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Fox News, CNN, other media outlets rescue Afghan journalists, interpreters from Kabul

The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, and The Washington Post were also among those who helped evacuate Afghan civilians who were part of the country's media fraternity

Amidst harrowing stories of civilians trapped in Afghanistan as the Taliban take over the country, it has been reported that several media outlets have evacuated journalists including Afghan freelancers and interpreters. Media companies like CNN, Fox News, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, as well as The Washington Post have helped rescue Afghan journalists from Kabul and enabled their safe passage out of the troubled country that is now largely under the control of the Taliban. 

News of this comes amidst an intense backlash against POTUS Joe Biden for the government evacuating only 2500 Americans out of a total of around 17 thousand Americans. As many as 10 to 15 thousand Americans remain trapped in the country that has falled under Taliban control after the retreat of US troops. Vice President Kamala Harris has also been criticized for rushing off to Singapore as Afghanistan burns, ever since the Taliban takeover. With tension palpable, desperate Afghans have also pleaded and begged POTUS to rescue them while veterans continue to lament about how their friends died in vain. In all of this, the news of news houses evacuating their media peers comes as a silver lining. 

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News of big media houses evacuating journalists came first from CNN's Brian Stelter who said on 'Reliable Sources' that the network "quietly helped ten Afghan colleagues leave the country in the past few days.” He continued: "Many other newsrooms are working on the same thing,” he added. “This is, from what I’m hearing, excruciating and emotionally draining work, but it is necessary work.”

Fox News's CEO Suzanne Scott reportedly also sent a company-wide memo touting, “FOX News Media has successfully evacuated three Afghan nationals who formerly served as freelance associates, as well as an Afghan colleague from a regional media company, along with their respective families (a total of 24 people) from Kabul, Afghanistan.” Scott added: "These associates include consultants who served as local producers, translators, drivers, and security guards supporting our correspondents throughout FOX’s coverage of the war in Afghanistan for nearly two decades.”

On the morning of Friday, August 20, the Wall Street Journal also reported that the publication “facilitated the safe passage of its Afghanistan colleagues and their families, evacuating 76 people to Qatar.” Another four individuals were flown out the next day. The Times and Post had also evacuated their staff earlier last week. “Some 13 people, including an American correspondent, were able to board a U.S. military transport for a flight to safe haven in Doha, Qatar,” the Post previously reported.

The Times, who sought Qatar's help and managed to evacuate 128 people claimed in a statement how they were “deeply grateful” to the government of Qatar, “which has been truly invaluable in getting our Afghan colleagues and their families to safety.” Publisher AG Sulzberger, who released the statement, continued: “We also thank the many U.S. government officials who took a personal interest in the plight of our colleagues and the military personnel in Kabul who helped them make their exit from the country. We urge the international community to continue working on behalf of the many brave Afghan journalists still at risk in the country.”

Stelter had Afghanistan's first 24/7 news channel, TOLOnews founder Saad Mohseni on air to ask how the news will be covered in Afghanistan, now that Western outlets have been pulled out. “Well, we have multiple challenges,” Mohseni said, explaining: “First and foremost, we have a lot of our colleagues who are actually at the airport attempting to leave. So we have to hire people, we have to hire new people. We have to keep the business going." He added: “And at the same time, we have to manage the new regime in time, the Taliban. We’ve met with them a couple times. They actually dropped by yesterday and discussed how they intend keeping media free, and they intend respecting women’s rights. So for us, I mean, every single day is a new thing, so we just have to manage things on a day-to-day basis.”