An award-winning Journalist Brent Renaud was shot dead by Russia on March 13, 2022. But who was he? Let’s get to know the complete details of him.
Who was Brent Renaud?
Brent Renaud born on 2nd October 1971 was an American Journalist, Writer, documentary filmmaker and Photo Journalist. He lived and worked in Newyork city and Little Rock, Arkansas. Brent is Peabody and Dupont Award-Winning filmmaker and has spent the past two decades producing films and television programs with his brother Craig. With his brother, he also founded the Little Rock Film festival and Arkansas Motion picture Institute.
Renaud’s Career and achievements
The films he did with his brother mostly focused on humanistic stories from the World’s hot spots and their projects have covered the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. The earthquake in Haiti, political turmoil in Egypt and Libya, the fight for Mosul, extremism in Africa, Cartel violence in Mexico and the Youth refugee crisis in Central America.
The brothers also directed the documentary Meth Storm released in 2017 by HBO documentary films and many other projects like “Dope Sick Love” and the T.V series “off to the war”. In 2019, Renaud was appointed as a visiting professor at the University of Arkansas. Together with his brother, he was a grantee of the Pulitzer centre.
Along with Peabody Award in 2015 for their video series, “Last Chance High” and two Columbia Dupont Awards, their works have also won many of the other awards which include two Overseas Press Club awards, Edward R.Murrow award, an IDA award, a DGA nomination for Best directors and multiple Emmy nominations.
In addition to the appreciations and awards, he was also criticized in Entertainment Weekly, Rolling Stone, Forbes, USA Today, The New York Times, Filmmaker Magazine, The Los Angeles Times and American Cinematographer.
How did he die?
Brent Renaud was shot dead by the Russian Army. He went to Ukraine with two other Journalists in order to show the world how Ukraine people are suffering and also the atrocities of Russia in the war.
Arredondo, a world press photo winner one of the Journalists who worked with Brent Renaud, interviewed when he was hospitalized said he and Renaud has gone to Irpin to film refugees escaping the town and being fired on by forces near a checkpoint and continued, “We crossed the first bridge in Irpin. We were going to film all the refugees leaving. We got into a car. Someone offered to take us to the other bridge and We crossed a checkpoint and they started shooting us”. Arredondo said “So the driver turned around and they kept shooting us and there was two of us. My friend Brent Renaut has been shot and left behind.”
When the Interviewer asked how Brent was, he replied,”I don’t know. I saw he’d been shot dead in the neck and we got split.”
Jane Ferguson, a reporter for PBS Newshour who was nearby when Renaud was killed, tweeted” Just left roadside spot near Irpin where the body of American Journalist Brent Renauld lay under a blanket. Ukrainian medics could do nothing to help him by that stage. Outraged Ukrainian police officer: “Tell America, tell the world, what they did to a Journalist”
The Minister of Internal affairs of Ukraine Anton Greshchenko announced that Brent Renaud died in Ukraine in Irepen, Kyiv.
He said in his telegram channel, ” The invaders cynically kill even International media Journalists who are trying to show the truth about the atrocities of Russian troops in Ukraine. Today, 51 years old correspondent of the World famous Newyork Times media was shot in Irpin.”
He showed Brent’s ID of the Publication of the Newyork Times. Later, he wrote,u” Of course, the profession of a Journalist involves risk, however, US Citizen Brent Renaud paid with his life for trying to highlight the treachery, cruelty and ruthlessness of the aggressor.”
The Newyork Times confirmed that he was not assigned for this Project and the ID card found with him was given a year ago.
The US national security told CNN, “If in fact an American Journalist was killed, it is a shocking and horrifying event. It is one more brutality of Vladimir Putin and his forces as they’ve targeted schools and mosques and hospitals and Journalists.”
” And it is why we are working so hard to impose severe consequences on him, and to try to help the Ukrainian with every form of military assistance we can muster, to be able to pushback against the Onslaught of these Russian forces.
Renaud was not the only Journalist who was killed by Russia. Two weeks before Renaud’s death, Ukrainian Journalist Yevhenii Skakum, a camera operator was killed in Live when a TV transmission tower in Kyiv was hit by shelling. A few days after this incident, a British Journalist covering the war in Ukraine was shot and Injured.
Russia’s act of killing people whoever comes in front of them is considered ruthless and inhumane. Now we lost the wonderful Journalist Brent Renaud too. May his soul Rest in Peace.
