"The following text examines the freedom of the press in Albania from the subjective perspective of journalists. It does not discuss individual cases, or provide statistics on violence against journalists, but it does reveal how journalists felt affected by different political actors and events duri
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ng the turbulent phases from 1991 to 1998 by means of a statistically representative opinion poll." (Page 1)
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"This report examines the key issues surrounding threats to the physical safety of journalists, particularly in countries with hostile media environments. While acknowledging the serious impact of repressive measures such as imprisonment, the focus of the report is sharply on incidents of violence.
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[...] If the problem of violence against journalists has so far proven intractable, enough strong research, analysis and advocacy has been done over the past two decades to provide a clear understanding of the challenges—and some potential answers. Drawing on the experience of press freedom experts, and especially on the insights of some of those on the front lines of violence, these are recommendations for action that could improve the hopes of true solutions: get the facts, and get them as straight as possible; more targeted coordination of efforts by international organizations; create a pilot project of independent investigation; toughening the policy approach; broaden the approach to training, and fund it better." (Executive summary, page 5-7)
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"Besonders in der philippinischen Provinz sehen sich kritische Journalisten immer wieder von Gewalt bedroht, die als Reaktion auf Berichte über Korruption, Drogenhandel, Glücksspiel etc. aufflammt. Bei der Studie lag der Fokus auf Radiojournalisten, welche die größte Opfergruppe in dem Land dars
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tellen. Die vorliegende Arbeit analysiert die mit den Repressalien zusammenhängenden Handlungsoptionen der Journalisten wie Selbstzensur, Bewaffnung oder Bestechlichkeit besonders in den ländlichen Provinzen der Philippinen. Die entwickelten Thesen und Forschungsergebnisse beschreiben die Ursachen und Nebenbedingungen der Gewalt und zeigen, dass der Journalismus auf den Philippinen unter großem Druck steht und die Medienfreiheit in dem formell demokratischen Land in vielen provinziellen Gebieten eingeschränkt ist." (Verlagsbeschreibung)
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"Killing the Messenger reveals the dangerous new face of war and journalism. Covering armed conflicts has always been dangerous business, but in the past, press heroes like Ernie Pyle and Edward R. Murrow faced only the danger of random bullets or bombs. Today’s war correspondent is actually in th
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e cross hairs, a target of combatants on all sides of conflicts. In their own words, correspondents describe the new dangers they face and attempt to explain why they are targeted. Killing the Messenger reveals the dangerous new face of war and journalism. Covering armed conflicts has always been dangerous business, but in the past, press heroes like Ernie Pyle and Edward R. Murrow faced only the danger of random bullets or bombs. Today’s war correspondent is actually in the cross hairs, a target of combatants on all sides of conflicts.
In this book, correspondents describe the new dangers they face, and attempt to explain why they are targeted. Is it simply that modern combatants are more brutal than in the past, or has journalism changed, making correspondents players, rather than observers, in modern warfare? Extended interviews with correspondents who have been abducted and tortured during Middle East conflicts shed chilling light on this new face of war. These journalists, who have paid dearly to bring first-hand images of war to the public, offer some surprising insights into the nature and motivation of their kidnappers, and the reasons why reporters are targeted. They display no self-pity and little inclination to blame anyone other than themselves. At the same time, they are candid in describing the violence within Iraq and without. Ways to reduce the risks for reporters are discussed, but these editors and correspondents suggest that, short of withdrawing into isolated and protected enclaves, they may be facing an indefinite escalation of violence against journalists." (Abstract)
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"Although it is an issue of immediate interest to reporters and press organizations, antipress violence has not elicited a great deal of scholarly attention. While in the context of developed democracies, studies have concluded that violence against the press has significantly diminished in the twen
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tieth century, the situation is markedly different elsewhere. This gap is not surprising considering that the literature on press and democracy has been largely produced in the West and has largely reflected the absence of antipress violence in Western nations. The persistence of attacks against journalists outside the West, however, makes it necessary to put it at the center to analyze the situation of journalistic labor and the prospects for the press in historically weak democracies. This article analyzes antipress violence by focusing on the Latin American case. The argument is that in postauthoritarian situations, the breakdown of the state accounts for why the press, particularly investigative reporters and publications, is the target of violence. Antipress violence reflects the impossibility of the state’s fulfilling its mission to monopolize the legitimate use of violence and the lack of accountability of those responsible for the attacks. Because it is a central arena in the battle for public expression, the press becomes a prominent target when naked violence replaces the rule of law. The fate of the press is intrinsically linked to the fate of the democratic state. There cannot be a democratic press as long as the state does not secure minimal institutional conditions that democracy demands." (Abstract)
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"In identifying the chief types of U.S. anti-press violence, the author discusses four basic patterns: violence among individuals, violence against ideas, violence against groups, and violence against an institution. Each pattern has its own chronology. Five models of the press in U.S. history are d
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eveloped: rational liberty, partisanism, commercialism, industry, and institution. The author implicitly argues that media ideologies are rooted in media practices. The outline of media models is meant to illustrate the point that media are defined historically. Media are networks of relationships that can be constructed, reconstructed, and deconstructed in various ways with varying implications for where power is located and how it is exercised. Violent activity is often involved in the process of definition. Maintaining that violence has been an integral part of the culture of public expression in this Nation since earliest times, this survey develops the concept that violent reactions to writers and publishers, rather than occurring sporadically, have been systematic and recurrent, indicative of a long and consistent process of cultural evolution. Disputing claims that anti-press violence is a marginal aspect of American society conducted by fringe elements of the population, the book profiles decades of such incidents of aggression, from colonial printers to Salman Rushdie. The author presents a detailed taxonomy of the various forms of anti-press violence and historical analyses of such conflicts during the American Revolution, Early Republic, Civil War, and other periods. Chapter notes, a subject index, and appended survey questionnaire and discussions of the flow of antiabolitionist violence and Civil War newspaper mobbings." (Abstract)
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