UC Observer and Readers Digest collaborate on major feature about rescue of "White Helmets"

Reader's Digest Canada and the United Church Observer have collaborated on a major piece about the daring July 2018 rescue of the "White Helmets", the volunteer first response workers in Syria.

"Veteran journalist Sally Armstrong and photographer Peter Bregg have been producing powerful stories for The Observer since 2017, so when Armstrong pitched the White Helmets idea, I was immediately intrigued—and also realized its potential as a co-produced feature with Reader’s Digest,” says Jocelyn Bell, editor and publisher of The Observer. “Together, Armstrong’s writing and Bregg’s images create an incredibly compelling story, one that makes me proud to be a publisher—and a Canadian."

In August 2018, Armstrong and Bregg travelled to Jordan and Israel to learn about the people and planning behind the secret Canadian-led international operation that saved 422 lives and was, among other things, an inspiring testament to the value of working together.

The special report—which runs at 3,200 words in the January/February 2019 issue of Reader’s Digest and at 5,000 words in The Observer’s January 2019 issue—is available on newsstands and at rd.ca and ucobserver.org.

[Disclosure: I am a board member of the Observer.]