.
Observing the violence, Shadid said he believes the conflict will eventually be solved politically but he is skeptical of what the final result will be.
""As an outsider looking in, I have little hope,"" he said.
Shadid was on campus to accept the Ralph O. Nafziger award from the School of Journalism and Mass Communication. The award is given to an alumnus of the department who has accomplished outstanding achievements within a decade of graduating. After leaving UW-Madison, Shadid spent time in Cairo and worked for the Associated Press before joining the Boston Globe.
Dunwoody said Shadid's recent presence in the news helped draw people to the discussion.
""[When] something happens that makes all of us pay attention, we can use that peg in order to have a conversation about the really important things,"" she said.
