ABC war correspondent sues network

ABC News war correspondent Richard Gizbert is suing the network for firing him when he refused to go to Iraq.

Gizbert, who joined the network in 1993 and was assigned to its London bureau at the time he was dismissed, claims that he was axed because he refused an assignment to report from Iraq. Although he had previously reported from Chechnya and Bosnia-Herzegovina, he said he believed that the Iraq assignment was different since journalists had seemingly become targeted by both sides in that conflict.

In an interview last month with the Los Angeles Times, Gizbert said that he was told by Marcus Wilford, ABC’s London bureau chief: “‘We’ve decided to terminate you. ABC wants to replace you with a correspondent who will travel to war zones.’ I said, “You’re firing me because I won’t go to war zones?’ ‘No,’ he said, “we’re terminating you and replacing you with someone who will.’ And I said: “Isn’t that the same thing?'”

Under a code of practice that ABC News has signed, “assignments to war zones or hostile environments must be voluntary.”

Since the war began in March 2003, 66 reporters have been killed in the conflict, with many of them being specifically targeted by the insurgents.

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