Pierre Zakrzewski, a Fox News cameraman and veteran of combat journalism, died in Ukraine on Monday after a vehicle he was traveling in was fired upon by Russian forces.
The New York Times reports:
Mr. Zakrzewski, 55, was traveling in the same vehicle as the Fox News correspondent Benjamin Hall, who was also injured in the attack, which occurred in the town of Horenka. Mr. Hall remains hospitalized in Ukraine; Fox News has not shared additional details about his condition.
Suzanne Scott, the chief executive of Fox News Media, announced the news about Mr. Zakrzewski in a memo to staff on Tuesday, calling it “a heartbreaking day.”
“Pierre was a war zone photographer who covered nearly every international story for Fox News from Iraq to Afghanistan to Syria during his long tenure with us,” Ms. Scott wrote.
“His talents were vast and there wasn’t a role that he didn’t jump in to help with in the field — from photographer to engineer to editor to producer — and he did it all under immense pressure with tremendous skill,” Scott added. “He was profoundly committed to telling the story and his bravery, professionalism and work ethic were renowned among journalists at every media outlet.”
I don’t know what to say. Pierre was as good as they come. Selfless. Brave. Passionate. I’m so sorry this happened to you. pic.twitter.com/IvxlPWGDAl
— Trey Yingst (@TreyYingst) March 15, 2022
Such a fine man. Such a good friend. Such a fantastic war photographer and so much more. RIP Pierre Zakrzewski. pic.twitter.com/Q6KJKCuayI
— Jennifer Griffin (@JenGriffinFNC) March 15, 2022
There are no words. I had the great privilege of working with Pierre and the even greater privilege of calling him a friend. An extraordinary spirit and tremendous talent and one of the kindest, most gracious colleagues on the road. Absolutely heartbreaking. https://t.co/KmScUCcAwd
— Clarissa Ward (@clarissaward) March 15, 2022
CNN details the response from colleagues:
Tributes immediately poured in from Zakrzewski’s colleagues at Fox News.Anchor Bill Hemmer, who broke the tragic news on the channel’s air, described Zakrzewski as “an absolute legend” at the network.Anchor John Roberts said he had worked with Zakrzewski “many times around the world” and described him as “an absolute treasure.”Foreign correspondent Trey Yingst, who has also been reporting from Ukraine, wrote on Twitter, “I don’t know what to say. Pierre was as good as they come. Selfless. Brave. Passionate. I’m so sorry this happened to you.”
Fox News had just recognized Zakrzewski in December as one of the network’s “unsung heroes.” He was described at the time as a journalist who “risks his life in war zones to get the story for Fox News.”The news of Zakrzewski’s death comes days after Brent Renaud, an award-winning American journalist, was killed in the Ukrainian town of Irpin.Andriy Nebitov, the head of the Kyiv region police, said that Russian forces shot Renaud, adding that “the occupants cynically kill even journalists of international media, who’ve been trying to tell the truth about atrocities of Russian military in Ukraine.”Another journalist, Juan Arredondo, was also wounded in Ukraine on Sunday.