In the United States, we value our reporters. They bring us the news that we desire and tell us all about the events going on in America and abroad. At times, they even travel to where the events are taking place and put themselves in the line of fire to bring us the most honest story they can with firsthand accounts.
Anderson Cooper is one reporter who is known for putting his life in danger to get as close to the story as possible.
Some may remember Cooper standing in the middle of the storms of Hurricane Katrina with strong winds and heavy rain.
Cooper recently left for Egypt to cover the protests going on and bring Americans a firsthand account of the turmoil going on the Middle Eastern state.
Despite the majority of Egypt looking to overthrow President Hosni Mubarak, there are still those who support the leader.
Cooper and his camera crew were in between the two opposing groups of protestors and supporters. He said his crew was trying to stay out of dangers way, but “we never got that far. We were set upon by pro-Mubarak supporters punching us in the head.”
The Mubarak supporters also tried to break his camera. Even worse, they attacked one of Cooper’s female producers.
Cooper said the “crowd kept growing, kept throwing punches, kicks.”
Cooper said that in order to not incite more violence, he and his crew decided to not try to fight off the attackers, but instead to try to escape as soon as possible.
In Egypt, the tensions between pro-democracy protestors and those who want Mubarak to remain in control are growing with the two sides fighting directly.
Christiane Amanpour of ABC was also on the scene, but was threatened by the angry mobs. She was told by one individual, “We hate you. We hate Americans.” Afterwards, the windshield on her crew’s car was bashed in.
Katie Couric of CBS had no better of luck. She also tried to interview citizens on the street protesting, but she and her crew were quickly circled and she was shoved around by protestors who screamed over her attempts to finish her report.
Couric tried to do the report again a few moments later, but Mubarak supporters came around again and she and her crew had to leave the scene.
With an estimated crowd of nearly a quarter of a million people protesting in Cairo, it is now clear that the streets of Egypt are no longer safe.
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