"Ethiopia has been in a new transition since 2018 which resulted in changes in political arenas. In this period, the country has also been experiencing internal conflict and political instabilities. This article assesses how the political environment is convenient for the journalists to freely repor
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t stories, and how journalists practice their professional roles which have not yet studied. The article used both qualitative and quantitative approaches. The qualitative data was collected through in-depth interviews with key media practitioners. The quantitative data was collected through a self-administered questionnaire from selected 164 journalists from the public, and private media in the country. The result shows journalists’ freedom and practicing their profession in reporting stories from different views in the current unstable situation in the country are highly challenged. Among the respondents, more than 65% confirmed that they are not free to report stories; 95% of the sampled journalists either self-censor or ignore stories about conflicts and other critical issues in the country. The journalists are highly pressurized by the government and other actors who have ardent interest in controlling media to propagate their agenda and in silencing the critical voices. This put journalists to stack between a rock and a hard." (Abstract)
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"Online harassment of journalists is increasingly becoming a global phenomenon. Many attempts have been made to investigate the prevalence of the phenomenon. Unfortunately, findings prove that online harassment of journalists is indeed on the rise. What is lacking, so far, in the literature is an in
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quiry conducted from the perspective of journalists on why they are targeted. This study attempts to shine a light on this question. This we did by examining Nigerian journalists’ perceived motivations for the online harassment that they experience and their suggested ways of controlling the phenomenon. Through online and face-to-face semistructured interviews of 30 journalists in Nigeria, we show that journalists in Nigeria believe that audience perceived journalistic wrongdoing and unethical behaviour, and polarization of politics in Nigeria are the chief reasons their audience harass them online. We further uncover that journalists suggested preventative measures, such as media sensitization campaigns about online harassment and political polarization, procedural, and prosecutorial measures such as improved security, ensuring adequate punishment for offenders, provision of security and enacting safety laws for journalists as avenues through which online harassment of journalists can be controlled. We then delineate the practical implications of the study." (Abstract)
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"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
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examined the discursive strategies used by online Hindu nationalists against journalists, how reporters cope with these attacks remains unknown. This study investigates how Indian media professionals perceive the personal and professional consequences of harassment for themselves and the coping strategies they use to combat digital hate. In-depth interviews with 24 journalists reveal that they employ mechanisms such as strategic social disconnection, formation of alliance networks, and working for non-profit news sites and international media organizations to overcome the effects of social media harassment. The analysis also highlights that commercial media that are subservient to the Modi government failed to protect their reporters, while independent media outlets provide much more support to their employees. The findings underscore the need for social media companies to promptly respond to content flagged by journalists and allocate additional resources to moderate hate speech in India's local languages to safeguard journalists from sustained online abuse." (Abstract)
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"This chapter examines the digital surveillance and harassment experiences faced by female journalists in Zimbabwe in the 2023 pre-election period covering the year 2022 up to August 2023. The examination is based on interviews conducted with seven purposefully selected female reporters and editors
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in Zimbabwe. It suggests that within our information-driven society, both personal data and physical bodies are subject to surveillance; for female journalists in particular, this surveillance materialises as instances of harassment occurring both online and offline, including within newsroom settings. Evidence shows that there is both the physical and psychological intimidation of female journalists and periods of political unrests are particularly unsettling. Female journalists are subject to unique forms of hostility absent in their male counterparts’ experiences. To cope the journalists, adopt various survival strategies, from cyber defence techniques and keeping a low online profile to outright evasion or extreme cases of leaving the country. The female journalists advocate for thorough protection measures, including legal reforms, strict penalties, and holding online platforms accountable. They emphasise the importance of mental health support, training, and guidance from media organizations, in addition to institutional and legislative action. The chapter employs a feminist perspective to highlight the importance of power dynamics in surveillance. Feminist politics within media call for women not only to be visible but also heard, which can only occur if they have representation in decision-making processes that shape news coverage and can write stories without fearing harassment. Drawing inspiration from the Panopticon theory of surveillance, this chapter explores the idea that individuals may be monitored without their awareness. With this framework in mind, three key questions are addressed: Did journalists experience any form of digital or physical surveillance? Were they subjected to any type of harassment stemming from such monitoring? And did they receive support from media organizations during these incidents?" (Abstract)
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"The chapter examines the cost of dissent in a governance system that is structured by ‘political marketplace.’ Informed by Alex de Waal ‘political marketplace’ conceptual framework and employing a phenomenological approach, the chapter chronicles the lived experiences of nine independent jo
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urnalists who have endured harassment of different kinds for daring to dissent and for refusing to tiptoe official lines. It also scrutinizes the impact of such experiences on their professional practice, on their safety and security and the overall well-being of their families as well as what all this meant for the media space and the broader political reform in Ethiopia. The study revealed that the study subjects fell victim to dramatized arrests, enforced disappearances, trumped-up charges, weaponized court system and suffered inhumane treatment of different kinds at the hands of law enforcement agents. And such harrowing experiences have pushed the overwhelming majority of the victims to either be very cautious and exercise more self-censorship in their journalistic practice, or decide to quit altogether the profession they loved, or even contemplate exile as an option." (Abstract)
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"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
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thorities and ordinary citizens are being redefined, and how journalists’ routines and practices are evolving. Through interviews with twenty Egyptian journalists working for different types of media outlets (government-owned, independent, privately owned, opposition and new start-ups), this article records and analyses journalists’ experiences with both authorities and citizens amid the current transitional period, assessing to what extent these relationships and experiences are impacting journalism practices in Egypt. Findings reveal that journalists perceive a hostile stance from both officials and ordinary citizens towards journalists due to a common belief that journalists played a role in the removal of previous regimes and therefore are seen as “destabilising agents”. This prevents journalists from accessing both information and news sources, forcing journalists to produce unified content and practice self-censorship and “service journalism” as opposed to original and investigative stories. These challenges are discussed in light of research on media and democratic transition." (Abstract)
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"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
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at contradict or are inconsistent with it are invalid. There are no formal restrictions on media freedom in the country. Successive government administrations have proudly stated that no journalist in Malawi has been persecuted for doing their journalistic work. While it is technically correct that no journalist has been prosecuted for their work, in this chapter, I argue that journalists still face different types of harassment on the government’s watch. Forms of harassment include arbitrary arrests and detentions and verbal and physical attacks by political party supporters, the police, members of parliament, and cabinet ministers. Although most attacks on journalists and media institutions happen in plain sight, sometimes, in the presence of the state President, not a single perpetrator of violence has been held to account for their actions. Using key informant interviews with journalists, MISA Malawi National Director and MISA Malawi annual reports document the harassment of journalists in the country. I argue that although media freedoms are guaranteed in the law, the failure to apprehend perpetrators of violence against journalists is akin to the approval of violence by the government, which has the responsibility to uphold the tenets of the law to protect its citizens. Harassment of journalists with impunity amounts to outsourced repression, which has a chilling effect on journalists and their institutions; it undermines media freedom and democratic governance, which depends on informed citizens to participate in democratic processes effectively. I use public sphere theory, which recognises the media as a public forum, free of coercion, where citizens access information and engage in discussions and debate on issues of public interest." (Abstract)
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"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
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experience ranging from one to six years. Our findings confirm previous studies from the Global South confirming the pervasiveness of sexual harassment in newsrooms. This study established that there is generally an unwillingness of mostly male-dominated management structures in dealing with reports of sexual harassment. Second, we found that journalists, who are sexually harassed by sources and or even by their managers, end up censoring themselves, delivering compromised work and ultimately stunting the democratic project in society. We also found that experiences of female journalists in South Africa specifically, and the Global South more broadly, are not distinct from experiences of harassment in the Global North. We argue that patriarchy seems to be the mainstay in the negative experiences of sexual harassment of women journalists across the globe, which ultimately often renders their voices mute. These findings suggest the need for policies to mitigate the harassment of journalists if their democratic role is to be sustained in South Africa." (Abstract)
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"This chapter looks at the status of the freedom of the press, and the legal possibilities and obstacles that affect media’s ability to hold power to account and safeguard the principles of democracy. The legal environment in countries as diverse as the United States, Egypt, and Sweden differs gre
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atly, and affects the ability of journalists to report news to citizens that enables them to take part in the public discourse, based on theories on the public sphere. And according to theories on democracy, informed citizens can be seen as a requirement for democracy. Thus, certain conditions are necessary for journalism to be considered the fourth estate, and arguments for this are based on comparing the working conditions for independent professional journalists by semi-structured interviews with local journalists. Aspects discussed are access to official documents, media’s right to protect anonymous sources and the increase in intimidatory tactics against reporters, as the three countries are in different ways applying laws in order to regulate the media and their ability to hold power to account." (Abstract)
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"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
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tizen or a government official. While this is a common case of networked misogyny, inspired by Liz Kelly’s concept of the continuum of sexual violence, we argue that networked misogyny against women journalists is not simply technological but rather both interconnected across different spaces (online manosphere, masculine newsrooms, and authoritarian state) and intersectional feeding from nationalism, class, and anti-Western sentiments. This intersectionality renders networked misogyny against Turkey’s journalists different from liberal contexts because it operates not through illegality but suspicion (of terrorism, treason). Our focus on interconnections and intersectionality allows for theorizing networked misogyny beyond the digital, genders current perspectives on authoritarianism and reframes networked misogyny as a violent war targeting women’s intellectual labor and public visibility, both significant threats to authoritarian regimes across the globe. The interconnected and intersectional stories of networked misogyny from Turkey point to how fighting against this form of violence is also a fight against the post-truth regimes of authoritarianism and fight for democracy." (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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"Free journalism is indispensable for monitoring the actions of political representation, holding it accountable, exposing the misuse of power, and defending public interests. Fulfilling these roles assumes that journalists can do their job and pursue public-interest stories to the best of their abi
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lities without fear of retaliation. In this chapter, building on the Media Pluralism Monitor data, we discuss the key issues of concern related to the journalists' safety, focusing on the attacks in the offline and online environment and the political elite's hostile criticism of the media. We analyse these issues in the context of Greece, Slovakia, and Spain, which share several common features regarding their media environment. Yet, these countries differ in risks to journalists' safety. We find, however, that despite different risk levels, the safety of journalists has been deteriorating in all three countries over the years. These findings have important implications for policymakers." (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 article interrogates the effectiveness of the safety measures available for journalists in the challenging operational environment. The researchers conducted in-depth interviews with 16 journalists representing different organisations from the conflict-prone areas in northeast Nigeria. Finding
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s reveal that journalists operate at high risks due to the absence of protective mechanisms, rendering them highly vulnerable in threats situations. Also, journalists go through physical and psychological attacks from insurgents, the military, and the communities. Recommendations are offered to provide safety mechanisms to reduce journalists’ psychological trauma and physical stress, increase their feelings of safety, and improve the quality of their inputs." (Abstract)
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"Journalists play a crucial role in disseminating information and ensuring transparency in society. However, in many regions around the world, journalists face significant risks and threats to their safety, hindering their ability to fulfill their professional duties effectively. This article focuse
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s on examining the safety challenges faced by journalists operating in Benue State, Nigeria. Through a comprehensive analysis of existing literature and firsthand experiences, this study seeks to shed light on the dangers faced by journalists and propose potential solutions to enhance their safety." (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 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 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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"Amid growing threats to journalists around the world, this study examines the nature of repression, harassment and attacks on full-time employed journalists and freelance writers in Eswatini. Given that harassment ranges from doxing, surveillance, religious prejudice, threats to harm family members
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and young children, the study will be guided by the following research questions: (1) What is the nature of abuse, repression and attacks faced by journalists? (2) What are the challenges that journalists, both male and female, face in the journalism profession in these two countries? and (3) What measures or steps, if any, are journalists taking to curb the harassment that they face? We use Eswatini as a case study due to the continued nature of harassment that journalists face when they report on corruption or when their reportage are deemed critical of those in power. For Eswatini, the last monarch in Africa has had a lasting reputation of suppressing journalists’ right to freedom of expression and of press, with impunity. The study will make use of semi-structured interviews with journalists from these two countries. Theoretically, we make use of Nerone’s typology of anti-press violence to understand the nature of harassment faced by journalists from the two countries." (Abstract)
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