"Going more specific into members’ engagement with GFMD, the survey found that the top three reasons organisations participate in GFMD were for information and knowledge exchange (n = 10), policy and decision making support (n = 8), and to build networks (n = 7). Members also indicated that the re
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sources form GFMD they use the most include the #MediaDev Insider Newsletter (n = 67), GFMD website (n = 66), and mailing lists (n = 60). To a lesser extent, members engage with GFMD’s social media accounts (Twitter, Facebook, Linkedin) (n = 43), conference sessions organised by GFMD (n = 43), and GFMD working groups and joint initiatives (n = 41). Notably, respondents did not indicate using the policy related resources even though it was selected as one of the top three reasons for participating in GFMD." (Summary of results, page 3)
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"Bulgarian journalists are under pressure. Although the country has been a member of the EU for 13 years and the legislation on freedom of speech corresponds to Western practices, the country ranks 111th in the annual Freedom of Speech Index. While the cases of work-related physical violence against
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journalists are rare, the cases of direct political pressure are increasing. The unification of ownership into large media cartels and the lack of transparency in the movement of financial flows from the state to certain media are among the main factors affecting the freedom of speech. The analysis of publications covering six cases of physical and verbal aggression on the websites of the five most visited online media in Bulgaria outlines the scheme for inducing self-censorship and the transition from active to passive news coverage within a short period of time. The survey, conducted with students in journalism and professional journalists, aims to show their experience with aggression, as well as to identify the forms of pressure they face on a daily basis." (Abstract)
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"This Situation Report on the “Impact of COVID-19 on Media Freedom, Media Business Viability, and the Safety of Journalists in Southeast Asia” offers an insight into the key impacts of the pandemic on the media across nine countries. The report proposes recommendations for enabling sustainable a
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nd effective media standards to improve media freedom and the safety of journalists. It also explores potential solutions, and innovations for media business viability in the region. The publication comes at a time when news organisations have been forced to accelerate their move to providing more extensive digital services due to various lockdown restrictions, with some not having the resources to make this transition successfully. These additional financial pressures caused by COVID-19 are happening against a backdrop of broader threats to media freedom and the safety of journalists. Another challenge facing media freedom in the region is the introduction of laws purporting to combat the spread of disinformation and misinformation. While such laws have been introduced under the guise of protecting the public, they are more often used as tools to limit the ability of journalists to hold power to account. As countries geared up to fight COVID-19, a crackdown on independent journalism and critical reporting ensued. Many news outlets and media workers, notably journalists, have faced unprecedented risks to their physical and mental well-being, amid unrelenting, and intensified crackdowns on media freedom. Creating a safe and enabling environment for media and journalists to be able to work independently is a prerequisite for democracies to flourish. The issues pertaining to the safety of journalists and media sustainability during a time of crisis such as COVID-19, require attention from all stakeholders, including both state and non-state actors." (Summary, page 115)
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"The first OECD Report on Public Communication: The Global Context and the Way Forward examines the public communication structures, mandates and practices of centres of governments and ministries of health from 46 countries, based on the 2020 Understanding Public Communication surveys. It analyses
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how this important government function contributes to better policies and services, greater citizen trust, and, ultimately, stronger democracies in an increasingly complex information environment. It looks at the role public communication can play in responding to the challenges posed by the spread of mis- and disinformation and in building more resilient media and information ecosystems. It also makes the case for a more strategic use of communication by governments, both to pursue policy objectives and promote more open governments, by providing an extensive mapping of trends, gaps and lessons learned. Finally, it highlights pioneering efforts to move towards the professionalisation of the government communication function and identifies areas for further research to support this transition." (Publisher description)
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"This research aims to examine how sexism and gender discrimination impacts women journalists in Pakistan. The International Federation of Journalists (2018-19) ranks Pakistan as the fourth most dangerous country for journalists. The Coalition for Women in Journalism declares Pakistan as the sixth-w
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orst for female journalists (2019). In 2018, the Global Gender Gap Report highlighted Pakistan as second from bottom, ranking it 148 out of 149 countries. Given these numbers, the country is an ominous space for women in news media. This study collects the data from women journalists working in the three largest cities of Pakistan, that is, Karachi, Lahore, and Islamabad. The aim is to investigate the issues faced by female journalists due to discrimination at the workplace including glass ceiling, pay gap, and lack of female leadership. Following the mixed-method approach, around 102 women journalists were surveyed, and 10 were interviewed. Findings indicate the rampant existence of sexism in Pakistani media and its detrimental effects on the growth of a gender-balanced news media industry." (Abstract)
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"In 2020 Internews launched the Rooted in Trust project to counter rumors and misinformation about COVID-19. They commissioned Translators without Borders (TWB) to map community radio stations and investigate the language and translation challenges community radio broadcasters face when relaying off
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icial COVID-19 risk communication to their audience. To better understand these challenges, TWB conducted a survey and interviews with 65 community radio broadcasters, representing a quarter of all community radio stations across Afghanistan. Based on our survey, we mapped community radio stations and the reach of each radio signal to estimate overall radio coverage across the country. Where possible, we triangulated our findings with data from Internews’ Information Ecosystem Assessment in Kabul, Kandahar, and Herat. Community radio stations remain an important source of information, especially for rural populations, less literate individuals, and in remote provinces. During public health emergencies, broadcasters can turn into health communicators and support the relay of risk communication, but they face several challenges.
• Radio signals don’t cover all provinces: Based on the radio signals we were able to map, radio coverage doesn’t reach people equally across the country. Speakers of marginalized languages have especially limited access to radio broadcasts. Relative to population density, speakers of Turkmeni, Brahui, Balochi, and Uzbeki have especially limited access to radio broadcasts.
• Few broadcasts are in languages other than Dari and Pashto: Dari and Pashto are the main broadcasting languages, but not everyone understands them. Broadcasts in other languages are largely limited to adverts, short audio clips, and sporadic language mixing in talk shows and call-in shows. Dedicated programs providing in-depth information in another language are rare.
• Language barriers reduce the quality and timeliness of broadcasts: Community radio stations lack resources and translation capacity to broadcast in languages other than Dari or Pashto. As a result, some important information is delayed, and some is never broadcast at all. The quality and level of detail of broadcasts in other languages is also reduced.
• Broadcasters face difficulties accessing available information: Most community radio stations have limited access to the internet and experience electricity failures. This makes accessing and validating available information on COVID 19 extremely difficult. Also, background information is often passed to broadcasters in English, but with limited internet access this information can’t readily be translated.
• Information needs to be provided in plain language: Broadcasters don’t relay information that uses complicated language or technical and medical terms. New terms and complex new information around medical issues need to be rewritten and presented in plain language for a general audience. Yet community radio stations often can’t provide plain-language editing, so don’t relay more complex information." (Overview, page 1)
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"The paper argues that journalists' perceptions of their role in challenging corruption and developing democracy will give us some insight into Iraq's "crisis of democracy". The theory of democratic participation focuses on the centrality of media and communication institutions, founded on the princ
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iple of social responsibility and particularly prevalent in capitalist countries. "Democratic participation" reflects the definition of freedom from the democratic and parliamentary systems that have become influential in this age (Wolinetz 2012). This argument is considered by a free press as a failure due to its subordination to a centralized government and owners of capital. Building from corruption reports, public opinion polls, and popular demonstrations, this study will reveal journalists' perceptions of their roles in covering corruption and democracy, investigating whether corrupt political parties and corrupt capitalists control the political system. Democracy in Iraq has created new uncertainties, especially as it is a society without experience with political pluralism. The political transition created civil violence and civil war in 2006." (Theoretical framework, page 2-3)
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"One of the greatest obstacles confronting the journalism profession in the discharge of their duties is the indiscriminate physical and digital threat being experienced by journalists all over the world, particularly within sub-Saharan Africa. The continuous attacks facing journalists in Africa, mo
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st especially during election times, violate their fundamental human rights. Journalists play a major role in the dissemination of information before, during and after an election. Unfortunately, elections in many African States are characterised by uncertainty, due to the possibility of election-related violence, which has led to the killing and disappearance of many journalists.
Design/methodology/approach: The study adopts a qualitative research approach involving a descriptive survey design. A purposive sampling of 20 respondents is adopted across various media organisations in Nigeria.
Findings: The study explores the role and importance of journalists during an election. It also examines the consequences of electoral violence on journalists and the discharge of their duties. It further assesses the role of the state authority in the protection of life and the safety of journalists during the election period. Finally, the study posits that a guard against the threat against journalists such as killings, ill-treatment and other interferences during and after the election period is essential and should be taken as a collective responsibility of all the various stakeholders in the community and nations." (Abstract)
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"In June 2020, MDIF conducted a survey of 36 Myanmar media outlets to gather information about the impact of COVID-19 on their businesses between March and May. They represent a mix of national media, as well as local media from the ethnic states and regions. Their operations are of various sizes: t
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hree media have 70-150 staff, 7 have 20-69, and 26 have 1-19. All the media surveyed felt the impact of COVID-19 almost immediately. Not surprisingly, as this has generally been the experience of media worldwide, commercial revenue decline was often dramatic: half of the survey respondents reported more than a 75% drop inincome. This is, though, significantly greater than the 40-60% decline that media companies MDIF is working with elsewhere around the world have experienced. Thirty-two of the 36 respondents had advertising revenue prior to the start of the pandemic, and all of them reported that it was negatively affected. All 19 media with print products were obliged to either reduce or even halt production. In response to collapsing revenues, 31 of the 36 survey respondents instituted spending cuts between March and May including, in some cases, cutting salaries and staff." (Introduction)
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"Covering war conflicts may compromise the psychological and physical health of journalists because chronic exposure to these environments has been related to depression, memory dissociative processes, and post-traumatic stress disorder; however, acute effects have not been studied yet. Thus, a comb
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at simulation was carried out replicating actual warfare scenarios, including personnel and equipment. Psychophysiological response, memory, and information-processing were analysed of 40 professional soldiers (21 males and 19 females) and 19 journalists (12 males and 7 females) with international experience in current conflict areas such as Afghanistan, Iraq, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Kosovo, in relation to their experience of a combat intervention. A significant increase (p < 0.05) in metabolic, muscular, cardiovascular, and cortical and psychological anxiety response, as well as a decrease in memory accuracy directly after and 24 h and 72 h post-combat were found; these modifications were modulated by the nature of the stimulus. Journalists presented higher cognitive and memory impairment than soldiers, resulting in a press reporting of real events accuracy of only 27%." (Abstract)
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"The study's findings, based on survey responses and interviews, point towards the poor quality of fact-checking practices in Pakistani newsrooms and stress the urgent need of introducing media literacy trainings to journalists and media practitioners." (Executive summary)
"The research included a survey of 546 journalists along with in-depth interviews of 10 senior reporters and editors in national and international newsrooms based in Pakistan. The survey, aimed at understanding the perception of their ability to identify and counter misinformation, found that almost
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90% of respondents believe that misinformation has had an impact on public trust in the media. It also concluded that nine out of ten respondents claimed that they have become more vigilant about fact-checking due to accusations about the media's role in spreading misinformation. Editors interviewed for the study felt that accusations of “fake news” and attacks on journalists on social media had not only made them more vigilant but also fearful of putting out information. In terms of their understanding, the survey found that 89% of respondents claimed there were discussions in their newsrooms about misinformation. While on the face of it this appears encouraging, the survey indicated that none of the 584 respondents were able to differentiate between misinformation, mal-information, and disinformation casting a shadow over their true understanding of integral concepts." (Executive summary, page 3)
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"According to the respondents (522 respondents), people pay most attention to "prevention methods from COVID-19" (3.82 out of the full score 5). On the contrary, the respondents pay relatively less attention to "Pandemic Statistics (local, national, and international)" (3.55 out of the full score 5)
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. In the survey which had 522 respondents, many of the respondents (counts: n=139) who requested further information wanted to know more about the possible cure and treatment of COVID-19. This trend also justifies the ongoing global search for a possible cure for the virus, especially the consideration for the local cure in some African countries. “Social Media platform” is the most used platform to gather information about COVID-19, followed by Television, Websites, Radio, Printed Media, Consultation with Medical staff and Communication through Non-medical sources being the least used source of information. According to the respondents, the information from Multilateral Organizations (e.g. World Health Organization, United Nations, ICRC, etc.) is most trusted by the respondents (scored 3.66 out of 5) and followed by medical staff (scored 3.36 out of 5) and international news houses (scored 3.27 out of 5). Most suspicious information is circulating on the topics of treatment and prevention, and the majority of them have encountered much of the information on local and traditional treatment." (Pages 4-5)
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"Journalistic autonomy has been studied more frequently in countries with secure democracies in terms of journalists’ perceptions of freedom and independence to work in the midst of the controls, pressures, and influences perceived in the newsrooms. Based on objective variables and on a national s
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urvey completed by 546 Colombian journalists, this article examines how inequality, violence, and insecurity affect their perceived autonomy to develop and publish news. Using regression analysis and statistical mediation, it was found that political and economic influences intervene in the relationship between aggressions against journalists and the decrease in journalistic autonomy. This decrease is strongest when violence comes internally from the work environment and when gender inequalities, homicides, and insecurity are connected to newsrooms. In the conclusion, recommendations are offered for future studies and postagreements of peace in Colombia." (Abstract)
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"Journalists are often exposed to potentially traumatic content through their profession. High levels of exposure have been found to predict high levels of psychopathology among journalists, including posttraumatic stress, alcohol use, and depressive symptoms. Predictors of such outcomes have not be
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en extensively investigated. The current study assessed the roles of world views, institutional betrayal, and work-related trauma exposure on symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), alcohol use, and depression. One hundred and fifteen journalists completed the online study and a portion subsequently completed a phone clinical interview. Greater exposure to work-related trauma was positively correlated with PTSD. Regression analyzes revealed that experiences of institutional betrayal moderated the relationship between shattered world assumptions and PTSD and alcohol use, but not depression. Specifically, among individuals who reported greater institutional betrayal, the relationship between benevolence of the world and PTSD and alcohol use was stronger. Results highlight the role of organizational factors in exacerbating symptoms of pathology. Implications include conducting research on micro- and macro-level factors that contribute to pathology in this group. Recommendations include destigmatizing disclosure of psychological needs to editors and news agencies, introducing more trainings for journalists and editorial staff focused on trauma, mental health, and how to improve and maintain psychological well-being." (Abstract)
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"This chapter examines the perceptions of Nigerian journalists towards the Nigerian Press Council Bill 2018 and the governments’ online surveillance. The study employs survey and interview methods: 217 Nigerian media practitioners selected from print and online media responded to the questionnaire
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while ten key informants were interviewed. The findings revealed that a majority of the respondents are concerned about the government’s effort in suppressing freedom of expression. They believe that personal interest rather than national interest constitutes the basis for the government’s online surveillance and the proposed new Press Council Bill, which a majority believe will gag the press and restrict freedom of expression in Nigeria. A majority of the respondents also consider the government’s online surveillance an impediment to their professional duties and a violation of their privacy. Hence, they believe that it is not unlikely that their digital presence has been tracked and monitored by government security agencies. As a result, respondents have resorted to avoiding certain topics considered critical of government while also avoiding activities on social media that may be considered controversial or suspicious. Hence, respondents believe protecting the anonymity of their sources and disguising their digital footprints are the needed safety precautions." (Abstract)
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"Top influencers are Ulana Suprun, Yanina Sokolova, and Serhiy Prytula. Most influential nonprofit organizations are the educational platforms Osvita.ua and Promotheus. Individual personalities are more influential than organizations. National platforms are more influential than regional platforms.
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Central and Western Ukraine are most engaged in discussions of national identity, socio-economic opportunity, youth civic issues, while Southern and Eastern Ukraine are less active." (Key findings, page 1)
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"Despite the growing scholarship on investigative journalism in Latin America, very few studies have addressed collaboration across newsrooms in the region. By analyzing the responses of 251 journalists who work for investigative units in Latin American news outlets, this study explores a) the reaso
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ns why Latin American journalists are increasingly seeking to participate in national and transnational collaborative enterprises, b) the challenges they identify, and c) the role digital technologies are playing in this trend of transnational collaboration. Using mixed methods, we found that collaborations occur to enhance the impact of investigative projects, to reach larger audiences, and to achieve a big-picture coverage. We also found that safety is an important motivation to work in conjunction with other newsrooms—by collaborating, journalists are able to strengthen security measures and challenge censorship. Yet, coordinating teams—especially at the transnational level—remains the biggest challenge to overcome. Digital technologies are significantly related to reporters’ likelihood of collaborating, but these technologies require other reporting skills to be useful for investigative journalism. Implications for research and practice are discussed." (Abstract)
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