In my previous life as a print reporter I largely worked overseas, covering drug trafficking, political violence, peace efforts and economic ingenuity, sometimes in hostile environments. In 2003, I was kidnapped with photographer Scott Dalton by Colombian guerrilla fighters. We were released 11 days later.

LOS ANGELES TIMES: A Captive of Rebels — and Fear — Deep in Colombia

“Another fighter, a shy, sturdy man, didn’t talk to us at all. At one point, I sat down next to Scott, put my forehead on his knee and sobbed as quietly as I could. Once I’d dried my eyes, the quiet combatant approached me and pressed three coconut candies into my hand.”

“Chavez doesn't really speak English, but he does have a strong command of baseball terminology, which he injected into his comments that day, as he often does during marathon speeches. And now it was the bottom of the ninth, and half the country expected Chavez to strike out.”

FRONTLINE: Hugo Chavez, Clutch Hitter

LOS ANGELES TIMES: In West Bank, a Risky Quest for Peace

“I’m hoping if I’m standing in front of Palestinians, you won’t shoot.”

SUN-SENTINEL: Split Decision - Deportation Re-Shuffles a Family

“Speaking to her mother in Haiti by phone, the child asked, ‘Are you really alive, or are you dead?’"

— Sun-Sentinel People’s Choice Award

“The writer's 9,000 books are arranged in no particular order, the way he liked them. A Cole Porter disc sits on the record player. Hunting magazines lay about. In the bathroom, visitors can see meticulously kept records of Hemingway's weight and blood pressure, which he etched on the wall.”

WASHINGTON POST: In Cuba, Preservationists Fight to Restore Hemingway’s Villa

LOS ANGELES TIMES: Fringe Candidates Steal Spotlight in Colombia

“One presidential contender, a bullfighter, said voters should support him because, well, ‘not just anyone puts himself in front of a bull.’ Asked to describe his political orientation, another replied, ‘I’m human.’”