Live News - A Survival Guide - International Federation of Journalists

Live News — A Survival Guide for Journalists◆ Because you are wrongly perceived to be a military threat,◆ Because you are a journalist.You can reduce your chances of being mistaken for a military targetby avoiding looking like one. Wear non-military clothing inbland colours, and with different shades top and bottom. Be carefulwhen filming because a camera can appear as a weapon, andyour posture may appear threatening. In some circumstances avideo camera and a SAM 7 missile launcher may appear similar.The sun flashing off a camera lens may be mistaken for an antitankweapon or the muzzle flash from a firearm. You may also betargeted because you are close to a strategic target. This could putyou at risk from artillery attack or from attack by aircraft.Weapons awarenessWar correspondents need to develop basic awareness of the differentkinds of weapons, their range and capacity. This may help youto make life and death decisions. The accuracy of pistols and riflesis mainly determined by the type of weapon and quality of manufacture,by weather conditions, and the ability (and state of mind,tiredness etc.) of the person firing. At 1,000 metres even a 16 km/hwind will divert a bullet four metres from its target.◆ Low-velocity weapons are pistols or small rifles which fire a bulletbelow the speed of sound. Body armour will protect againstthese.◆ Semi-automatic weapons capture some of the energy from theignition to re-cock the revolver. Automatic and semi-automaticpistols and rifles have a tendency to fire high and to the right.With a pistol, a well-trained soldier would expect to consistentlyhit a human target at no more than 20 metres. A poorly trainedsoldier would be highly inaccurate at that distance. This informationmay help you to decide whether to withdraw from asituation that looks hostile.◆ High-velocity weapons (rifles or machine guns) fire bullets fasterthan the speed of sound. If you hear the bullet, it has alreadymissed you. If it sounds like a sharp distinct crack, the roundsare very close.In the hands of a trained soldier, a sub-machine gun is accurateat 70-100 metres, while a high-velocity assault rifle is accurate at200-300 metres. In untrained hands all guns are highly inaccurate.However, a poorly trained soldier may hit you by mistake.The main battlefield weapons are the American made M-16, andFrom the top, Sterling 9 mm submachinegun, Sterling 5.56 lightmachine gun and an AK47.Photo: Rob JudgesFrom the top, left to right: disposable66mm anti-tank rocket launcher, Colt45 pistol, 9 mm Sig pistol, Mach 10Ingram 9 mm sub-machine gun,Russian Tokarev 9 mm pistol, SR6respirator and 5 kg Yugoslav antitankmine.Photo: Rob Judges25