As we’ve already mentioned, Chris Hondros and documentary filmmaker (Restrepo) and photographer/author (Infidel) Tim Hetherington were killed while reporting in Misrata, Libya yesterday. Two other journalists — Guy Martin and Michael Brown — were critically wounded.

Having just published a book by Anna Politkovskaya, the issue of journalists putting themselves in harm’s way is something we’ve thought quite a lot about lately. But I think for a lot of people, it’s all too easy to take for granted. James Fallows put it pretty well in his post at the Atlantic on Hetherington’s death:

Give an extra thought to members of the much-reviled “mainstream media” who expose themselves to danger and inconvenience to help us understand the world. They are no longer our only ways of gathering such understanding, but they are indispensable parts.

Last year Tim spoke with Jeffrey Brown of the the PBS Newshour about the film and the book. Highlights from the interview include a discussion about the nuances and texture of war, how soldiers–despite their toughness–are vulnerable, how boring war can be, and how reporting on war can bridge the gulf between an oblivious public and those fighting.