It was a passion born of his own experience as a hostage during the siege of the Iranian embassy in London in 1980. Cramer had been in the embassy obtaining a visa when armed men stormed in against Ayatollah Khomeini. After 24 hours as a hostage, he said he was released, leaving the authorities to provide essential information about the structure of the embassy, the number of armed men and hostages.
It was an experience he later realized traumatized him in ways he didn’t understand at the time, and as his career as a news chief took off, he remembered the impact long before PTSD to become a well-known term for soldiers. and others.
In January 2004, I was in a two-car CNN convoy, ambushed by insurgents just south of Baghdad. One of our two drivers and my translator were killed, and my photographer next to me survived by being shot in the head. We almost all died that day.
Cramer, then executive vice president and general manager of CNN International, knew exactly what those who survived and acted on were going through.
Until then, he had established a system within the company where staff could access professional assistance if needed after a traumatic incident, but crucially that day, he understood on a personal level our need to stay together in Iraq as a team. another week until you process the experience and attend the funerals, rather than leaving immediately for our scattered homes.
“Among his many accomplishments, Chris has been a pioneer and innovator in the field of field safety as the world has become more dangerous to journalists,” said Cramer’s successor at CNN International Tony Maddox, who continued and expanded what he had begun. Cramer.
“He has led the development of guidelines and practices now widely adopted throughout the industry.”
I will always remember – and be grateful for – Cramer’s empathy for those who had seen and experienced terrible things. He knew from experience what it was like. I was in Iraq 17 times during the war and covered the conflicts – from Afghanistan to Libya, Gaza and the West Bank – and I always felt that Chris had our backs with the best possible security and support, both tangible and emotional.
Before joining CNN in April 1996, Cramer spent 25 years at the BBC. He was head of news collection and served on the BBC’s news and board of directors and was highly regarded by those he worked with.
He was also president and founding member of the International News Safety Institute (INSI) – a global organization dedicated to the safety of journalists.
As the news of Cramer’s death spread, those who worked with him began to recount their memories of the man and his impact on their careers.
Octavia Nasr was CNN’s editor-in-chief for Middle East business, a position created by Cramer after the 9/11 attacks. “Chris was an amazing boss,” she recalled.
“I will never forget the lessons I learned from him in being direct and fighting for his own rights – he supported women in leadership and leadership positions and helped us succeed. I owe him gratitude and respect and I will miss ethics and a sense of humor. “
Chris could be many things – sometimes on the same day or in the same meeting. Tough, blunt and uncompromising, but also charming and badly funny. And, above all, he cared deeply about journalists and good journalism.
He was definitely unique and will miss you very much.