Kathy Gannon
| Kathy Gannon | |
|---|---|
| Born |
1954 (age 61–62) Timmins, Ontario |
| Nationality | Canada |
| Occupation | journalist |
| Known for | recovering from being wounded in Afghanistan, and returning to war reporting |
Kathy Gannon is a journalist for the Associated Press, who was attacked and wounded while reporting from Afghanistan.[1][2][3] Her colleague, Anja Niedringhaus, was mortally wounded. Gannon has received extensive coverage as she struggled to recover from her wounds and return to war reporting.
Gannon was born in Timmins, Ontario.[1] In 2002 she won the International Women’s Media Foundation Courage in Journalism award. In 2003 she was awarded a Edward R. Murrow fellowship from the Council on Foreign Relations
Gannon is the author of "I is for Infidel: From Holy War to Holy Terror in Afghanistan".[1][4]
Gannon had spent 18 years, reporting from Afghanistan prior to her attack, and was the Associated Press's regional chief.[1]
Gannon and Niedringhaus were in a convoy of journalists, reporting on the national elections, protected by elements of the Afghan army and Afghan Police.[1] When the vehicles were stopped, one of the commanders, named Naqibullah, of the police contingent took his rifle, yelled "God is Great!", and fired into their vehicle at close range.[5] He then sat down and surrendered to his colleagues.
References
- 1 2 3 4 5 "Kathy Gannon, Canadian-born journalist, wounded in Afghanistan, colleague, photographer Anja Niedringhaus, killed". National Post. 2014-04-04. Archived from the original on 2014-04-07. Retrieved 2014-12-11.
Afghan President Hamid Karzai expressed his deep sadness over Niedringhaus’ death and the wounding of Gannon. “These two AP journalists had gone to Khost province to prepare reports about the presidential and provincial council elections,” a statement from Karzai’s office quoted him as saying. It added that Karzai instructed the interior minister and the Khost governor to assist the AP in every way possible.
- ↑ Kim Gaeml (2014-04-04). "AP Photographer Anja Niedringhaus Killed, Reporter Kathy Gannon Shot In Afghanistan". Huffington Post. Archived from the original on 2014-10-30. Retrieved 2014-12-11.
Gannon, 60, who for many years was the news organization's Afghanistan bureau chief and currently is a special correspondent for the region, was shot three times in the wrists and shoulder. After surgery, she was in stable condition and spoke to medical personnel before being flown to Kabul.
- ↑ Michael Edwards (2014-04-04). "Two female foreign journalists shot in Afghanistan, one dead". Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Archived from the original on 2014-04-05. Retrieved 2014-12-11.
"Anja Niedringhaus and Cathy Gannon were the two journalists in the world who spent more time than any others covering Afghanistan," Associated Press executive director Kathleen Carroll said.
- ↑ Kathy Gannon (2006). "I Is for Infidel: From Holy War to Holy Terror in Afghanistan". PublicAffairs. ISBN 9781586484521. Retrieved 2014-12-11.
- ↑ DL Cade (2014-04-04). "Veteran AP Photographer Killed by Afghan Policeman Who Opened Fire on Her Vehicle". Peta Pixel. Archived from the original on 2014-04-07. Retrieved 2014-12-11.
According to the AP report, Niedringhaus, 48, was in a car with AP reporter Kathy Gannon, a AP Television News freelancer and a driver. They had just arrived at a heavily guarded district compound and were waiting for the convoy to move forward when a unit commander by the name of Naqibullah “walked up to the car, yelled ‘Allahu anjaAkbar’ — God is Great — and opened fire on them in the back seat with his AK-47.”