On Sunday gunmen shot and killed Muktar Hirabe, director of Radio Shabelle in Mogadishu, making him the fifth Somali reporter to die this year, in a country where being a journalist is one of the most dangerous jobs there is.

With Hirabe was Ahmed Omar Hashi (at right in the photo), a Shabelle senior producer and my friend. Hashi was shot in the hand and stomach, but survived. He called me from a hospital on Monday. He does not know who targeted him, but he is certain they will return to finish the job. He told me he needs $1,500 to get a visa and get out of Somalia, before the gunmen strike again.

I have promised to help Hashi, as best I can. I am good for $300, and World Politics Review publisher Hampton Stephens has pledged $500. Meanwhile, Paul McLeary in Washington, D.C., has promised some cash and volunteered to facilitate the wire transfer. Who else can help? We have two days …

To donate, go to www.warisboring.com and click on the Paypal button on the left sidebar. Any donations flow to me. I will then forward them in a lump sum to Paul, who will be making the wire transfer at the end of this week. If you have any questions or concerns about the process, you can email me at david_axe@hotmail.com.

(Photo: David Axe)

Reporter is a film about the work of New York Times foreign correspondent Nicholas Kristof. The film, produced by Ben Affleck, debuted at the Sundance Film Festival last week,

“As journalism of all kinds becomes more desperate to make money, then there is a tendency to focus more on celebrity,” Kristof said in a telephone interview from his home in the New York City area. “I just don’t know what’s going to happen to journalism, what our business model is going to be. I tend to think that one way or another, news and information will still have value.” link

You can catch a short interview with Affleck and Kristof with the LA Times above. The (somewhat dramatic and breathlessly wordy) trailer for the documentary is below. Anyone seen it in full? Any good? By the way if you haven’t seen the trailer to the Frontline Club’s own journalist documentary film, head over to Blood Trail now.