Background
He was an Eagle Scout and grew up dreaming of becoming an international correspondent for National Public Radio.
He was an Eagle Scout and grew up dreaming of becoming an international correspondent for National Public Radio.
Tice attended the University of Houston for one year, and graduated from the Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service in 2002. He attended Georgetown University Law Center for a period of time, but dropped out to pursue journalism.
His whereabouts remain unknown. Tice is from Houston, Texas, the eldest of seven siblings. Tice was previously a United States. Marine Corps infantry officer
Tice"s father said, “He was hearing reports from Syria saying this is happening and that is happening but it can"t be confirmed because there really are no reporters on the ground.
And he said, ‘You know, this is a story that the world needs to know about.’” He was one of only a few foreign journalists to report from inside Syria during intensification of the civil war. He entered the country in May 2012 and traveled through central Syria, filing battlefield dispatches before arriving in Damascus in late July 2012.
Tice’s reporting garnered his Twitter account 2,000 followers. He stopped tweeting after August 11, 2012.
Tice was one of the first American correspondents to witness Syrian-rebel confrontations.
His coverage was cited (along with efforts of additional reporters) as contributing to McClatchy winning a George Polk Award for war reporting for its coverage of Syria’s civil war. Tice was working as a freelance journalist for McClatchy, The Washington Post, Columbia Broadcasting System and other media when he was abducted from Darayya, Syria. Since then, there has been no contact from Tice or his captors.
A 47-second video of Tice blindfolded and bound was released in September 2012.
In October 2012, a United States. spokesperson said it believed, based on the limited information it had, that Tice was in the custody of the Syrian government. Number government or group in Syria has said it is holding Tice.
In February 2015, Reporters Without Borders launched its pro bono #freeaustintice campaign. Since September 2012, RSF has been assisting and advising his family.
RSF partnered with the global advertising agency J.Walter Thompson to prepare a public awareness campaign in order to do everything possible to bring Austin Tice safely home.
The campaign has since garnered 7,056 signatories and a widespread blindfold pledge on social media.