Journalists reporting for Italian newspaper La Repubblica came under Russian shelling on Wednesday in Kherson, resulting in the death of Ukrainian journalist and fixer Bogdan Bitik. Italian journalist Corrado Zunino was wounded in the attack.

La Repubblica reports that the two reporters were wearing a bulletproof vest with a “press” sign when they got attacked by Russian snipers in the southern city that was liberated last fall but remains near the frontline. As of Wednesday night, authorities were working on returning Zunino to Italy, and Bitik’s body wasn’t yet retrieved because of sniper fire risks.

Since the start of Russia’s all-out war against Ukraine early last year, at least 12 reporters were killed while reporting on the invasion, with further 18 injured, according to the International Federation of Journalists. Some of the casualties include camera operator Yevhenii Sakun killed in Russia’s missile attack on Kyiv TV tower, photojournalist Maks Levin executed by Russian soldiers, as well as foreign journalists Brent Renaud and Frédéric Leclerc-Imhoff.

Several high-profile firings took place in the American cable news industry early this week. Most notably, conservative news channel Fox News parted ways with its most prominent host Tucker Carlson.

For years Carlson hosted one of the most popular cable news shows in the US, averaging at 3 million viewers daily; he has been embroiled in various controversies for his promotion of conspiracy theories and embrace of Russian propaganda narratives.

The causes of Carlson’s firing remain the subject of speculation; the two leading theories (which are not mutually exclusive) are Carlson’s alleged misogynistic behaviour that’s subject of an ongoing lawsuit filed by a former producer on the host’s show, as well as his insults towards senior Fox News executives that emerged as a result of the recent lawsuit filed by voting machines manufacturer Dominion.

Other notable ousters in American cable television include popular CNN host Don Lemon who Axios reports “didn’t fit as well with CNN’s new approach to more moderate conversations” (and was also a subject of controversy over his sexist remark), as well as CEO of NBCUniversal Jeff Shell investigated for an inappropriate romantic relationship with a woman in his company.

As Axios’ Sara Fischer notes, “the trio of firings in the past few days were shocking, but fall in line with a broader trend of cable news networks parting ways with executives and talent that could threaten their stability, even at the cost of better ratings”. Previously, CNN fired its start anchor Chris Cuomo and the network’s president Jeff Zucker.

Source of the cover photo: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2023/04/27/tucker-carlson-breaks-silence-fox-news-departure/ and La Repubblica

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Weekly Digest: Ukrainian journalist killed by Russia, high-profile firings in American cable news