Were Laura Ling and Euna Lee "irresponsible"?

KOGO Radio's morning man, Chip Franklin, has been arguing with me for over a decade. I wait for his producer's call every Monday morning, never quite sure where we're going to go.

We were wrapping up today's show, talking about shows that jumped the shark, when I abruptly changed the subject to the sentencing of Euna Lee and Laura Ling overnight to 12 years of hard labor by a North Korea court.

As I tried to express my outrage at their sentencing, Chip interrupted to say that Ling and Lee were "irresponsible" and had "put 300 million people ... at risk" by daring to go anywhere near Kim Jong-Il country. I told him, in so many words, that he was an idiot.

Click to listen

Here's the audio. If you are listening to my weekly podcast with Chip for the first time, be aware that he's a good guy, and even holds a few non-reprehensible viewpoints. Some listeners may be upset that we sandwiched a discussion about two journalists whose lives are in peril between discussions of "Freaks and Geeks" and "Royal Pains." But that's just the nature of the beast that is talk radio. My feeling is that we need to be talking about Laura and Euna every chance we get. (d/l mp3)

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Comments

[Ian]

While I have empathy.... I must make an observation regarding the two journalists and the alledged trespass into North Korea.

From NYS Law books....

a person is guilty of Criminal Trespass in the Second Degree pursuant to PL §140.15 when he knowingly enters or remains unlawfully in a dwelling. A person is guilty of Criminal Trespass in the Third Degree pursuant to PL §140.10(a) when he knowingly enters or remains unlawfully in a building upon real property which is fenced or otherwise enclosed in a manner designed to exclude intruders. Lastly, a person is guilty of Trespass, a violation pursuant to Penal Law §140.05, when he knowingly enters or remains unlawfully in or upon premises. A person enters or remains unlawfully in or upon premises when he is not licensed or privileged to do so.

..... Again I have empathy....but legally speaking..... they tresspassed. Both knowingly entered an area, by crossing a border, where it was forbidden to do so.... and dispite knowing the risks.

[Aaron Barnhart]

Setting aside your goofy citation of New York State code, we don't know that they knowingly entered an area.

Anyway, this just in ...

SPJ outraged over 12-year sentence of U.S. journalists Lee and Ling

INDIANAPOLIS – The Society of Professional Journalists is outraged over the 12-year prison labor sentence for U.S. journalists Euna Lee and Laura Ling, convicted over the weekend in North Korea.

Lee and Ling, who work for San Francisco-based Current TV, were detained March 17 while filming a documentary near the China-North Korea border. Though legally filming in China, it’s unclear whether the pair and their cameraman actually crossed into North Korea illegally. Some reports indicate North Korean border guards may have crossed into China to arrest them.

“This entire case is absolutely a sham and an unnecessary show of force by a hostile government,” said SPJ President Dave Aeikens. “North Korea will never be taken seriously on the world stage if it continues to stymie press freedom and act like an adolescent bully.”

The Obama administration has been tracking the situation and vowed to “engage in all possible channels” to secure the journalists’ release. An envoy or goodwill negotiator from the U.S. is one possibility. Former U.N. ambassador and current New Mexico governor Bill Richardson, for example, negotiated the 1996 release of Evan C. Hunziker, who was accused of spying after crossing from China into North Korea on a dare.

“We encourage the U.S. State Department to engage North Korea in diplomatic talks to help bring these two courageous women home,” said Aeikens. “Send an envoy or step-up pressure from the United Nations. Whatever it takes, we can’t let North Korea continue to use these innocent journalists as political bargaining chips.”

This marks the second time SPJ has spoken out for the release of Lee and Ling. Read a previous statement here. SPJ also advocated during the same time for the release of U.S. journalist Roxana Saberi, detained in Iran in late January, sentenced to eight years and eventually released in May. See a previous SPJ statement on Saberi here.

Founded in 1909 as Sigma Delta Chi, SPJ promotes the free flow of information vital to a well-informed citizenry; works to inspire and educate the next generation of journalists; and protects First Amendment guarantees of freedom of speech and press. For more information about SPJ, please visit http://www.spj.org.

-END-

[TK]

Is hard labor in North Korea really that much worse than working for Al Gore's Current TV?

[Coronella Keiper]

"Were Laura Ling and Euna Lee "irresponsible"?":
Yes, they were irresponsible if they stayed within China's borders and yet filmed into N. Korea.
Yes, they were both irresponsible and also guilty of trespass, if they indeed entered into North Korea's territory, or even into the "No Man's Land" which generally is at the borders.

I do hope that if they should ever be back in America, they never be given passports as journalists; they have attempted to give journalists a bad name.

Thanks for your article. Chip sounds very reasonable.

From the State of RHODE ISLAND AND PROVIDENCE FARMLANDS,
Coronella Keiper, lover of all "those of goodwill," as in ""Glory to God in the highest and on the earth peace to those of goodwill.""

[Chris]

Irresponsible? Isn't the role of journalist to report what's happening in the world, whereever it be? Wouldn't we all be worse off if journalists only covered stories that didn't put their lives at risk?

[Lorraine]

Laura Ling and Euna Lee apparently acted like Al Gore desired them - absent common sense and reason - in their intolerable and dangerous spy"mission" - which really was a personally opportunistic one - one that would have made them even more "famous" had they succeeded in the manner and means chief personal opportunist Al Gore desired them to. But put our entire nation in peril because of their recklessness and negligence? - you bet. Yes sireee.

Thanks a whole lot "journalists". Hope you enjoy your 12 years of imprisonment. I see no reason why our nation should expend one more minute advocating for either of you - when BOTH OF YOU cared little for an entire nation's security and safety - emperiling me and mine and my family is not amusing Mr. Gore. Really. I do not appreciate your advocacy in regard to directing these journalists as you did. To say the least.

[Bill Lee]

Irresponsible? Wouldn't it be more irresponsible if journalists only report news from safe places?

[tmv]

Americans are used to so many freedoms that often we do not take serious the consequences of violating the laws of another country. Forty years ago, I was among a group of college students traveling by train through East Germany to Berlin. We were warned that the East German authorities had no sense of humor, yet several of the guys thought it might be funny to hide in the curtained overhead bins when the ticket agent came by to check ID and tickets. Then they climbed down and waved the conductor back to scold him for not seeing them. Everyone was shocked at the ferocity of their reprimand including the fact the police were called in. Nothing happened, but we all learned a valuable lesson.
I feel bad for these two journalists, but I wouldn't place myself within 10 miles of a country ruled by a crazy person, particularly after the Hunziker case.

[Edward Ball]

I believe that they were, in fact, not so much irresponsible as naive and misguided. And I believe that this is partly a consequence of working for non-traditional media and a fact that we should keep in mind while discussing the future of journalism. Perhaps f they were working in a different era for a news outlet like CNN, WSJ or NYT they would have had some guidance, a boss to talk to, a legal department, etc... Instead, I gather that they were essentially winging it. I feel much the same way about Roxana Seberi, who overstayed her visa in Iran adn was working illegally.

In no way do I justify any of their detentions or not feel empathy for them, but you can't mess around with Iran or N Korea and a foreign journalist attempting to report from either place must be very careful. It is very hard to do so without the support of an organization.

[JD]

Of course they are irresponsible and opportunist. Say they didnt get arrested, then they'll make a name for themselves as a journalist. So, they have taken this calculated and strategic risk for their own career.
You think they care about those North Korean more than their career? You're too naive if you do.

[Hey, don't let your ignorance get in the way of making a completely irrelevant point ... like anyone got rich and famous making documentaries. Besides, it was about female trafficking, not North Korea. Other than that, your aim was true! --AB]

[harryo]

To TK...I assume you don't have a US passport because US passports don't list professions, and if they did those classifications would be useless because US passports last ten years and people may change professions three or four times during a ten year period. Ling and Lee have the right to do whatever the Chinese government allows them to do in China. If the Chinese had no problem with Ling and Lee filming North Korea from the Chinese side, there's nothing North Korea legally can do. I assume that both Ling and Lee knew the risks of being a US passport holder anywhere near the North Korean border. If Ling and Lee were not in North Korea and North Korean border guards crossed into China to capture them, then that's a more serious issue between North Korea and China. That said, how would Ling and Lee prove they did not cross the border.

[Ridagana]

They were totally foolish. The older Ling sister in 2007 wrote a nasty report about N.Korean, having illegally entered the country by claiming to be a nurse (the doctor - an Asian eye specialist - didn't know it but obviously will never be allowed to help the sick people there). Of course that country from then on kept close taps on these two ladies. For Al Gore to keep cheering them on tells me a lot about that man. Dump him! When will America understand that being the ''Ugly American'' no longer is appreciated.