Steven Sotloff, the second journalist who apparently has been murdered by Islamic State militants in Syria, was remembered Tuesday by teachers, friends and colleagues as an enthusiastic journalist who relished challenges and dedicated his career to reporting on the lives of people in conflict zones.
Sotloff, a freelance journalist based in Libya, wrote for Time magazine, The Christian Science Monitor, The Diplomat and other publications.
Time Editor Nancy Gibbs called Sotloff “a valued contributor to Time and other news organizations.”
“He gave his life so readers would have access to information from some of the most dangerous places in the world,” Gibbs said in a written statement.
Sotloff disappeared 13 months ago on Aug. 4, 2013, after crossing from Turkey into Syria. A Miami native, he last tweeted on the day before he disappeared about whether Miami Heat center Greg Oden would have any impact on the team’s success this season.
For years while he reported from the Middle East, Sotloff kept in frequent contact with teachers from his high school, Kimball Union Academy, a boarding school in New Hampshire.
Sotloff, the school said in a statement, “was dedicated to putting a human face on the sufferings and hardships in some of the world’s most challenging conflict zones. His work became a humanitarian mission that helped others gain a more accurate and realistic global perspective on issues in the Middle East.”
Teachers say Sotloff showed a keen interest in journalism soon after arriving at the school as a sophomore in 2000. The school credits him with revitalizing the student newspaper. He received the school’s journalism award when he graduated in 2002. He also was a student council representative and an admissions tour guide, and he played varsity football and rugby.
Head of school Mike Schafer received emails from Sotloff while he was in Libya in spring 2011.
He told Schafer he was often under fire, in hiding or on the move, the school said.
“It was important to him that Kimball Union students were exposed to world issues like the Arab Spring,” the school statement said.
Sotloff returned to the campus in April 2012 for the school’s biennial Global Fair, where he talked about the 2011 Arab Spring and the roles that culture and religion played in the uprisings, the school said.
Schafer said, “His courageous actions have and will always inspire our students and our community.”
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