I can say with confidence that in the three years I have attended Communication Week lectures, Kevin Sites's presentation was hands down the most riveting. Sites is a renown war correspondent and pioneer in his industry. He was incredibly personable, walking into the room taking pictures of the crowd and saying, “After this we will all be friends.”
For those readers who are unfamiliar with the concept of Communication Week, it is four days of lectures with a common theme pertaining to the field of communications. This year's theme was "Connect to Success." Among Kevin Sites in our high caliber of speakers were Connie Schultz, Robbie Gordon, Alfredo Corchado, Allen Ollivo and two panels available for questions. I highly recommend any school to adopt this concept to their programs. It was an incredible opportunity to ask questions and network with impressive professionals.
Kevin Sites started his journalism career professionally at the tender age of 15. He shared his press pass, afro fuzz hairdo and all. He even shared an excerpt from his diary that relayed a brave encounter with Hells Angels biker gang. This proved his courage and passion at a young age.
Sites’s most terrifying encounter was when he was captured by Saddam Hussein’s Fedayeen militia. An encounter that ultimately defined his career was when he recorded a US marine mercilessly shooting unarmed Iraqi in a mosque in Fallujah. The footage was some of the most raw, real war footage I have ever seen. He received a strong backlash from the press and fans. Even death threats. He returned to the mosque a day later where an Iraqi civilian was still alive and filmed him speaking a witnessing the murders. He regrettably left the man there, and he was killed hours later. Sites humbly admits that he could have saved the man’s life and will regret leaving him there for the rest of his life.
Among Site’s many accomplishments, his most notable may be when Yahoo! sent him to every war zone in the world in 2005. He chronicled his times in this hell, embedded in the troops with his camera in hand. The things he filmed were then put on his blog online, dubbing him the granddaddy of back pack journalism.
He concluded his presentation with the story of a 23 year old soldier. After serving for his family, country and fiancé, the young soldier died from an accidental drug overdose when he returned from battle. I think everyone left Site’s presentation with a greater appreciation for our troops and the brave journalists that risk their lives to tell these stories.
by: Ryan Pando
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