Safety of Journalists CFOM Sheffield

The Centre for Freedom of the Media (CFOM) at the University of Sheffield (UK) is an interdisciplinary research centre with global outreach on issues of media freedom, journalism safety, editorial standards and impunity. During the 2022 Academic Consultation on the UN Plan of Action on the Safety of Journalists and the Issue of Impunity, CFOM conducted a literature stocktake to scope out academic literature published in the area of media freedom, journalism safety and impunity. CFOM collated this information and produced a literature database organised by themes or countries for accessibility. The collection is especially strong on country- and region-specific safety issues and on surveys of emotional wellbeing of journalists.

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Canaries in a coal-mine? What the killings of journalists tell us about future repression

Anita R. Gohdes, Sabine C. Carey

Journal of Peace Research, volume 54, issue 2 (2017), pp. 157-174

"[...] To test the argument whether the killing of journalists is a precursor to increasing repression, we introduce a new global dataset on killings of journalists between 2002 and 2013 that uses three different sources that track such events across the world. The new data show that mostly local jo ... more

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What’s Wrong with War Journalism? Why and how legal aspects of conflicts need better reporting

Stig A. Nohrstedt, Rune Ottosen

In: The Assault on Journalism. Building Knowledge to Protect Freedom of Expression

Ulla Carlsson, Reeta Pöyhtäri (eds.)

Göteborg: Nordicom (2017), pp. 241-254

"This chapter deals with whether war journalism in mainstream media is fit to take a fourth estate role in reporting the new wars, from the end of the Cold War in 1989 to the present war against the so-called Islamic State. In particular, it is a critical study of shortcomings when it comes to provi ... more

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Journalists and Political Sources in Nigeria: Between Information Subsidies and Political Pressures

Rodney Ciboh

International Journal of Press/Politics, volume 22, issue 2 (2017), pp. 185-201

"The relationship between journalists and political sources has been characterized by a tug of war between reporters and officials where top politicians have the upper hand in the coproduction of news through their ability to provide critical information subsidies that most news media rely on. The d ... more

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Model Course on Safety of Journalists: A Guide for Journalism Teachers in the Arab States

Michael Foley, Clare Arthurs, Magda Abu-Fadil

Paris: UNESCO (2017), 172 pp.

"Safety of Journalists: A Model Course for the Arab States is a significant instalment in our UNESCO Series on Journalism Education. Developed in partnership with the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ), the publication responds to the difficult situation of many journalists working in the ... more

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Violence against journalists: Suppressing media freedom

Mona Badran

In: Digital Transformation in Journalism and News Media

Mike Friedrichsen, Yahya Kamalipour (eds.)

Cham: Springer (2017), pp. 417-427

"Freedom of expression is a basic human right that is crucial for respectable governance, human dignity and the application of the rule of law. However, due to the circumstances we are currently facing that include the increase in the rate of violence and crimes, it is seriously essential to provide ... more

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Freedom of expression and threats to journalists’ safety: An analysis of conflict reporting in journalism education in Pakistan

Sadia Jamil

Journalism Education, volume 6, issue 2 (2017), pp. 7-16

"This article has addressed the level of journalists’ safety in Pakistan, revealing the diverse threats to journalists’ safety and their right to freedom of expression in the country. Freedom of expression is an individual right, for which no one should be attacked or killed. However, in this st ... udy, journalists’ feedback reveals that not only their lives but their right to freedom of expression is at risk because of the prevailing unsafe environment in Pakistan. The study suggests journalism is a dangerous profession in Pakistan because of physical, psychological, financial, social, emotional and topic-specific risks, which constrain journalists’ right to freedom of expression and affect them most while doing their routine jobs. Despite the unsafe environment and constant threats, this study indicates that only 18% of surveyed journalists have received safety training to protect themselves in conflict and non-conflict situations. The following questions need to be addressed when analysing issues around journalists’ safety training in Pakistan, namely: who are the trainers? Are trainers themselves trained for journalists’ safety training, bearing in mind the local safety circumstances? What is the role of local and international NGO’s in promoting journalists’ safety education either at university or media organisational level? Further research on these aspects is crucial for the better training of journalists. This study reveals that the education of conflict reporting and peace journalism is not the major part of journalism curricula in Pakistan’s public and private sector universities. The curriculum in most of the universities do not reflect distinctively the local aspects of journalism teaching and approaches, which is important for enabling journalists to understand the context within which they perform their work. As highlighted by Abit and Kenneth in their article, the case of Kosovo is quite similar to Pakistan – where journalism education lacks local teaching approches. Therefore, in this article, I emphasize certain initiatives such as: the inclusion of journalists’ safety and peace journalism modules in curriculum; collaboration with international universities for innovative pedagogical models; regular curriculum revision and local-context teaching and research within this field. Others have underlined the need for a few more significant inititatives that I think are crucial as far as journalists’ safety education is concerned, such as: enhancing journalists’ awareness of their rights and physical and psychological safety; protection of their equipment, and legal protection while covering war or conflict." (Conclusion) more

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Indonesian double standards over press freedom endanger safety of Papuan journalists

David Robie

Media Asia, volume 44, issue 1 (2017), pp. 40-47

"The World Press Freedom Day celebration in Jakarta was a milestone for Indonesia’s democratic progress, but it was also remarkable for the silence around gross violations in the country’s Papuan provinces, writes David Robie." (Abstract)

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The United Nations’ Role in Promoting the Safety of Journalists from 1945 to 2016

Silvia Chocarro Marcesse

In: The Assault on Journalism. Building Knowledge to Protect Freedom of Expression

Ulla Carlsson, Reeta Pöyhtäri (eds.)

Göteborg: Nordicom (2017), pp. 45-60

"The United Nations (UN) has played an increasing role in promoting the safety of journalists. Yet little has been done to study its work from a historical perspective. This paper explores global attempts to promote journalist safety carried out by the UN system, from its inception in 1945 until 201 ... more

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Learning safety education from journalism educations in the global south

Roy Krøvel

Journalism Education, volume 6, issue 2 (2017), pp. 65-75

"The article recaps the main findings of the investigations presented in this special issue and seeks to answer the question “What can Northern journalism educators do to improve safety during fieldwork in the Global South?” The article builds mainly on qualitative interviews with former journal ... more

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Philippine and global research on news media safety: Crossing disciplines, bridging gaps

Ramon R. Tuazon, Paz H. Diaz, Therese Patricia C. San Diego

Media Asia, volume 44, issue 1 (2017), pp. 8-16

"This chapter therefore proposes steps toward closing the gaps in the research on the safety of journalists and media workers in the Philippines and across the globe. While there is no absence of research on the subject, there is a preponderance of anecdotal research and a lack of empirical studies. ... more

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Unwarranted Interference, Fear and Self-censorship among Journalists in Council of Europe Member States

Marilyn Clark, Anna Grech

In: The Assault on Journalism. Building Knowledge to Protect Freedom of Expression

Ulla Carlsson, Reeta Pöyhtäri (eds.)

Göteborg: Nordicom (2017), pp. 221-226

"Journalists may be exposed to a number of risk factors for unwarranted interference. This is often compounded by a culture of impunity. The extent of unwarranted interference, the experience of fear associated with such interference, and the consequent possibility of self-censorship among journalis ... more

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Journalist Killings and the Responsibility to Report

Simon Cottle

In: The Assault on Journalism. Building Knowledge to Protect Freedom of Expression

Ulla Carlsson, Reeta Pöyhtäri (eds.)

Göteborg: Nordicom (2017), pp. 21-32

"More journalists are being killed and threatened around the world than at any time before. How do we account for these disturbing trends and why do journalists increasingly put themselves in harm’s way? This chapter argues that if we are to better understand the motivations of journalists and the ... more

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A Study on Indian Journalists and their Stressful Working Conditions

Trishu Sharma

International Journal of Research in Informative Science Application & Techniques, volume 1, issue 1 (2017), pp. 35-39

"Journalism is considered as fourth pillar of any democratic society and it is only a Journalist who can take many challenges to bring truth in front of society. But sometimes journalist has to face difficult and stressful conditions while working in field where they have serious threat for their li ... more

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The Psychological Wellbeing of Iranian Journalists

Anthony Feinstein, Bennis Pavisian

In: The Assault on Journalism. Building Knowledge to Protect Freedom of Expression

Ulla Carlsson, Reeta Pöyhtäri (eds.)

Göteborg: Nordicom (2017), pp. 185-190

"Objectives: To determine the emotional wellbeing of journalists who work in Iran. Methods: A website was established and journalists in newsrooms in Iran and the Diaspora were given information to access the site. Responses were received from 114 journalists (76 per per cent cent). The mean age was ... more

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Trauma counseling for journalists: A profession in denial

Gowri Ananthan

Media Asia, volume 44, issue 1 (2017), pp. 17-20

"Research suggests between 80 and 90% of journalists have been exposed to a work-related traumatic events such as murder, mass casualties, war and natural disasters. Most journalists exhibit resilience despite repeated exposure to such traumatic events. However, a significant minority are at risk fo ... more

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UNESCO’s Research Agenda on the Safety of Journalists: Call for new academic research initiatives

Reeta Pöyhtäri

In: The Assault on Journalism. Building Knowledge to Protect Freedom of Expression

Ulla Carlsson, Reeta Pöyhtäri (eds.)

Göteborg: Nordicom (2017), pp. 103-108

"Within this global context, UNESCO is the UN agency with the mandate to advance “the mutual knowledge and understanding of peoples, through all means of mass communication” and to promote “the free flow of ideas by word and image”. UNESCO has defined press freedom as designating the conditi ... more

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Fearing the Majority: Catholic Media in Muslim Indonesia

Wijayanto

Media Asia, volume 44, issue 1 (2017), pp. 33-39

"It was 16 June 2016, during the fasting month of Ramadhan. Inside the Kompas newsroom, tens of uninvited guests, mostly wearing white, were visiting the office of the media group. They were members of Islamic Defenders Front (FPI), a hardline Islamic group well known for its sporadic sweeping of In ... donesia, mostly in the name of defending Syaria law. Two days before, a letter had been sent to Kompas newsroom from the FPI, saying they wanted to seek clarification about some of the paper’s coverage. That night, one of the journalists said to me with a bitter smile, “This is a special exception where a guest determined the date and time of the visit without waiting for approval.” As planned, around 1 pm on June 16, those special guests were seated in one of the newspaper’s conference rooms, welcomed by chief editor of Kompas daily newspaper, Budiman Tanuredjo, as well as some other chiefs of the media group from Kompas.TV and Kompas.com. In a video that went viral on YouTube, people could see that the discussion was rather one-sided. The FPI members spoke while the journalist were mostly listening to them. Munarman, the FPI’s spokesperson, accused the media group of unfairly covering recent events. He highlighted the news about the latest swoop in Serang Regency, which caught a middle-aged woman, Saeni, selling food during the day during the fasting month. It was carried out by Satpol PP, the municipal police of the local government specifically functions as public order enforcers. Munarman believed that the raid was virtuous, to enforce Syaria law. He said Kompas had reported the news in a way that portrayed Saeni as a victim and the Satpol PP as the aggressor. Thus, in the view of FPI, Kompas had hurt the feeling of Muslim people. They demanded the coverage to be stopped. They also warned the news organization to never again do such reportage. The FPI members did not stop there. Munarman and other FPI members also incited violence. In an aggressive tone, Munarman warned that such coverage could provoke a repeat of the incidents of 1998. This was a reference to the mass riots in the days before the forced resignation of President Suharto on 21 May 1998. The riot involved ethnic violence against the Chinese minority. Thousands of stores owned by Chinese Indonesians were destroyed, robbed and burnt. Furthermore, tens of Chinese women were sexually abused. There is still ongoing debate about the underlying reasons why the Chinese were targeted, but one theory suggests that it was part of a regime strategy to channel public anger away from President Suharto. Interestingly, despite believing that Kompas was not wrong in a journalistic sense, their journalists responded to the accusations with submission. Responding with smile and a lower tone, Budiman Tanuredjo said, “If we were seen as already crossing the boundaries (kebablasan), please kindly let us know” (Budiman Tanuredjo, 23 June 2016). In the same vein, the journalists from Kompas TV responded that “we were advised that we might have crossed the boundaries in our way, our news routine, we really make it as a lesson”. The other senior journalists who acted as a spokesperson of the media said, “Thank you for your reminder.” Instead of arguing that they were acting according to their journalistic judgment, they decided to admit that they were wrong and apologise to the hardliners. The submissiveness of Kompas becomes more interesting when viewed against the fact that it was not the only media to report the incident. There were at least 10 other online media that reported the raid on Saeni. Those media were Republika, SindoNews, DW, BBC, BeritaSatu, Detik, Tempo, The Jakarta Post, Media Indonesia and Viva. Republika – an Islamic newspaper – was one of the most critical of the raid, explicitly describing Saeni as a victim. On 13 June 2016, they wrote that the spokesperson of the President said that the President had given support to Saeni, “who had been the victim of Satpol PP”. The article’s title was, “Jokowi Gave Charity to a Mother Who Sold Food.” The use of the word “victim” implied that there was a perpetrator, which was the Satpol PP. Yet, FPI did not attack Republika or any other media. Only Kompas became their target. This article argues that the allegations against Kompas and its response were a result of historical factors. Kompas has been repeatedly attacked by Islamic groups due to its Catholic roots. This tendency is exacerbated by the fact that existing blasphemy law provides immense space to prosecute anyone deemed to be offending the feelings of religious believers. Kompas journalists end up internalizing a belief that being minority Catholic is an “original sin” in a majority Muslim country." (pp.33-34) more

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Journalists as Victims and Perpetrators of Violence

Matt Carlson

In: News of Baltimore: Race, Rage and the City

Linda Steiner, Silvio Waisbord (eds.)

London; New York: Routledge (2017), 17 pp.

"This chapter explores the complicated ways in which journalists became subjects within the stories of Ferguson and Baltimore through a particular focus on the discursive identification of journalists as either victims or perpetrators of violence. It focuses on two evaluative frameworks: journalists ... more

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Monitor, harass and discredit with Chinese characteristics: Foreign correspondents’ working condition in China

Yuan Zeng

Media Asia, volume 44, issue 1 (2017), pp. 48-54

"Yuan Zeng analyses the mixed uncodified strategies that Chinese authorities use to obstruct the work of foreign journalists." (Abstract)

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How Unsafe Contexts and Overlapping Risks Influence Journalism Practice: Evidence from a survey of Mexican journalists

Sallie Hughes, Mireya Marquez-Ramirez

In: The Assault on Journalism. Building Knowledge to Protect Freedom of Expression

Ulla Carlsson, Reeta Pöyhtäri (eds.)

Göteborg: Nordicom (2017), pp. 303-318

"Journalists in many countries work in contexts of continuous risk, but few empirical studies identify how these conditions influence practice or measure the relative influence of different kinds of risk. This study asks a national sample of Mexican journalists to report use of several measures to a ... more