ABC Anchor Bob Woodruff Injured by Iraq Bomb

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ABC Anchor Bob Woodruff Injured by Iraq Bomb

January 29, 2006

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CNN Breaking: “ABC News anchor Bob Woodruff and his cameraman seriously injured in a roadside bomb attack in Iraq, the network reports.”

Photo Bob Woodruff and his cameraman Doug Vogt were injured in an IED attack near Taji, Iraq today. They were embedded with the 4th Infantry Division, traveling with an Iraqi Army unit in an Iraqi mechanized vehicle.

[Update: There’s now a story link with essentially the same details as the AP piece below.]

ABC has few details at their site: “Bob Woodruff and his cameraman Doug Vogt were injured in an IED attack near Taji, Iraq today. They were embedded with the 4th Infantry Division, traveling with an Iraqi Army unit in an Iraqi mechanized vehicle.”

Updates as they’re available. Obviously, I wish the men a full and speedy recovery.

Update (0910): More from AP:

The U.S. military headquarters in Baghdad confirmed that the ABC News team was involved in an attack but declined to provide further details to The Associated Press. An official military statement was expected to be issued later Sunday.

Woodruff was named co-anchor of ABC News’ “World News Tonight” with Elizbeth Vargas this month after the death of Peter Jennings. In an unusual approach to evening news shows, one of the two co-anchors typically reports from the studio in New York while the other reports from the field, as Woodruff was doing in Iraq.

Woodruff grew up in Michigan and became a corporate lawyer in New York. He took a leave of absence to teach at a school in China, helped CBS News during the Tiananmen Square uprising and became hooked on journalism. “When I realized there was a job that existed in this world where I could be in the middle of huge world events and actually get paid for it, it was an epiphany for me,” he told The Associated Press in a recent interview.

If they follow usual practice, the AP story will evolve constantly even though the link will remain static.

Update (1205): CNN has updated the story with the following details:

Both men were wearing body armor and helmets.

ABC reported that the two were in the hatch of a military vehicle taping at the time of the explosion, which was followed by small-arms fire. ABC said the two have head injuries, and Woodruff was undergoing surgery at the U.S. military hospital in Balad, 50 miles (80 kilometers) north of Baghdad.

The Balad military hospital is the most technologically advanced in Iraq.

_________

Previously: Elizabeth Vargas and Bob Woodruff to Anchor ABC News

16 responses to “ABC Anchor Bob Woodruff Injured by Iraq Bomb”

Eneils Bailey

January 29, 2006 at 9:37 am

Certainly hope that they are OK.
Wonder how long it will take the piss-sippers to claim the Army, with orders from President Bush had them setup for this.
Elmo

January 29, 2006 at 10:16 am

Well the link may remain the same. But I believe the content will largely be the same as well ….. Bush’s fault. And the injuries to the broadcast personnel, will be woven into this continuing theme from ABC.

The distortion of the job of reporters in now complete. Not report news, to citizens. But impart directed thought, even interject one’s self into the story.

Wolf Blitzer’s recent scurry to Jerusalem, a fine example. Wolf feasting on Sharon’s then upcoming state funeral. Ghoulish it was. Arik of course still of this earth [as he was then ….. (if not in spirit anyway)].
G A PHILLIPS

January 29, 2006 at 10:26 am

I hope that they are OK too, but a war zone is a bad place. Pepole die and are hurt every day. you should take a drive around the north side of Milwaukee sometime, or better yet, down Ogden Aveue in Chicago!
M1EK

January 29, 2006 at 12:31 pm

He was doubtlessly injured by an explosion in the Good News Holding Facility, where the hundreds of stories about how much Iraqis love us and all our progress in rebuilding the country are kept, under very very high pressure, since, of course, there are so many of them.

Or maybe he was hurt by an Iraqi throwing a flower at him.
G A PHILLIPS

January 29, 2006 at 1:03 pm

Ooh, same thing happened to me when I was at NY Times bullshit Holding Facility, trying to figure out how “you people” can support the troops and terrorists at the same time, and someone went and thew a lawyer at me!
leelu

January 29, 2006 at 1:28 pm

I read the ABC story linked from Drudge. It was a refreshing change… an actualy *news* story – “who, what, when, and where”, without all of the usual made-up “why” (Bush lied, no WMD, yadda-yadda…).

And I hope Woodruff & Voght are/will be OK.
Kathy K

January 29, 2006 at 2:22 pm

Under ‘Breaking News’ when I clicked on the ABC link: “‘WORLD NEWS TONIGHT’ CO-ANCHOR BOB WOODRUFF AND CAMERAMAN DOUG VOGT ARE OUT OF SURGERY AND IN STABLE CONDITION”

Not a lot of info, but better than nothing. (Sorry about the caps, but that’s the way it copied…)
Gary and the Samoyeds

January 29, 2006 at 6:27 pm

I hope they make a swift and complete recovery. I support the reporters, but not their mission.
Herb

January 29, 2006 at 8:10 pm

Well, That is a war zone, what else would you expect. Solders get hurt and Solders die, and so do civilians who get in the way. I just wonder what their assignment was from ABC. ABC has a habit of going after the bad while paying no attention to the good, then broadcasting a lefty leaning story designed to make Bush look bad.
Jeff Burke

January 30, 2006 at 7:41 am

I wish them well, but…

Monday morning, Jan. 30th, ABC News is still using teh word insurgents as frequenty as they can.

They cannot go on being polite to to Islamic terrorists and supportthe troops. They must make a choice.

By not making a choice, they support the Islamic terror.
LJD

January 30, 2006 at 8:19 am

I feel sorry for their families, because of the life these reporters have chosen, but…

I would consider serving one’s country a far more honorable profession than chasing the big scoop, or vying for a pulitzer.

Can any one name ONE soldier killed last week? Last month?

It’s interesting seeing the media falling all over itself to honer their ‘heroes’.
LJD

January 30, 2006 at 8:21 am

What I expected to hear in the initial report, but was not reported anywhere I looked:

‘No U.S. personnel were injured in the attack.’

Would those eight words have been so difficult?
Claire D. Wells

February 3, 2006 at 9:03 am

I have been reading the well wishes that were sent to ABC’s Bob Woodruff and his camerman and was astounded that they included synical remarks such as “he does not need 15 minutes of fame he is already famous”, shame on them! Do they wish it was world war II when the only new you got was
by letters in the mail, radio & carrier pidgeon! or even worse a knock at the door telling you of a loved ones death. News Caster’s may be famous, but they have chosen to bring the world to us at many times putting their lives and the lives of their families at risk. Every time I turn on the news I marvel at what we see, i.e. “Katrina” or the “Tsunami. As if the loss of David Bloom, Peter Jennings was not bad enough ABC now must keep the proverbial stiff upper lip whilst praying for a loved one. How insensitive have we become that we cannot handle a week or two of caring reporting about someone we all know because he is a wee bit famous. What would this person feel is all the T.V’s went down on super bowl Sunday! Although Bob Woodruff has not yet won my heart as did David Bloom & Peter Jennings, I wish him health, wealth & happiness for years to come and I for one would like to be kept abreast of his status on a daily basis. That’s what family does, it talks about its loved ones.
To Bob Roodruff, “Goodnight & Good Luck”!