"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
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erances as a violation of free expression and veiled attacks on the media. This study uses this incident of a threat to silence and discipline newsmakers as an entry point to examine the state of the safety of journalists in the Zimbabwean context. It probes the nature and form of harassment and threats against journalists ahead of the country’s national elections in 2023. Journalists across the globe are increasingly faced with safety risks as they are vulnerable to harassment in both online and offline spaces. News reporters are at risk of being arrested, detained, tortured and killed whilst carrying out their journalistic mandate. This qualitative study draws upon insights from journalists across media houses in the country to make sense of the safety issues in the context of national elections that tend to be characterised by political instability and violence. Through in-depth interviews with journalists such as those who have been physically harassed for carrying out their work, this chapter develops an understanding of the nature, trends and patterns of the harassment during the election campaign season." (Abstract)
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"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
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l health care, external support, and the imperative of emotional literacy in their training. Through semi-structured interviews with 20 Venezuelan journalists aged 30–62, this study sheds light on the emotional toll of reporting in Venezuela, where journalists face stressors such as economic uncertainty, political tensions, self-censorship, perceived repression, physical threats, natural disasters, and social unrest. Employing interpretative phenomenology and thematic analysis, the research reveals how pervasive risks render their work emotionally taxing, compounded by challenging living conditions and emotionally draining stories that spill over into their personal and family lives. While some seek psychological or religious support, financial constraints, cultural taboos, and geographical limitations hinder therapy for others. The findings underscore the necessity of emotional training for journalists, irrespective of gender, age, experience, contract status, or religion. Such training is proposed to equip journalists with coping mechanisms, ensuring the maintenance of ethical journalism amid adversities. Recognizing and addressing journalists’ emotional well-being emerges as crucial not only for their personal welfare but also for upholding journalistic standards." (Abstract)
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"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
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otes new forms of harassment that tend to disproportionately target women. In the field of journalism, online harassment that targets women journalists has reached epidemic proportions. Although several scholars have examined the threat posed by online harassment on women journalists, most of these studies have been conducted in developed countries. There is limited understanding of how the scourge manifests itself in African countries where patriarchy is still deeply entrenched, legislation is underdeveloped, and the media ecology is largely unsafe. Using a scoping review of existing literature on online harassment of women journalists in African countries, and a theoretical lens consisting of cyberfeminism and the role of the media in a democracy, this study examines emergent forms and patterns of online harassment experienced by women journalists in African countries, the different responses to the scourge, and the implications on democracy. Our findings show that women journalists in African countries experience different forms of online harassment that include cyberbullying, gendered trolling, threatening messages, and surveillance. Online harassment of women journalists in African countries largely takes place at an individual level as there are limited multi-level strategies that have been developed to engage with the scourge. The evidence analysed in the study shows that female journalists in Africa are more vulnerable to online harassment compared to their counterparts in the Global North due to the absence of multi-level governance interventions, deep-seated patriarchy, and semi-authoritarian contexts in which they work." (Abstract)
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"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
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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)
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"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
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, there are several private and commercial broadcasters. In terms of press freedom, Switzerland currently holds the 12th position of the 2023 World Press Freedom Index by Reporters Without Borders. Generally, the Swiss media landscape offers a free, safe, and secure environment for reporters and journalists. The situation regarding news media and journalism in Switzerland is likely to grow more challenging as the economic context – in particular for the press – will be increasingly uncertain. Switzerland can be regarded as a country with favorable conditions for populist political communication due to its direct democratic and consociational political system." (Abstract)
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"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
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terviews were used to discuss the study’s findings. The study found that female journalists experience varying forms of harassment in and outside the newsroom, including sexism, gender bias, sexual harassment, physical harassment and attacks, verbal attacks, and unsolicited dates. Female journalists expressed varying emotional responses to harassment experienced in and outside the newsroom. These emotional responses include shock and fear, frustration and venting, feelings of worthlessness, and a firm resolve to succeed in journalism. Also, the study revealed that female journalists predominantly used emotion-focused and problem-focused coping strategies such as ignoring the harassment, confronting and reporting, and taking a break from the work environment to deal with the harassment and threats they encountered. These findings have implications and are relevant to future interventions and policies for improving female journalists’ safety in and outside newsrooms." (Abstract)
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"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
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uth Sudan but in a manner that minimises risks. While studies have been carried out on war and conflict reporting around the world, little attention has been paid to coping strategies for local journalists in South Sudan. This study sought to investigate threats, coping strategies and motivational factors for local journalists working in the private media houses in the country. A qualitative approach with emphatic in-depth interviews was purposively used to obtain data from 21 respondents including reporters and editors from seven media houses in Juba. The findings show that journalists face threats including arbitrary arrests, intimidation and incarceration. Others have been beaten, tortured and in some cases murdered. To continue doing their professional jobs, journalists in private media institutions have applied well-planned coping strategies as a means of protection. These strategies include self-censorship, publishing of threats via mass media channels, use of institutional rules, self-consciousness and avoidance of sensitive stories, among others. The analysis of the data clearly demonstrated that motivational factors played a crucial role in the coping process at both institutional and individual levels because the journalists relied on journalistic principles as their basis to create context-relevant coping strategies." (Abstract)
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"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
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ise in independent journalism and this form of journalism is not immune to harassment as such many independent journalists are harassed online. This chapter as a result unravels the emotional implications of online harassment on journalists and its repercussions for a democratic society and press freedom. Using a case of four selected Zimbabwean journalists, the chapter untangles the vocabulary used by cyber-bullies and how that affects the emotional makeup and professional outlook of different journalists. The qualitative research methodology was used as the research unfolded. The Democratic-Participant Media Theory and the Symbolic Interactionism Theory were used to analyse the operational values of independent journalists and how their audience reacts since communication is a two-way traffic. Data gathered were analysed using the thematic analysis approach. The chapter found that five major emotions are triggered by online harassment of freelance journalists on different media platforms in Zimbabwe which are surprise and or betrayal, fear, anger, happiness, and disgust. The study thus concludes that there is a need to monitor and provide counselling sessions to journalists to mitigate the negative impact of online harassment on the form, structure, and content of news articles in Zimbabwe." (Abstract)
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"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
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roach through surveys from one hundred and fifty media students from different universities of Pakistan, it further uses qualitative in-depth interview method in which fifteen media academics are interviewed. The research reveals that safety of journalists has never been a priority in the curriculum, even if the future journalists are really hungry to be educated and trained to cover any hostile event, pandemics and conflict sensitive reporting, and to cope with post coverage traumas. Safety of journalists has been occasionally discussed in lectures on the demand of students, but can never get a space in the mass communication curriculum. This study lays the foundation of ESCR Model of Journalism Education that deals with ethics and safety in crisis and risks. It further suggests the training of academics themselves; and collaboration of media professionals with the academia to realistically develop a curriculum taking into account what media industry and future journalists actually need to mug up." (Abstract)
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"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
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s protests (Luqiu, 2020), there is minimal understanding as to the effect of these events on them (Talabi, et al., 2021). Furthermore, there is a gap in the hostility literature examining harassment that journalists face in the field. Through a survey of U.S. journalists, this study finds that covering protests causes journalists mental and emotional health concerns, which influences how they view their journalistic roles. Furthermore, the effects of positive and negative encounters at protests affected journalists personally, depending on who the perpetrator was (protestor or law enforcement)—influencing everything from PTSD and anxiety to intentions to leave journalism. The paper ultimately underscores the need for news organizations to make sure journalists not only are safe, but also feel safe, when reporting in the field." (Abstract)
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"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
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327 journalists. The result of the study showed that at baseline, journalists reported high PTSD symptoms and a propensity to quit journalism, but after the intervention, journalists who received the art therapy intervention reported a significant drop in their PTSD symptoms and the propensity to quit the pen profession. This suggests that art therapy is a cost-effective way of treating PTSD among journalists covering dangerous assignments and reducing high labour turnover in the profession." (Abstract)
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"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
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lties to punish perpetrators. In my chapter, I define sexual harassment as an offence primarily perpetrated by men in the industry who hold senior positions in the media industry. I discuss the importance of a media regulatory framework and I use the Nigerian Bar Association sexual harassment policy as an example of what the media industry should emulate. My chapter includes a survey with key informant interviews. This helped to indicate the prevalence of the problem of sexual harassment through the lens of survivors in an anecdotal style whilst external research and surveys from other sources have been incorporated in my chapter to inform the conclusions and recommendations." (Abstract)
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"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
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of KP journalists have not been previously examined. This study explored the experiences of online harassment of regional KP journalists, the psychological ramifications of their exposure, and the association between online harassment and their ability to effectively perform their jobs in digital news environments. Of the recruited 299 journalists, nearly two-thirds reported experiencing online harassment. The experiences were generally infrequent, and were associated with depression, anxiety, stress, and occupational dysfunction. This study underscores the importance of understanding online harassment of journalists in conflicts zones, and how it may impact their ability to perform their professional duties, and proposes possible solutions and directions for future research and interventions." (Abstract)
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"This study examines the coverage of the COVID-19 pandemic by the four leading newspapers of Pakistan—Dawn, The News, Daily Times and The Nation—when they were responsible for informing and educating the public during a health crisis hit by conspiracy theories. The researchers utilized content a
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nalysis to analyze 1,124 news stories. The findings reveal less emphasis was placed on scientifically investigating the causes, precautions and care of coronavirus and dispelling public misconceptions." (Abstract)
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"The study attempts to understand how Pakistani journalists perceive Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and resilience in the wake of covering traumatic events. Qualitative interviews of 32 Pakistani journalists were conducted who had covered military operations against militants. The findings in
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dicated that most of the journalists were not able to comprehend the impact of covering traumatizing events as they were war-excited. Conflict journalists perceived PTSD as depression, anxiety, insomnia, and intrusive recollection of events after exposure to traumatic events. Journalists who were exposed to beheadings and events involving killing of women and children felt more vulnerable and perceived PTSD as having a numbing effect on them. Dependence on family and friends was considered more crucial for dealing with the after effects of exposure to trauma than seeking therapy. Non-availability of medical insurance and funds from the media organizations were termed as important reasons for avoiding therapy. Resilience for conflict reporters was mostly perceived as the ability to “cope up” and to contribute to the wellbeing of others along with the ability to revisit trauma sites to report follow-up stories. Resilience was considered more achievable in the presence of organizational acknowledgement, compensation, and recognition of work." (Abstract)
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"This study explores contemporary journalists’ autonomy and role in the Ethiopian contested media practice by taking journalists working in Amhara Media Corporation (AMC). A qualitative research approach was used to collect data from journalists and admin staff. For triangulation, this study combi
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ned document analysis and observation. Fourteen in-depth interviews were conducted with purposively selected journalists and admin staff. The interviews used semi-structured and open-ended questions that would allow journalists to reflect their perspectives freely. The study applied the Hierarchy of Influences Model to examine the data and support discussion. The findings of this study clearly signify that partisanship among journalists, the politicization of journalism, and flip-flop media practices prevail. The outsourced programs are used as a tool for silencing journalists from working independently. The journalists’ safety anxiety is the grim reality at AMC. As a result, journalists’ professional content productions and autonomies specifically on political and sensitive issues were negotiated or interfered. It is therefore challenging to maintain complete professional autonomy in order to be impartial, unbiased, and independent while working as a journalist in Ethiopia. It is recommended that the regional and federal governments should allow media independence and journalists’ autonomy in the Ethiopian media industry." (Abstract)
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"This research examines whether and to what extent journalists are harassed online and the effects of online harassment on their professional roles. The study classifies online harassment against journalists into five types: insults, threats, privacy intrusion, sexual assault, and cyber-hacking. The
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findings reveal a positive correlation between online harassment and various adverse outcomes for journalists, including increased self-censorship, reduced public engagement, and heightened skepticism toward journalism. With regard to a specific type of online harassment, journalists’ gender plays a role as a moderator: The relationship between insults and self-censorship, disengagement with the public, and skepticism toward journalism was found to be stronger for women journalists than men journalists." (Abstract)
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"This chapter concludes multiyear research on journalists’ safety and well-being in Estonia and focuses on summarizing journalist experiences with and reactions to hostility. In addition to categorizing and describing the problems, the chapter also provides insight into what journalists expect fro
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m the newsroom's working conditions. In the center of the chapter are four studies relying on research carried out among print and online journalists in Estonia from 2020 to 2023. One of the overarching issues that the studies show is the versatility of how hostility reaches, indicating that there is nowhere journalists can hide from it. The reactions to hostility in the newsroom differ severely and bring along disagreements. The problem lies in the lack of consensus on how it is appropriate in the newsroom to react to hostility and what to expect from the organization." (Abstract)
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"The global importance of the press and freedom of speech in promoting democracy, good governance, and human development is widely recognized. Unfortunately, despite being crucial for the advancement of democracy, violence against journalists in Indonesia and other countries continues to increase. I
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n addition to encountering physical, psychological, and sexual harm, journalists also confront the legal consequences imposed by provisions of certain Laws that can potentially subject them to criminal charges. This paper seeks to explain violent incidents and potential articles in the existing and the Indonesian New Penal Code, the Information and Electronic Transaction Act, and the Personal Data Protection Act that might be employed to criminalize journalists. The imposition of these laws may significantly impact press freedom, impartiality, and information integrity, they are inextricably linked to press freedom and media independence limitations. A normative legal approach is used in this study. Data were obtained from existing laws, online data, research studies, and contemporary books. The study employs a descriptive-qualitative analysis. The study’s findings indicate that violence against journalists is prevalent in different parts of Indonesia. Journalists often encounter infringements upon their rights to access information by employing physical or psychological means such as intimidation, harassment, and various forms of violence, including the possibility of being imprisoned by employing articles stipulated in some Indonesian Laws. Threats of criminalization, violence and attacks against journalists will create a fearful climate for media professionals, impeding the free circulation of information, opinions, and ideas for all citizens." (Abstract)
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"The media plays an important role in disseminating vital information and being ‘watchdogs’ of government misconduct. Press freedom is constitutionally guaranteed in the Philippines, but the space for journalists and media companies continues to shrink. This is because constant attempts have bee
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n made to suppress and silence them through the government’s targeted attacks, which can be characterized into three categories: classifying media as allies and enemies, the weaponization of laws, and personal and institutional attacks. The emergence of COVID-19 made press freedom even more challenging due to the threat of infection and government-imposed restrictions and measures. This research deployed interviews with multiple journalists and a review of secondary data. The study shows that state interference, challenges in fulfilling journalistic roles, and the obstruction of the free flow of information during the pandemic resulted in three levels of fear among journalists: fear of losing one’s network, fear of losing credibility, and fear of personal safety." (Abstract)
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