Country and Region-Specific Safety Issues

Safety of Journalists in the Run-Up to the 2023 Elections in Zimbabwe

Nkosini Aubrey Khupe, Mphathisi Ndlovu

In: Patterns of Harassment in African Journalism

Lungile Augustine Tshuma; Trust Matsilele; Mbongeni Jonny Msimanga; Sadia Jamil (eds.)

London; New York: Routledge (2024), pp. 223-238

"In March 2023, a Zimbabwean government official caused a storm after threatening journalists with arrests for reporting on an Al Jazeera documentary that exposed alleged money laundering, gold smuggling and other criminal activities in the country. Journalists and media groups interpreted these utt ... more

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Psychological Aid and Training for Journalists Who Face Continued Emotionally Demanding Environments: The Case of Venezuelan Journalists

María T. Soto-Sanfiel, Virpi Salojärvi

In: Handbook of Applied Journalism: Theory and Practice

Leon Barkho; Jairo Alfonso Lugo-Ocando; Sadia Jamil (eds.)

Cham: Springer (2024), pp. 301-315

"Journalism, particularly in conflict reporting, poses significant emotional challenges, with journalists often grappling with post-traumatic stress disorder and other traumas. This research delves into the emotional dimensions of journalistic practice, examining journalists’ perspectives on menta ... more

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Emergent Forms and Patterns of Online Harassment of Women Journalists in African countries

Blessing Makwambeni, Patricia Rudo Makwambeni

In: Patterns of Harassment in African Journalism

Lungile Augustine Tshuma; Trust Matsilele; Mbongeni Jonny Msimanga; Sadia Jamil (eds.)

London; New York: Routledge (2024), pp. 49-66

"The internet and digital platforms have contributed to the democratisation of the public sphere. A number of studies have shown how the internet and new digital platforms have brought subaltern voices into the mainstream. However, recent studies show that on the flip side, the cybersphere also prom ... more

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Media Freedom and Safety of Journalists in South Asian Countries: An Overview

Arulchelvan Sriram, Amit Verma

In: Handbook of Digital Journalism: Perspectives from South Asia

Surbhi Dahiya; Kulveen Trehan (eds.)

Cham: Springer (2024), pp. 565-575

"In the digital world, every profession has seen a massive transformation in terms of working mechanisms, approaches to the problem, dealing with prospects, moving forward to conceptualising the solution and so on. Likewise, the media field has also seen a massive transformation. The working pattern ... and the types of problems employees face also become a significant threat to many media professionals, especially journalists. The threat to journalists is a significant hindrance today to the younger generation, and journalism has become one of the dangerous professions, citing the transformation and risks involved. In many countries, especially in South Asia, journalists face surveillance, legislation, threats, violence, conflicts, workplace harassment, intimidation, impersonation, forced detention, kidnapping and killing, which affect their work patterns and result in a lack of free speech and press freedom. Many countries have faced allegations dealing with journalist threats in the last 25 years. Especially women journalists today face various consequences inside and outside the organisation when they are physically and emotionally at work. The war and conflict zone reporting also burdens the journalists, who must undergo safety and security training to mitigate the risks. Digital surveillance, safety and security concerns for journalists are increasing internally and externally. Hence, many organisations are training their journalists to secure them from risks by assessing complications and processes involved in their duty. The high increase in insecurities and threats has become a potential area to study. This study will assess journalist’s risks and threats in South Asian countries. The level of media freedom, the measures taken by the media organisations/government to manage risk, journalist’s current situation, work culture, protection level in different countries, and different types of risks (physical, psychological, financial, digital, gender-specific, public and legal) evaluated through secondary data. It will help us to understand and evaluate the current situation by comparing different countries in South Asia. The information presented in this research will be helpful for policymaking to secure the journalists from threats." (Abstract) more

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Switzerland: Mounting Pressure on Journalism in a Small Media System

Col Porlezza

In: Media Compass: A Companion to International Media Landscapes

Aljosha Karim Schapals; Christian Pentzold (eds.)

Hoboken, NJ: Wiley (2024), pp. 150-160

"The press in Switzerland is mainly characterized by external pluralism, with more or less clearly aligned political positions in the case of some news outlets. In line with Hallin and Mancini's model, the public service media plays a significant role in Switzerland. Besides the public service media ... more

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Journalism in Transitional Context: Societal Hostility, Self-Censorship and the Expansion of “One Voice Journalism"

Dalia Elsheikh, Daniel Jackson, Nael Jebril

Journalism Practice (2024), [no pag.]

"The transformations in the media and political landscapes in Egypt over the last decade and their implications on media pluralism and freedom of expression are well documented. However, less is known about how Egyptian journalists themselves experience these changes; how their relationships with au ... more

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Gendered Threats and Attacks in and outside the Newsroom: Nigerian Female Journalists' Experiences with Harassment

Moyosore Omowonuola Alade

In: Patterns of Harassment in African Journalism

Lungile Augustine Tshuma; Trust Matsilele; Mbongeni Jonny Msimanga; Sadia Jamil (eds.)

London; New York: Routledge (2024), pp. 67-87

"This chapter explores Nigerian female journalists’ lived experiences with harassment in and outside the newsroom. Using a qualitative approach, 12 in-depth interviews were conducted with female journalists in broadcast media houses in Nigeria, and themes that emerged from the data obtained via in ... more

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Outsourcing Repression: Impunity and Harassment of Journalists in Malawi

Jimmy Kainja

In: Patterns of Harassment in African Journalism

Lungile Augustine Tshuma; Trust Matsilele; Mbongeni Jonny Msimanga; Sadia Jamil (eds.)

London; New York: Routledge (2024), pp. 186-200

"The media sector expanded after the multiparty system’s reintroduction in the 1990s in Malawi. The growth has been enabled by a legal environment in which the Constitution guarantees freedom of expression and the press. The Constitution is the supreme law of the land, meaning that all the laws th ... more

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Coping into Self-Censorship: Exploring Coping Strategies of Journalists Working in South Sudan

John Gai Alier, Samuel Kazibwe, Fred Kakooza

In: Patterns of Harassment in African Journalism

Lungile Augustine Tshuma; Trust Matsilele; Mbongeni Jonny Msimanga; Sadia Jamil (eds.)

London; New York: Routledge (2024), pp. 203-222

"Local journalists in South Sudan have faced enormous threats from security groups, politicians and powerful individuals in the country. These threats have made the work of the press difficult. Despite the precarious security situation, some journalists have had the courage to continue working in So ... more

“There Were No Repercussions, Nothing, Life Continued”: Experiences of Harassment by Female Journalists

Shepherd Mpofu, Trust Matsilele, Trevor Hlungwani

In: Patterns of Harassment in African Journalism

Lungile Augustine Tshuma; Trust Matsilele; Mbongeni Jonny Msimanga; Sadia Jamil (eds.)

London; New York: Routledge (2024), pp. 15-27

"The chapter explores the challenges associated with harassment for entry-level to mid-career journalists across South Africa’s hybrid media platforms. The study employed a qualitative methodology consisting of semi-structured interviews with 12 entry-level and mid-career journalists with industry ... more

Independent Online Journalists' Harassment and the Emotional Repercussions

Nyasha Cefas Zimuto, Tinashe Murape

In: Patterns of Harassment in African Journalism

Lungile Augustine Tshuma; Trust Matsilele; Mbongeni Jonny Msimanga; Sadia Jamil (eds.)

London; New York: Routledge (2024), pp. 109-123

"Communication the world over is a vital cog in communities. The sender and the receiver play different and complementary roles in information dissemination. Be that as it may, many contemporary information senders are faced with different forms of harassment. The advent of social media has seen a r ... more

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Challenges to journalism safety education in Pakistan: Proposing a new theoretical model

Rabia Noor

Media Practice and Education, volume 25, issue 3 (2024), pp. 286-301

"This article explores the challenges faced by the media education and curricula development in Pakistan, and how the safety of journalists is apportioned in the courses and curriculum of mass communication in different universities. The study uses a mixed method research, including quantitative app ... more

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Negotiating between gender, national and professional identities: The work-experience of Israeli-Palestinian women journalists

Einat Lachover

Ethnicities, volume 24, issue 1 (2024), pp. 123-141

"This paper analyzes the work experience of Israeli-Palestinian women journalists who reside and work in Israel for local news organizations or non-Israeli news agencies. It focuses on their experiences related to the intersected axes of their gender, ethnic, and national identities. Through themati ... more

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Networked misogyny beyond the digital: The violent devaluation of women journalists’ labor and bodies in Turkey’s masculine authoritarian regime

Ergin Bulut, Basak Can

Feminist Media Studies, volume 24, issue 4 (2024), pp. 675-694

"Following the conservative Turkish government’s political-economic capture of the news media, educated and pro-feminist women journalists have migrated online. Despite having more publicity across platforms, they face immediate prosecution based on the tweet of an anonymous troll, an informant ci ... more

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Taking to the streets: The effects of in-the-field harassment against journalists covering protests

Kaitlin C. Miller, Samantha Kocan

Journalism, volume 25, issue 2 (2024), pp. 275-294

"Since 2017, 518 journalists have been attacked while covering protests (U.S. Press Freedom Tracker, 2021) which is one of the most dangerous places to be as a journalist in the United States (Sterne & Peters, 2017). Despite the volatile climate around journalists as they cover increasingly dangerou ... more

Effectiveness of art therapy in reducing post-traumatic stress disorder symptoms and the propensity to quit journalism among journalists covering banditry activities in Nigeria

Felix Olajide Talabi, Joshua Kayode Okunade, Joseph Moyinoluwa Talabi, Ishola Kamorudeen Lamidi, Samson Adedapo Bello, Blessing Chinweobo-Onoha, Gever Verlumun Celestine

Media, War & Conflict, volume 17, issue 4 (2024), pp. 445-462

"The goal of this study was to examine the efficacy of art therapy in the treatment of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and the propensity to quit journalism among Nigerian journalists covering banditry attacks. The researchers utilized a quasi-experiment as the design for the study and sampled ... more

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Coping with Hate: Exploring Indian Journalists’ Responses to Online Harassment

Prashanth Bhat

Journalism Practice, volume 18, issue 2 (2024), pp. 337-355

"In India, the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) employs a digital army of right-wing supporters to harass journalists who are critical of the party's Hindu-nationalist ideology. As a result, the country's press freedom rankings have significantly declined over the past decade. While scholars have ... more

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Sexual Harassment in the Nigerian Media Environment

Juliana Taiwo-Obalonye

In: Sexual Harassment and the Law in Africa

Furaha-Joy Sekai Saungweme; Carol Chi Ngang; Graham Towl (eds.)

London; New York: Routledge (2024), 19 pp.

"The media industry of Nigeria has been significantly impacted by sexual harassment and it has had a very negative effect on women media workers. One major issue which I will articulate in my chapter is the absence of an overarching media policy framework addressing sexual harassment with clear pena ... more

Online Harassment, Psychological Stressors, and Occupational Dysfunction among Journalists Working in a Conflict Zone

Sayyed Fawad Ali Shah, Ivana Cvetkovic, Tamar Ginossar, Rahman Ullah, Danish Baber, Autumn Slaughter

Digital Journalism, volume 12, issue 6 (2024), pp. 735-752

"Amid increasing threats and assaults against journalists across the globe, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) province in northwest Pakistan remains one of the most dangerous places in the world for journalists. Whereas online harassment is increasingly affecting journalists, experiences of online harassment ... more

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