Paul Conroy (born 18 July 1964) is a British freelance photographer and

filmmaker Filmmaking or film production is the process by which a Film, motion picture is produced. Filmmaking involves a number of complex and discrete stages, beginning with an initial story, idea, or commission. Production then continues through screen ...

who works in the British media. A former soldier with the

Royal Artillery The Royal Regiment of Artillery, commonly referred to as the Royal Artillery (RA) and colloquially known as "The Gunners", is one of two regiments that make up the artillery arm of the British Army. The Royal Regiment of Artillery comprises t ...

between 1980 and 1987, he has since worked extensively as a

journalist A journalist is a person who gathers information in the form of text, audio or pictures, processes it into a newsworthy form and disseminates it to the public. This is called journalism. Roles Journalists can work in broadcast, print, advertis ...

in combat zones, producing footage from conflicts in the Balkans, the Middle East, and Libya. In 2011, he was shortlisted for the PRX Bayeux TV report along with

Marie Colvin Marie Catherine Colvin (January 12, 1956 – February 22, 2012) was an American journalist who worked as a foreign affairs correspondent for the British newspaper ''The Sunday Times'' from 1985 until her death. She was one of the most prominent ...

, a war correspondent with ''

The Sunday Times ''The Sunday Times'' is a British Sunday newspaper whose circulation makes it the largest in Britain's quality press market category. It was founded in 1821 as ''The New Observer''. It is published by Times Newspapers Ltd, a subsidiary of N ...

''.

Early life

Conroy was born on 18 July 1964 in

Liverpool Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...

to Les Conroy and his wife Joan (née Mountain). He has two brothers and a sister.

2011-2012 Syrian uprising

On 22 February 2012 during the Syrian uprising, Conroy was injured while covering

events Event may refer to: Gatherings of people * Ceremony, an event of ritual significance, performed on a special occasion * Convention (meeting), a gathering of individuals engaged in some common interest * Event management, the organization of eve ...

from the

Syria Syria, officially the Syrian Arab Republic, is a country in West Asia located in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Levant. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the west, Turkey to Syria–Turkey border, the north, Iraq to Iraq–Syria border, t ...

n city of

Homs Homs ( ; ), known in pre-Islamic times as Emesa ( ; ), is a city in western Syria and the capital of the Homs Governorate. It is Metres above sea level, above sea level and is located north of Damascus. Located on the Orontes River, Homs is ...

, a stronghold of Syrian opposition forces, after the

building A building or edifice is an enclosed Structure#Load-bearing, structure with a roof, walls and window, windows, usually standing permanently in one place, such as a house or factory. Buildings come in a variety of sizes, shapes, and functions, a ...

where he and other journalists were based was shelled by Syrian government forces.

and French photojournalist Remi Ochlik were killed in the attack, while Conroy was injured along with another journalist, French reporter Édith Bouvier of ''

Le Figaro () is a French daily morning newspaper founded in 1826. It was named after Figaro, a character in several plays by polymath Pierre Beaumarchais, Beaumarchais (1732–1799): ''Le Barbier de Séville'', ''The Guilty Mother, La Mère coupable'', ...

''. Conroy suffered leg injuries in the attack and was subsequently smuggled out of the city and across the Syrian border to

Lebanon Lebanon, officially the Republic of Lebanon, is a country in the Levant region of West Asia. Situated at the crossroads of the Mediterranean Basin and the Arabian Peninsula, it is bordered by Syria to the north and east, Israel to the south ...

Avaaz Avaaz is a US-based nonprofit organization launched in 2007 that promotes global activism on issues such as climate change, human rights, animal rights, corruption, poverty, and conflict. The word ''avaaz'' means 'voice' in several Asian and E ...

coordinated the evacuation out of the city, but about twenty Syrian activists died during the evacuation operation. French President

Nicolas Sarkozy Nicolas Paul Stéphane Sarközy de Nagy-Bocsa ( ; ; born 28 January 1955) is a French politician who served as President of France from 2007 to 2012. In 2021, he was found guilty of having tried to bribe a judge in 2014 to obtain information ...

described the killing of Colvin and Ochlik as an assassination. It is believed that the journalists were targeted. The editor of ''

'' said he believed his reporter had been targeted. Conroy later described the situation in Homs as an "indiscriminate massacre" and "slaughter" and compared it to the destruction inflicted on

Grozny Grozny (, ; ) is the capital city of Chechnya, Russia. The city lies on the Sunzha River. According to the 2021 Russian census, 2021 census, it had a population of 328,533 — up from 210,720 recorded in the 2002 Russian Census, 2002 ce ...

during the Chechen Wars. Conroy later wrote a book covering the events.

Personal life

Conroy married Katherine Joye "Kate" Baird in

Fort William, Highland Fort William is a town in the Lochaber region of the Scottish Highlands, located on the eastern shore of Loch Linnhe in the Highland Council of Scotland. At the 2011 census, Fort William had a population of 15,757, making it the second-lar ...

, Scotland in 1998. They have three sons together: Max (born 1992), Kim (born 1994) and Otto (born 2000 ). He is a supporter of

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

club

Liverpool F.C. Liverpool Football Club is a professional Football club (association football), football club based in Liverpool, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football league system, English football. Founded in ...

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Conroy, Paul 1964 births Living people British male journalists British photojournalists British filmmakers Photographers from Liverpool