"After the annexation of Crimea by Russia in March 2014, the peninsula experienced a progressive transition of telecommunication and broadcasting infrastructure under Russian influence, followed by a wave of repression of Ukrainian media. Between 2014 and 2015, dozens of Ukrainian media organization
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s and independent journalists left the peninsula to continue working in exile. This paper explores the phenomenon of informational annexation using a mixed methods approach consisting of in-depth interviews with media and IT professionals as well as digital ethnography and network measurements. It argues that, besides pressure from pro-Russian authorities, journalistic work in the area is challenged by legal and infrastructural factors such as the absence of legal and financial protections for Ukrainian journalists traveling to Crimea, lack of holistic digital security within media organizations, and increased Internet censorship in Crimea. By analyzing the risk perceptions and digital security practices of exiled and Crimean civic journalists, this paper explores how informational annexation challenges journalistic work on the infrastructural and organizational level, enabling the rise of civic journalism, and how it affects journalists' individual digital security practices. In the context of the current Russian invasion of Ukraine, this research provides insights into some of the informational annexation tactics used by Russians in the occupied Ukrainian territories." (Abstract)
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"Amid growing concern over harassment and intimidation targeting journalists, scholarly attention to their occurrence and implications has mushroomed. One aspect of these phenomena that often gets overlooked is that not all journalists seem equally targeted or affected. Applying ordinal regression a
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nalysis of 505 sets of questionnaire responses from Finnish professional journalists, the authors found that only a small proportion of respondents experienced harassment and intimidation regularly, while the vast majority reported being targeted very rarely, if at all. The findings illustrate how certain positions and aspects of journalistic work bring increased risk of facing harassment and intimidation, with investigative journalism, published opinion pieces, work in public broadcasting, and social-media visibility as a journalist identified as strong risk factors. At least in the Finnish context, these facets of the work seem to outweigh personal factors (age, gender, etc.) in predicting overall risk. The evidence supports the call for more comprehensive and carefully designed research arrangements that also acknowledge the role of multiple facets of journalistic work in future studies of harassment and intimidation." (Abstract)
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"This study explores the extent to which the Corona pandemic has changed the working conditions of journalists in Germany and how they perceive these changes. The goal is to provide both the scale and qualitative nature of Corona-induced changes in the working environment of journalists by means of
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an online survey of German journalists (n*=*983) in different employment situations. The results indicate that objective changes such as short-time work, income losses and the sudden shift to home office have notably shaped the world of journalistic work. On a subjective level, journalists’ responses mainly point to the personal financial fallout and resulting existential fears. Our findings suggest an intensified precarity in the working environment of journalists and highlight a growing gap between freelance and employed journalists." (Abstract)
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"This article discusses online harassment against women journalists exploring self-reported incidents, effects, and trust in safety mechanisms. Drawing on twenty-five semi-structured interviews of women journalists in Portugal, we use a feminist and critical realist framework to explore the causal s
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tructures and generative mechanisms that explain their vulnerability to online abuse. We identify three overarching themes: increasing visibility in a context of higher hostility towards journalism and insufficient safety mechanisms; intersectional gender inequality and cultural mores that foster it; and (individual) responses to harassment. These themes show that women journalists’ actions are both constrained and enabled by existing structures and cultural attitudes. While they tend to deny harassment is caused by their gender, seeing it mainly because of their job, they admit the sexualised and gendered nature of the insults, seeing this as an added offence not experienced by their male counterparts. They also see harassment as a continuation of inequality and prevailing sexism and find the protection mechanisms insufficient and ineffective. As a result, they assume an extra burden of emotional labour to deal with online bullying, admitting self-censoring and the need to develop resilience strategies." (Abstract)
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"In the digital era, journalists are targeted with online abuse including serious threats of violence. These censorship tactics are a direct threat to media freedom. Although the UK Government intended to tackle online abuse of journalists in the Online Safety Act 2023, provisions fit for that purpo
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se never materialised. This paper reveals why that was the case and what can be done about it. It finds that there is ongoing tension in the press industry about press regulation, with implications for journalist safety; that the Government carved out special privileges for the press’ online content but did not similarly protect journalist digital safety; that journalist safety was largely ignored in Parliament; and that repeated Government disintegration and shifting policies stripped away provisions that could have been improved to better protect journalists. This paper concludes with suggestions for how journalist safety can be better protected in the OSA regime." (Abstract)
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"Criticism towards journalists has increased significantly since the internet created easy and anonymous communication and has turned more abusive and threatening in recent years, becoming a regular feature of journalists’ work environment, particularly for women. This article presents survey data
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about the amount and nature of online and offline abuse, threats and violence experienced by journalists at Aotearoa New Zealand's largest news media company, Stuff. All respondents had experienced abuse, violence and/or threats, which they widely considered to be part of the job, but women received more identity and appearance-based abuse and men experienced more in-person threats of, and actual violence. Gender plays a part in how the journalists cope with the abrasive abuse received because of their job, with many more women and particularly Maori women considering leaving the profession. In line with calls for more intersectional analysis of journalists’ workplace experiences, our study considers the complex and nuanced ways that ethnicity intersects with gender to shape Maori and Pakeha journalists’ encounters with abuse, threats and violence. For instance, our subset of Maori women journalists experienced the highest rates of offline threats and violence." (Abstract)
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"This study investigates the experiences of journalists during COVID-19 pandemic from Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) and Gilgit-Baltistan (GB) through a series of focus group discussions (FGDs). The research aims to develop strategies for enhancing journalists' capabilities and well-being in anticipat
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ion of future pandemics. The FGDs involved seasoned journalists from central press clubs in all regions, who provided insights into the challenges they faced and the strategies they adopted during the COVID-19 pandemic. Thematic analysis, conducted using NVivo software, revealed eight key themes related to the pandemic's impact on journalism. These themes informed a set of consolidated recommendations designed to improve journalists' safety, mental health, and access to information. The recommendations also emphasize strengthening legal protections, creating capacity-building opportunities, fostering networking and collaboration, and implementing specialized health reporting training. By addressing these recommendations, the study proposes a framework to bolster journalists' resilience and effectiveness in navigating future crises." (Abstract)
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"This study examines digital media criticism—publicly shared evaluations and judgements of journalistic text and actors on various digital platforms—as a risk to journalism. It specifically interrogates how journalists negotiate the diverse nature of criticism in digital spaces and in a comparat
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ive context. Through qualitative interviews with practising journalists, the paper identifies the following four main journalistic responses to digital media criticism: consolidation (ringfencing journalistic discourse); filtering (cleaning up journalistic discourse); rationalisation (acknowledging criticism or non-responses) and counter-discourse (counteracting anti-media discourses). These responses, referred to as forms of digital discursive resistance, show that journalists are both defensive against and accommodating of risks to journalistic authority, but usually aim to reinforce and expand journalistic discourse in digital spaces." (Abstract)
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"Concerns about the disproportionate levels of online gender-based abuse experienced by female journalists when compared to their male counterparts have attracted sizeable scholarly attention in the last few years. Extant studies have highlighted that female journalists experience online forms of ha
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rassment such as name calling, body shaming, trolling, verbal abuse, sextortion, non-consensual sharing of intimate images, manipulation of photos, cyberstalking, doxing, hacking, receiving unwanted, offensive sexually explicit emails or messages, and inappropriate advances on social media platforms, in the line of duty. Although these findings are true in some of the newsrooms in the global North, there is a disconcerting absence of systematic studies looking at the experiences of female journalists in selected newsrooms in Africa in general and Namibia in particular. This article seeks to fill this lacuna by empirically investigating the extent to which online gender-based violence is deep-seated social problem in selected Namibian newsrooms. It deploys the intersectional approach to analyze the online gender-based violence experienced by female journalists in Namibia. Drawing our data from interviews with female journalists in selected Namibian newsrooms, overall, our findings suggest that cases of online gender-based violence against female journalists are still negligible when compared to other contexts, it is happening, nonetheless. This emerging phenomenon is largely underreported. Furthermore, it is occurring in an environment devoid of legislative, institutional, and newsroom-specific mechanisms aimed at ensuring the safety of female journalists. Namibian female journalists are facing unique online gender-based violence, which contributes immensely towards self-censorship and retreating from the public sphere." (Abstract)
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"This report draws on insights from the workshop, along with recent academic and journalistic publishing. It highlights three major issues: How generative AI can make disinformation campaigns faster, more targeted, and more persuasive. How newsrooms’ adoption of AI tools can lead to inaccuracies a
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nd other risks. How AI may threaten the viability of professional journalism, including through automation and content generation that replaces human journalists. In response, journalists are developing investigative practices to expose disinformation campaigns, experimenting with AI tools to make their own work more efficient, and developing ethical guidelines and labour protections to defend professional journalism. Likewise, the news industry, policymakers, and platforms are considering responses that range from workforce training to newsroom innovation to new professional guidelines to AI regulation. Through this report, CSDI hopes to contribute to important public conversations about the impact of new technologies on journalism and our information environments. Ultimately, the responses developed by journalists, policymakers, technologists, and citizens will shape our efforts to understand the world and act as democratic citizens." (Abstract)
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"Revelations from the 2021 “Pegasus Project” investigation into the use of spyware have confirmed long-held concerns about the proliferation of the technology as a surveillance solution to monitor the activities of journalists around the world. Spyware is a particularly malicious form of malware
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that can potentially expose a target’s entire digital life, sometimes even leaving victims powerless to prevent an attack. As such, spyware appears to be the ultimate tool of oppression that can be used against journalists, and its proliferation is currently taking place with extremely limited transparency and according to "black box" dynamics. The aim of this paper is to shed light on how spyware technology can affect the work and security of journalists by analyzing what threats spyware poses to the practice of journalism. Qualitative and exploratory in nature, and theoretically grounded in surveillance studies and the growing body of literature on information security in journalism, the article is based on a series of qualitative interviews with technologists and reporters conducted to deepen the understanding of the threats posed by spyware and to provide an overview of potential resistance and neutralization practices that journalists can put in place, as well as their effectiveness. Overall, the article aims to contribute to the study of the impact of surveillance on journalism and its implications for press freedom." (Abstract)
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"The artificial intelligence (AI) tools in editorial departments have become common practice within news organisations, which poses challenges for digital journalism. It treads new terrain for both media professionals and their audiences, and it is safe to assume there is no going back to the way th
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ings were. These advances in the field require new frameworks and codes of ethics that include ethical principles to mitigate the use of AI in journalism. The fast incorporation of AI into media production processes is marked by a tendency towards the loss of citizens’ trust in the information that media offers, political polarization, and the increasing impact of misinformation. This article analyses the perception of communication professionals in this new scene through the analysis of 99 codes of ethics and 14 international press associations. In addition, audience perception is addressed through a survey taken by nearly 2,000 people. The results indicate that both the public and journalists are worried about misinformation that AI might cause and the potential erosion of trust between journalist and the public . Overwhelmingly, people are advocating for external regulation of its use to preserve the values, the ethical principles, and good practices of journalistic work." (Abstract)
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"Journalistic well-being is garnering increasing attention from scholars globally. Nevertheless, minimal research has explored how colleges and universities are teaching about such topics, especially as they pertain to hostility toward the press, which is on the rise. Utilizing a survey of journalis
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m instructors at ACEJMC-accredited U.S.-based universities, this study explores the state of education on the topics of abuse and safety toward journalists. Data indicate that instructors rarely teach about hostility in the classroom, although most feel efficacious to do so. Moreover, findings indicate an instructor is more likely to teach about hostility toward the press the more they see it as an issue and have encountered it personally as a journalist—particularly women faculty. Implications for these findings are discussed for journalism schools and their curriculum." (Abstract)
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"Reporting on cases of genocide presents distinct complexities and challenges for journalists, who must negotiate practical, professional, and emotional experiences that challenge traditional expectations of their role. Previous research has provided strident critiques of this reporting, arguing Wes
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tern reporting of genocide in Rwanda and Srebrenica was reductionist and biased and contributed to the lack of Western intervention. Drawing on 22 interviews with print journalists who reported on genocides in Rwanda and Srebrenica, this article challenges this dominant critique by foregrounding the voices of journalists and their experience of reporting. Themes of inaccessibility, the moral imperative to report on these events, and the intersection with emotional labour on emotional effects of this reporting crucially demonstrates and acknowledges the challenges of conflict reporting. This adds to contemporary debates around how emotion, attachment and morality intertwine in journalism practice and the importance of this consideration when assessing the impact of reporting." (Abstract)
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"Das vorliegende Handbuch präsentiert erstmals den Stand der Zensurforschung aus einer interdisziplinären, transhistorischen und globalen Perspektive. Nach begrifflich-theoretischen Grundlagen werden zentrale Akteure und Handlungsfelder der Zensur behandelt: Politik, Religion, Wirtschaft, Kunst, M
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edien und Recht. Es folgt ein Überblick über die Zensurgeschichte von der Antike bis zum 21. Jahrhundert. In Beiträgen zu verschiedenen Weltregionen (Afrika, Asien, Australien, Nord-, Mittel- und Südamerika, West- und Osteuropa) werden die globalen Dimensionen von Zensur entfaltet. Abschließend geht es um aktuelle Kontroversen und Polemiken der Zensur, um Zensurnarrative und -debatten (z.B. über "Cancel Culture" und "Identitätspolitik")." (Verlagsbeschreibung)
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"In November 2023, DW Akademie brought together journalists, civil society organizations, digital rights experts, and media influencers for a consultation workshop in Kampala, Uganda. In the two-day event, hosted by Media Challenge Initiative (MCI), the diverse group collaboratively developed recomm
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endations on how to promote constructive public dialogue on social media, in Uganda. In this publication, you will find these developed recommendations aimed at social media platforms, private actors, and governments (Part 1), and media organizations, journalists, tech and innovation hubs, civil society organizations, and media development organizations (Part 2).
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"The topic of violence against women in journalism has received growing attention in scholarship, especially in terms of digital forms of harassment. At the same time, many women journalists continue to experience direct forms of harassment in the pursuit of their work. Focusing on the Pacific Islan
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d nation of Fiji, this study contributes to scholarship on sexual harassment in journalism by examining the experiences of more than 40 journalists, employing both a standardized survey and in-depth interviews. Our findings demonstrate how widespread sexual harassment is, with colleagues and superiors, as well as politicians and businesspeople the most frequent culprits. Women journalists report a harrowing range of cases, and the results show that inadequate safeguards contribute to sexual harassment’s wide-ranging effect on their personal and professional lives." (Abstract)
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"Technology-facilitated abuse and violence disproportionately affect marginalized people. While researchers have explored this issue in the context of public-facing social media platforms, less is known about how it plays out on more private messaging apps. This study draws on in-depth interviews wi
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th women and queer journalists and activists in Lebanon to illustrate their experiences of infrastructural platform violence on WhatsApp. Specifically, we distinguish between identity-based violence propagated on platforms, and violence propagated by platforms due to infrastructural neglect of vulnerable populations. Our results document how perpetrators employ the affordances of WhatsApp in harmful ways. We highlight the individual emotional and reputational toll of doxxing and harassment campaigns. The study also showcases the societal ramifications of silencing and self-censorship, as well as infrastructural platform failures. Findings underscore the need to shift attention in platform studies toward populations and geographies whose safety has systemically been neglected by technology companies." (Abstract)
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"Journalistic work has become increasingly precarious. Labor conditions in the profession meet several criteria of precarity, as established in the sociology of work. Journalists, especially freelancers, often have low and unstable incomes and only limited access to social insurance. Thus far, preca
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rity research in journalism has primarily focused on empirical investigations of precarious employment rather than on theorizing how journalists actually perceive these working conditions. This paper proposes a theoretical model that determines the factors of security and insecurity that can lead to a stronger or weaker perception of precarity. Drawing on a review of the precarity literature, the model allows for subjectivity within the precarious experience of journalists. It shows that family responsibilities and personality traits belong to the subjective factors influencing journalists’ perceptions of precarity. In addition, perceptions of insecure employment conditions depend on the life stage of the worker. We strongly recommend a multidimensional approach that captures not only the objective conditions of work but also journalists’ subjective sense of precarity." (Abstract)
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