Northwestern classmates, colleagues mourn slain journalist
Associated Press
In 2011, just after he was released from the Libyan prison where he'd been held for six weeks, James Foley acknowledged the peril journalists face covering the world's most dangerous places, soberly conceding that a mistake could mean death.
"It's pure luck that you didn't get killed there. Pure luck," Foley told students at Northwestern University's School of Journalism, Media, Integrated Marketing Communications. "And you either need to change your behavior right there or you shouldn't be doing this. Because it's not worth your life. It's not worth seeing your mother, your father, brother and sister bawling and you're worrying about your grandmother dying because you're in prison."
Foley went back overseas and was abducted in Syria in 2012 and held captive until his killing by Islamic State militants was announced Tuesday.
His death resulted in an outpouring of sorrow and admiration at Medill, where he received a master's degree in 2008, and at Marquette University in Milwaukee, where the New Hampshire native got his bachelor's degree in 1996.
"Our Medill family is shocked and deeply saddened by the news of the murder of Jim Foley. He was a courageous reporter who risked his life repeatedly to seek the truth around the world," begins a statement posted on Facebook by Medill dean Bradley Ham. "Journalists face threats in many forms as they try to report difficult stories that need to be told, but the attack on Jim was barbaric. It was, in a larger sense, an attack on freedoms necessary in a civilized society and across strained cultures. Jim endures for us as a beacon reminding us of the risks implicit in shedding light where inhumanity can take hold … The loss of such a distinguished alum affects us all."
A former teacher, Foley took classes at Northwestern including "covering conflicts" and "hostile environment training."
In his 2011 talk at Medill, Foley, 40, said he was in Libya to give voice to people who hadn't been able to speak out against their government. "When you see something really violent, it doesn't always repel you," he told students during that discussion. "Sometimes it draws you closer."
Before he was seized in Syria, Foley was contributing videos from the civil war in Syria to Agence France-Presse for the media company GlobalPost.
A message posted on Facebook by Diane Foley, the journalist's mother, reads: "We have never been prouder of our son Jim. He gave his life trying to expose the world to the suffering of the Syrian people. We implore the kidnappers to spare the lives of the remaining hostages. Like Jim, they are innocents. They have no control over American government policy in Iraq, Syria or anywhere in the world. We thank Jim for all the joy he gave us. He was an extraordinary son, brother, journalist and person. Please respect our privacy in the days ahead as we mourn and cherish Jim."
Classmates and students who met Foley at both his alma maters - Marquette and Northwestern - flooded social media with appreciation for the work Foley did. Foley wrote about his fondness for Marquette and the values the school instilled in him shortly after he was released from the Libyan prison.
"If nothing else, prayer was the glue that enabled my freedom," Foley wrote to Marquette officials, "an inner freedom first and later the miracle of being released during a war in which the regime had no real incentive to free us. It didn't make sense, but faith did."
Former co-workers, including Cook County Sheriff Tom Dart, also reflected on Foley's life and service to society. Foley worked at a Cook County Department of Corrections boot camp while attending Medill, Dart's office reported.
"It is with great shock and sadness that we learned of the murder of James Foley who worked as a counselor at our boot camp," Dart said in a statement released Wednesday. "We join the country in being outraged at the events surrounding his death. Jim dedicated his life to serving others and effecting change. We thank him from the bottom of our hearts for his service and for all he did while working with us and for all he did to shine a light on the injustices and suffering in the world."
•Daily Herald staff writers Burt Constable and Jake Griffin contributed.