Kevin Sites
Encyclopedia
Kevin Sites is an American author
and freelance journalist
. He has spent nearly a decade covering global wars and disasters for ABC
, NBC
, CNN
, and Yahoo! News
. Dubbed by the trade press as the "granddaddy" of backpack journalists, Sites helped blaze the trail for intrepid reporters who work alone, carrying only a backpack of portable digital technology to shoot, write, edit, and transmit multimedia reports from the world's most dangerous places. His first book, In the Hot Zone: One Man, One Year, Twenty Wars (Harper Perennial-October 2007), shares his effort to put a human face on global conflict by reporting from every major war zone in one year.
In 2009, Sites was one of four cast members of the reality television
series Expedition Africa
on the History channel. The eight-part series followed Sites and three explorers as they retraced the journey of Henry Morton Stanley
in his quest to find David Livingstone
. It was this journey that allegedly ended with the famous phrase, "Dr. Livingstone, I presume?"
to be its first correspondent for Yahoo! News
. He spent one year traveling to all the major war zones in the world, reporting for his web site "Kevin Sites in the Hot Zone", unique at the time for its multi-media mix of text, video and still images in its storytelling.
As a pioneer of the "SoJo" method of solo journalism/video journalism
, or backpack journalism, Sites helped to galvanize the idea of the modern, mobile digital correspondent, traveling and reporting without a crew, carrying a backpack of portable digital technology to write, videotape and transmit his multimedia reports.
Sites' assignments have brought him to nearly every region of the world, including Africa, the Middle East, Southeast Asia, Central Asia, South America, and Eastern Europe.
Sites grew up in Ohio
and currently lives in California
.
correspondent in Iraq
, Sites was captured by Saddam Hussein
's Fedayeen
militia. One day after they were captured, their Kurdish
translator negotiated their release.
In November 2004, as an embedded
correspondent for NBC
, he recorded a US Marine shooting and killing a wounded and apparently unarmed Iraqi captive lying on the floor in a mosque in Fallujah
. After the footage was released to the television network pool, all the American television networks censored the actual shooting, while other international media outlets broadcasted the uncut version. Sites received both adulation and hate mail for taping the video. In his book, Sites says he initially supported censoring the video to avoid a possible violent backlash, but writes that he quickly realized that it was the wrong decision and helped confuse the American public by not giving them the full context of the shooting through the uncensored videotape. A few days after the shooting, Sites reported the story again in his personal blog, giving a detailed account of what he witnessed and explaining his reasons for releasing the video. The Marine was not charged in the shooting, and further investigations became impossible when a Marine Corps jet destroyed the mosque a few days later. A Marine spokesperson says it was not deliberately targeted.http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/6556034/.
The Hot Zone project concluded with Sites' coverage of the Israeli-Hezbollah conflict of 2006. Currently, updates on Hot Zone stories and themes are periodically posted on the Hot Zone page. Recent posts include an update on Sites' most popular story from the Hot Zone, a report on an Afghan child bride.
. In September 2008, Sites was awarded Manchester College's 2008 Innovator of the Year Award. In 2007, Sites won a National Headliner Award for Independent Online Journalism, a Webby
for his video coverage of the Israeli-Hezbollah conflict, and a citation of excellence from the Overseas Press Club
for best web coverage of international affairs.
Sites was honored with the Payne Award for Ethics in Journalism
for the mosque video and was additionally nominated for the national Emmy Award
. Sites was also honoured by Wired
magazine, receiving the magazine's RAVE Award for his popular blog. He was also awarded the Daniel Pearl
Award, for courage and integrity in journalism, by the Los Angeles Press Club in 2006.
Time magazine names the Hot Zone as one of its "50 Coolest Websites", and Forbes magazine listed Sites as one of "The Web Celeb 25", "the biggest, brightest and most influential people on the web today."
He won the Edward R. Murrow Award in 1999 for his contributions to NBC's coverage of the war in Kosovo
.
Sites is often cited by former CNN anchor Daryn Kagan
in media stories as her inspiration to launch her eponymous web site, DarynKagan.com. http://www.mediabistro.com/tvnewser/original/B+S%209.2009.pdf
Author
An author is broadly defined as "the person who originates or gives existence to anything" and that authorship determines responsibility for what is created. Narrowly defined, an author is the originator of any written work.-Legal significance:...
and freelance journalist
Journalist
A journalist collects and distributes news and other information. A journalist's work is referred to as journalism.A reporter is a type of journalist who researchs, writes, and reports on information to be presented in mass media, including print media , electronic media , and digital media A...
. He has spent nearly a decade covering global wars and disasters for ABC
American Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
, NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
, CNN
CNN
Cable News Network is a U.S. cable news channel founded in 1980 by Ted Turner. Upon its launch, CNN was the first channel to provide 24-hour television news coverage, and the first all-news television channel in the United States...
, and Yahoo! News
Yahoo! News
Yahoo! News is an Internet-based news aggregator provided by Yahoo!. It features Top Stories, U.S. National, World, Business, Entertainment, Science, Health, Weather, Most Popular, News Photos, Op/Ed, and Local news....
. Dubbed by the trade press as the "granddaddy" of backpack journalists, Sites helped blaze the trail for intrepid reporters who work alone, carrying only a backpack of portable digital technology to shoot, write, edit, and transmit multimedia reports from the world's most dangerous places. His first book, In the Hot Zone: One Man, One Year, Twenty Wars (Harper Perennial-October 2007), shares his effort to put a human face on global conflict by reporting from every major war zone in one year.
In 2009, Sites was one of four cast members of the reality television
Reality television
Reality television is a genre of television programming that presents purportedly unscripted dramatic or humorous situations, documents actual events, and usually features ordinary people instead of professional actors, sometimes in a contest or other situation where a prize is awarded...
series Expedition Africa
Expedition Africa
Expedition Africa is an eight-part reality television miniseries that originally aired form to on History. Produced by Mark Burnett, the program follows four modern day explorers—a navigator, a wildlife expert, a survivalist, and a journalist—as they substantially retrace H.M. Stanley's famed...
on the History channel. The eight-part series followed Sites and three explorers as they retraced the journey of Henry Morton Stanley
Henry Morton Stanley
Sir Henry Morton Stanley, GCB, born John Rowlands , was a Welsh journalist and explorer famous for his exploration of Africa and his search for David Livingstone. Upon finding Livingstone, Stanley allegedly uttered the now-famous greeting, "Dr...
in his quest to find David Livingstone
David Livingstone
David Livingstone was a Scottish Congregationalist pioneer medical missionary with the London Missionary Society and an explorer in Africa. His meeting with H. M. Stanley gave rise to the popular quotation, "Dr...
. It was this journey that allegedly ended with the famous phrase, "Dr. Livingstone, I presume?"
Background and journalism career
While Sites spent most of his early career producing and reporting for television network news with staff positions at ABC, NBC and CNN, he left the networks for the Internet in 2005, hired by Yahoo!Yahoo!
Yahoo! Inc. is an American multinational internet corporation headquartered in Sunnyvale, California, United States. The company is perhaps best known for its web portal, search engine , Yahoo! Directory, Yahoo! Mail, Yahoo! News, Yahoo! Groups, Yahoo! Answers, advertising, online mapping ,...
to be its first correspondent for Yahoo! News
Yahoo! News
Yahoo! News is an Internet-based news aggregator provided by Yahoo!. It features Top Stories, U.S. National, World, Business, Entertainment, Science, Health, Weather, Most Popular, News Photos, Op/Ed, and Local news....
. He spent one year traveling to all the major war zones in the world, reporting for his web site "Kevin Sites in the Hot Zone", unique at the time for its multi-media mix of text, video and still images in its storytelling.
As a pioneer of the "SoJo" method of solo journalism/video journalism
Video journalism
Video journalism or videojournalism is a form of broadcast journalism, where the production of video content in which the journalist shoots, edits and often presents his or her own material....
, or backpack journalism, Sites helped to galvanize the idea of the modern, mobile digital correspondent, traveling and reporting without a crew, carrying a backpack of portable digital technology to write, videotape and transmit his multimedia reports.
Sites' assignments have brought him to nearly every region of the world, including Africa, the Middle East, Southeast Asia, Central Asia, South America, and Eastern Europe.
Sites grew up in Ohio
Ohio
Ohio is a Midwestern state in the United States. The 34th largest state by area in the U.S.,it is the 7th‑most populous with over 11.5 million residents, containing several major American cities and seven metropolitan areas with populations of 500,000 or more.The state's capital is Columbus...
and currently lives in California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
.
Reporting from the Middle East
On April 11, 2003, as a CNNCNN
Cable News Network is a U.S. cable news channel founded in 1980 by Ted Turner. Upon its launch, CNN was the first channel to provide 24-hour television news coverage, and the first all-news television channel in the United States...
correspondent in Iraq
Iraq
Iraq ; officially the Republic of Iraq is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert....
, Sites was captured by Saddam Hussein
Saddam Hussein
Saddam Hussein Abd al-Majid al-Tikriti was the fifth President of Iraq, serving in this capacity from 16 July 1979 until 9 April 2003...
's Fedayeen
Fedayeen Saddam
Fedayeen Saddam was a paramilitary organization loyal to the former Ba'athist government of Saddam Hussein. The name was chosen to mean "Saddam's Men of Sacrifice". At its height, the group had 30,000-40,000 members.-Irregular forces:...
militia. One day after they were captured, their Kurdish
Kurdish people
The Kurdish people, or Kurds , are an Iranian people native to the Middle East, mostly inhabiting a region known as Kurdistan, which includes adjacent parts of Iran, Iraq, Syria, and Turkey...
translator negotiated their release.
In November 2004, as an embedded
Embedded journalist
Embedded journalism refers to news reporters being attached to military units involved in armed conflicts. While the term could be applied to many historical interactions between journalists and military personnel, it first came to be used in the media coverage of the 2003 invasion of Iraq...
correspondent for NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
, he recorded a US Marine shooting and killing a wounded and apparently unarmed Iraqi captive lying on the floor in a mosque in Fallujah
Fallujah
Fallujah is a city in the Iraqi province of Al Anbar, located roughly west of Baghdad on the Euphrates. Fallujah dates from Babylonian times and was host to important Jewish academies for many centuries....
. After the footage was released to the television network pool, all the American television networks censored the actual shooting, while other international media outlets broadcasted the uncut version. Sites received both adulation and hate mail for taping the video. In his book, Sites says he initially supported censoring the video to avoid a possible violent backlash, but writes that he quickly realized that it was the wrong decision and helped confuse the American public by not giving them the full context of the shooting through the uncensored videotape. A few days after the shooting, Sites reported the story again in his personal blog, giving a detailed account of what he witnessed and explaining his reasons for releasing the video. The Marine was not charged in the shooting, and further investigations became impossible when a Marine Corps jet destroyed the mosque a few days later. A Marine spokesperson says it was not deliberately targeted.http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/6556034/.
Kevin Sites in the Hot Zone
In late 2005, Sites set out to cover every war zone in the world for Yahoo! News. The coverage was published on a web site called "Kevin Sites in the Hot Zone". According to the Hot Zone page, Sites' mission was "to cover every armed conflict in the world within one year, and in doing so to provide a clear idea of the combatants, victims, causes, and costs of each of these struggles - and their global impact."The Hot Zone project concluded with Sites' coverage of the Israeli-Hezbollah conflict of 2006. Currently, updates on Hot Zone stories and themes are periodically posted on the Hot Zone page. Recent posts include an update on Sites' most popular story from the Hot Zone, a report on an Afghan child bride.
People of the Web
After the Hot Zone project was completed, Sites began working on a domestic feature series profiling the unique voices from the online world, called "People of the Web." A new profile was posted every week until the series was discontinued in 2008.Awards and recognition
Sites was recently selected as a 2010 Nieman Fellow, a prestigious journalism fellowship at Harvard UniversityHarvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
. In September 2008, Sites was awarded Manchester College's 2008 Innovator of the Year Award. In 2007, Sites won a National Headliner Award for Independent Online Journalism, a Webby
Webby Awards
A Webby Award is an international award presented annually by The International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences for excellence on the Internet with categories in websites, interactive advertising, online film and video, and mobile....
for his video coverage of the Israeli-Hezbollah conflict, and a citation of excellence from the Overseas Press Club
Overseas Press Club
The Overseas Press Club of America was founded in 1939 in New York City by a group of foreign correspondents. The wire service reporter Carol Weld was a founding member...
for best web coverage of international affairs.
Sites was honored with the Payne Award for Ethics in Journalism
Payne Award for Ethics in Journalism
The Payne Awards for Ethics in Journalism were created at the University of Oregon's School of Journalism and Communications in 1999. In the words of the school's dean, Tim Gleason, the awards were created "to honor the journalist of integrity and character who reports with insight and clarity in...
for the mosque video and was additionally nominated for the national Emmy Award
Emmy Award
An Emmy Award, often referred to simply as the Emmy, is a television production award, similar in nature to the Peabody Awards but more focused on entertainment, and is considered the television equivalent to the Academy Awards and the Grammy Awards .A majority of Emmys are presented in various...
. Sites was also honoured by Wired
Wired (magazine)
Wired is a full-color monthly American magazine and on-line periodical, published since January 1993, that reports on how new and developing technology affects culture, the economy, and politics...
magazine, receiving the magazine's RAVE Award for his popular blog. He was also awarded the Daniel Pearl
Daniel Pearl
Daniel Pearl was an American journalist who was kidnapped and killed by Al-Qaeda.At the time of his kidnapping, Pearl served as the South Asia Bureau Chief of the Wall Street Journal, and was based in Mumbai, India. He went to Pakistan as part of an investigation into the alleged links between...
Award, for courage and integrity in journalism, by the Los Angeles Press Club in 2006.
Time magazine names the Hot Zone as one of its "50 Coolest Websites", and Forbes magazine listed Sites as one of "The Web Celeb 25", "the biggest, brightest and most influential people on the web today."
He won the Edward R. Murrow Award in 1999 for his contributions to NBC's coverage of the war in Kosovo
Kosovo
Kosovo is a region in southeastern Europe. Part of the Ottoman Empire for more than five centuries, later the Autonomous Province of Kosovo and Metohija within Serbia...
.
Sites is often cited by former CNN anchor Daryn Kagan
Daryn Kagan
Daryn A. Kagan is creator and host of the award-winning , a media company specializing in inspirational and motivational news content...
in media stories as her inspiration to launch her eponymous web site, DarynKagan.com. http://www.mediabistro.com/tvnewser/original/B+S%209.2009.pdf
External links
- http://www.history.com/expedition
- People of the Web
- Kevin Sites in the Hot Zone
- "People of the Web" in USA Today
- "Yahoo! hires war correspondent," New York Times
- Columbia Journalism Review - Sites Comes Back with Fresh Stories from Middle East
- Yahoo! reporter to cover wars solo, Australian Broadcasting CorporationAustralian Broadcasting CorporationThe Australian Broadcasting Corporation, commonly referred to as "the ABC" , is Australia's national public broadcaster...
, September 12, 2005 - "Meet Kevin Sites", on Yahoo! News
- Kevin Sites Reports
- LiveLeak, link containing Fallujah footage (Graphic Content)
- Urban Legends Reference Pages: "Slain Wounded Iraqi Insurgent", by Barbara Mikkelson