Martin Adler
Encyclopedia
Martin John Lars Adler was a Swedish
cameraman and journalist
.
Martin Adler was born in Stockholm
, Sweden
, to a Swedish father and a British mother. He grew up in Västerås
and became a journalist after studying anthropology
in London
.
Adler specialised in independent reporting from the world's most troubled countries, exposing poverty, human rights abuses and the fate of individuals in the midst of war and genocide. He had experience working in over two dozen war zones, including El Salvador
, Rwanda
, the Republic of Congo, Angola
, Sierra Leone
, Liberia
, Chechnya
, Bosnia
, Afghanistan
, Sri Lanka
, Kashmir
, Burundi
, Somalia
, Sudan
, Eritrea
and Iraq
.
In 2001, he won the Amnesty International
Media Award (news category) for his story on the kidnapping and sale of women in China
http://www.rorypecktrust.org/Awards2004/Adler.htm. He was also awarded the Silver Prize for Investigative Journalism at the 2001 New York TV Festival. In 2004 he was the Winner of the Rory Peck Award
for Hard News for his work On Patrol with Charlie Company in Iraq
. http://www.rorypecktrust.org/Awards2004/winners.htm
Martin Adler died on June 23, 2006 after being shot by an unknown assailant during a crowded rally in the Somalia
n capital, Mogadishu
. Eyewitnesses reported that the attacker shot Adler from close range with a pistol, killing him instantly, before disappearing into the crowd. He is survived by both his parents, his wife and his two daughters.
In 2007 the Rory Peck Trust inaugurated the Martin Adler Prize which is awarded on an annual basis at the British Film Institute
in recognition of Adler's "great talents as a journalist, filmmaker and storyteller". The prize is intended to honour a freelance cameraman or camerawoman, journalist, fixer, driver or translator for their role in the reporting of a significant news story, to "raise awareness of the value of the recipient’s work" and to "help them to progress their career".
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
cameraman and journalist
Journalist
A journalist collects and distributes news and other information. A journalist's work is referred to as journalism.A reporter is a type of journalist who researchs, writes, and reports on information to be presented in mass media, including print media , electronic media , and digital media A...
.
Martin Adler was born in Stockholm
Stockholm
Stockholm is the capital and the largest city of Sweden and constitutes the most populated urban area in Scandinavia. Stockholm is the most populous city in Sweden, with a population of 851,155 in the municipality , 1.37 million in the urban area , and around 2.1 million in the metropolitan area...
, Sweden
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
, to a Swedish father and a British mother. He grew up in Västerås
Västerås
Västerås is a city in central Sweden, located on the shore of Lake Mälaren in the province Västmanland, some 100 km west of Stockholm...
and became a journalist after studying anthropology
Anthropology
Anthropology is the study of humanity. It has origins in the humanities, the natural sciences, and the social sciences. The term "anthropology" is from the Greek anthrōpos , "man", understood to mean mankind or humanity, and -logia , "discourse" or "study", and was first used in 1501 by German...
in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
.
Adler specialised in independent reporting from the world's most troubled countries, exposing poverty, human rights abuses and the fate of individuals in the midst of war and genocide. He had experience working in over two dozen war zones, including El Salvador
El Salvador
El Salvador or simply Salvador is the smallest and the most densely populated country in Central America. The country's capital city and largest city is San Salvador; Santa Ana and San Miguel are also important cultural and commercial centers in the country and in all of Central America...
, Rwanda
Rwanda
Rwanda or , officially the Republic of Rwanda , is a country in central and eastern Africa with a population of approximately 11.4 million . Rwanda is located a few degrees south of the Equator, and is bordered by Uganda, Tanzania, Burundi and the Democratic Republic of the Congo...
, the Republic of Congo, Angola
Angola
Angola, officially the Republic of Angola , is a country in south-central Africa bordered by Namibia on the south, the Democratic Republic of the Congo on the north, and Zambia on the east; its west coast is on the Atlantic Ocean with Luanda as its capital city...
, Sierra Leone
Sierra Leone
Sierra Leone , officially the Republic of Sierra Leone, is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Guinea to the north and east, Liberia to the southeast, and the Atlantic Ocean to the west and southwest. Sierra Leone covers a total area of and has an estimated population between 5.4 and 6.4...
, Liberia
Liberia
Liberia , officially the Republic of Liberia, is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Sierra Leone on the west, Guinea on the north and Côte d'Ivoire on the east. Liberia's coastline is composed of mostly mangrove forests while the more sparsely populated inland consists of forests that open...
, Chechnya
Chechnya
The Chechen Republic , commonly referred to as Chechnya , also spelled Chechnia or Chechenia, sometimes referred to as Ichkeria , is a federal subject of Russia . It is located in the southeastern part of Europe in the Northern Caucasus mountains. The capital of the republic is the city of Grozny...
, Bosnia
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Bosnia and Herzegovina , sometimes called Bosnia-Herzegovina or simply Bosnia, is a country in Southern Europe, on the Balkan Peninsula. Bordered by Croatia to the north, west and south, Serbia to the east, and Montenegro to the southeast, Bosnia and Herzegovina is almost landlocked, except for the...
, Afghanistan
Afghanistan
Afghanistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located in the centre of Asia, forming South Asia, Central Asia and the Middle East. With a population of about 29 million, it has an area of , making it the 42nd most populous and 41st largest nation in the world...
, Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka is a country off the southern coast of the Indian subcontinent. Known until 1972 as Ceylon , Sri Lanka is an island surrounded by the Indian Ocean, the Gulf of Mannar and the Palk Strait, and lies in the vicinity of India and the...
, Kashmir
Kashmir
Kashmir is the northwestern region of the Indian subcontinent. Until the mid-19th century, the term Kashmir geographically denoted only the valley between the Great Himalayas and the Pir Panjal mountain range...
, Burundi
Burundi
Burundi , officially the Republic of Burundi , is a landlocked country in the Great Lakes region of Eastern Africa bordered by Rwanda to the north, Tanzania to the east and south, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the west. Its capital is Bujumbura...
, Somalia
Somalia
Somalia , officially the Somali Republic and formerly known as the Somali Democratic Republic under Socialist rule, is a country located in the Horn of Africa. Since the outbreak of the Somali Civil War in 1991 there has been no central government control over most of the country's territory...
, Sudan
Sudan
Sudan , officially the Republic of the Sudan , is a country in North Africa, sometimes considered part of the Middle East politically. It is bordered by Egypt to the north, the Red Sea to the northeast, Eritrea and Ethiopia to the east, South Sudan to the south, the Central African Republic to the...
, Eritrea
Eritrea
Eritrea , officially the State of Eritrea, is a country in the Horn of Africa. Eritrea derives it's name from the Greek word Erethria, meaning 'red land'. The capital is Asmara. It is bordered by Sudan in the west, Ethiopia in the south, and Djibouti in the southeast...
and Iraq
Iraq
Iraq ; officially the Republic of Iraq is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert....
.
In 2001, he won the Amnesty International
Amnesty International
Amnesty International is an international non-governmental organisation whose stated mission is "to conduct research and generate action to prevent and end grave abuses of human rights, and to demand justice for those whose rights have been violated."Following a publication of Peter Benenson's...
Media Award (news category) for his story on the kidnapping and sale of women in China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
http://www.rorypecktrust.org/Awards2004/Adler.htm. He was also awarded the Silver Prize for Investigative Journalism at the 2001 New York TV Festival. In 2004 he was the Winner of the Rory Peck Award
Rory Peck Award
The Rory Peck Award is an award given to freelance camera operators who have risked their lives to report on newsworthy events. It was set up in 1995 and is named after the Northern Irish freelance cameraman Rory Peck, who was killed while reporting on the siege of the Moscow White House in 1993....
for Hard News for his work On Patrol with Charlie Company in Iraq
Iraq
Iraq ; officially the Republic of Iraq is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert....
. http://www.rorypecktrust.org/Awards2004/winners.htm
Martin Adler died on June 23, 2006 after being shot by an unknown assailant during a crowded rally in the Somalia
Somalia
Somalia , officially the Somali Republic and formerly known as the Somali Democratic Republic under Socialist rule, is a country located in the Horn of Africa. Since the outbreak of the Somali Civil War in 1991 there has been no central government control over most of the country's territory...
n capital, Mogadishu
Mogadishu
Mogadishu , popularly known as Xamar, is the largest city in Somalia and the nation's capital. Located in the coastal Benadir region on the Indian Ocean, the city has served as an important port for centuries....
. Eyewitnesses reported that the attacker shot Adler from close range with a pistol, killing him instantly, before disappearing into the crowd. He is survived by both his parents, his wife and his two daughters.
In 2007 the Rory Peck Trust inaugurated the Martin Adler Prize which is awarded on an annual basis at the British Film Institute
British Film Institute
The British Film Institute is a charitable organisation established by Royal Charter to:-Cinemas:The BFI runs the BFI Southbank and IMAX theatre, both located on the south bank of the River Thames in London...
in recognition of Adler's "great talents as a journalist, filmmaker and storyteller". The prize is intended to honour a freelance cameraman or camerawoman, journalist, fixer, driver or translator for their role in the reporting of a significant news story, to "raise awareness of the value of the recipient’s work" and to "help them to progress their career".
External links
- BBC article reporting Martin Adler's death
- PBS NewsHour link to "On Patrol" video and transcript
- Swedish photographer gunned down - IFEXInternational Freedom of Expression ExchangeThe International Freedom of Expression eXchange , founded in 1992, is a global network of around 90 non-governmental organisations that promotes and defends the right to freedom of expression....
- Martin Adler 1958-2006
- The Rory Peck Trust
- Martin Adler Photography