It was a passion that grew out of his own experience as a hostage during the siege of the Iranian embassy in London in 1980. Cramer had been in the embassy to obtain a visa when gunmen stormed in against Ayatollah Khomeini. After 24 hours as a hostage, he told the gunmen he was unwell, and was released to provide crucial information to authorities about the layout of the embassy, the number of gunmen and hostages.
It was an experience that he later realized had traumatized him in ways he didn’t understand at the time, and as his career as a news boss took off, he remembered the fallout long before PTSD became a household name for soldiers. and others.
In January 2004, I was in a CNN two-car convoy ambushed by insurgents just south of Baghdad. One of our two drivers and my translator was killed, and my photographer sitting next to me survived being shot in the head. We all nearly died that day.
It was Cramer, the then Executive Vice President and Managing Director of CNN International, who knew exactly what those of us who survived went through and acted accordingly.
He had by then set up a system within the company where staff could access professional help if needed after a traumatic incident, but, crucially, on that day he understood on a personal level that we would be together as a team in Iraq for another week. had to stay to process the experience and attend funerals instead of leaving immediately for our respective scattered homes.
“Among his many accomplishments, Chris was a pioneer and innovator in safety in the field as the world became more dangerous for journalists,” said Tony Maddox, Cramer’s successor at CNN International, who continued and expanded what Cramer had started.
“He led the development of guidelines and practices that are now widely adopted in the industry.”
For example, I will always remember Cramer’s empathy – and be grateful to those who have seen and experienced terrible things. He knew what it was like from experience. I have been to Iraq 17 times during the war and have also reported on conflicts – from Afghanistan to Libya to Gaza and the West Bank – and I always felt that Chris had our back with the best possible security and support, both tangible as emotional.
Before joining CNN in April 1996, Cramer worked at the BBC for 25 years. He was Head of Newsgathering and on the BBC News and Current Affairs Management Board, and was highly regarded by those with whom he worked.
He was also president and founder of the International News Safety Institute (INSI), a global organization dedicated to the safety of journalists.
As news of Cramer’s passing spread, those who worked with him began sharing their memories of the man and his impact on their careers.
Octavia Nasr was CNN’s Senior Editor of Middle East Affairs, a position Cramer created after the September 11 attacks. “Chris was a great boss,” she recalled.
“I will never forget the lessons I learned from him by being direct and fighting for someone’s rights – he supported women in senior and leadership roles and helped us succeed. I owe him gratitude and respect and I will be journalistic ethics and a sense of humor. “
Chris can be anything – sometimes on the same day or within the same meeting. Tough, blunt and uncompromising, but also charming and very funny. And above all, he cared a lot about journalists and good journalism.
He was certainly one of a kind and he will be sorely missed.