BSL: I guess I am a bit sexist, then.
It may be old-fashioned, but I don't like the idea of women being in the middle of a war zone or lawless environment.
All you wimmins are certainly legally allowed to go out to dangerous places and interact with dangerous people.
However, your feelings above in no way contradict the reality I spoke, here:
Dude.
War and lawlessness is THE ABSENSE OF LAW.
These wonderful social conventions we have (drive on the correct side of the road, wait for stoplights, pay for things, don't rape random women) are a paper-thin veneer that isn't much of a shield against savagery.
When the savagery is out... the veneer is gone.
When countries are trying to throw off their government for whatever reason, you must take into account that opportunistic animals will be present and active.
Assuming that the flimsy social conventions we have in the West will still protect you as a woman in the midst of a revolution in a foreign culture, is the height of hubris and ugly-Americanism that foreign nationals love to point out about us so often.
I ain't saying it's right... I'm simply saying that it IS.
"Is" and "should" are two very different things.
The reason the female journalist should have even more heightened cautiousness than a male journalist, is because she is female. Like it or not, she is a target for rape or abduction or sexual slavery because:
-She is female
-She is attractive (she's a TV personality so she has to be attractive)
-She is easily absconded with in a lawless environment and made to disappear
-She has less physical strength to resist attackers than a man
-She has higher resale value on the black market than a man
-She is an American liberal journalist abroad, so she is unarmed and unlikely to put up much of a fight
All of your feelings you cite, in no way refute the above realities.
Perhaps you're one of the women that fully understand those realities. Perhaps this reporter is one of the women that fully understands those realities.
And perhaps she has a different perspective now. Or perhaps not. I don't know.