Four NYT Journalists Missing in Libya

Four New York Times staffers are missing in Libya, the newspaper says. They were in the Ajdabiya as it was overrun by government forces yesterday, and the paper has gotten unsubstantiated reports they were taken by government forces. “We have talked with officials of the Libyan government in Tripoli, and they tell us they are attempting to ascertain the whereabouts of our journalists," says top editor Bill Keller.

The missing journalists include Anthony Shadid, the Beirut bureau chief who is a two-time Pulitzer winner, and Stephen Farrell, who was kidnapped in Afghanistan by the Taliban and later rescued. Photographers Tyler Hicks and Lynsey Addario also are missing. “Their families and their colleagues at the Times are anxiously seeking information about their situation, and praying that they are safe," Keller said. Earlier this month, four BBC journalists said they were detained and beaten by pro-Gadhafi forces. (More Moammar Gadhafi stories.)