The Centre for Freedom of the Media (CFOM) at the University of Sheffield (UK) is an interdisciplinary research centre with global outreach on issues of media freedom, journalism safety, editorial standards and impunity. During the 2022 Academic Consultation on the UN Plan of Action on the Safety of Journalists and the Issue of Impunity, CFOM conducted a literature stocktake to scope out academic literature published in the area of media freedom, journalism safety and impunity. CFOM collated this information and produced a literature database organised by themes or countries for accessibility.  The collection is especially strong on country- and region-specific safety issues and on surveys of emotional wellbeing of journalists. This special collection is curated by gemma.horton@sheffield.ac.uk.

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1001
Featured
Topics
Safety of Journalists, Safety Risks of Media Workers
464
Harassment & Intimidation of Journalists
185
Journalists Dealing with Risks & Threats, Resilience & Wellbeing of Media Workers
174
Female Journalists & Media Workers
132
Media Freedom, Press Freedom
107
Safety of Journalists: Law & Public Policies
78
Conflict Reporting, Armed Conflict Reporting
73
Killings of Journalists & Media Personnel
53
Violence Against Journalists & Media Personnel
53
Self-Censorship
53
Working Conditions of Journalists & Media Personnel
50
Impunity for Crimes Against Journalists & Media Personnel
42
War Reporting
39
Cybersecurity, Digital Safety, Privacy, Right to Privacy
28
Media Assistance: Freedom of Expression & Safety of Journalists
28
Press Freedom & Communication Rights Violations
28
Journalism Education & Training
28
COVID-19 Pandemic: Effects on Journalism, Media & Communication
28
Surveillance, Surveillance Technologies, Spyware
20
Foreign Correspondents
19
Investigative Journalism
19
Gender-Based Online Harassment & Sexual Threats
15
Censorship
13
Gender-Based Harassment, Intimidation & Violence
13
Journalists: Professional Identity & Values
13
Crime & Violence Reporting
12
Humanitarian Law
12
Protests, Protest Movements, Protest Reporting & Media Representation
12
Media Law & Regulation
12
Human Rights Protection
12
COVID-19 Communication
11
Media Law & Regulation: International Standards & Practices
11
Journalism
11
United Nations Plan of Action on the Safety of Journalists and the Issue of Impunity
10
Cyberbullying, Cyberharassment
10
Freelance Journalists & Media Workers
10
Freedom of Expression
9
Countering Defamation & Harassment
9
Media Landscapes, Media Systems, Media Situation in General
9
Digital Activism, Cyber Advocacy
8
Local Journalism
8
Election Reporting
8
Authoritarian Regimes: Government Communication Strategies
7
Authoritarian Regimes: Media Systems & Landscapes
7
Digital Journalism, Online Journalism
7
Editorial Independence
6
Exile Journalism, Exile Media
6
Citizen Journalism, Community Journalism
6
Conflict Areas: Media Systems, Media Landscapes, Role of Media
6
Social Media in Political Communication
6
Journalism Ethics
6
United Nations (UN)
6
Photojournalism
6
Media Capture, Vested Political & Other Interests in the Media
6
Freedom of Expression Lobbying & Communication Rights Campaigning
5
Conflict-Sensitive & Peace Journalism
5
Foreign Conflict Reporting, International War Reporting
5
Trauma: Media Representation & Reporting
5
Journalistic Social Media Use
5
Countering Hate Speech, Disinformation & Propaganda
5
Media Viability & Financial Sustainability
5
Emergency Medical Aid
5
UNESCO
5
Stringers & Fixers (Journalism)
5
Diversity & Pluralism in Media / Communication
5
Human Rights Violations
5
Police
5
Democracy / Democratization and Media
5
Research in Media & Communication
5
Access to Public Information, Freedom of Information, Right to Information
4
Advocacy
4
Freedom of Expression Principles
4
Indirect Censorship, Soft Censorship
4
Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation (SLAPP)
4
Military: Communication Strategies & Practices
4
Disaster & Humanitarian Crisis Reporting
4
Feminism & Communication
4
Russia: Foreign Information Operations, International Broadcasting, Public Diplomacy
4
Transnational Journalism Cooperation & News Exchange
4
Council of Europe
4
Journalism Education Curricula
4
Journalists
4
Media Assistance
4
Populism
4
Corruption & Combating Corruption
4
Open Data
3
Authoritarian Regimes, Dictatorships
3
Internet Censorship Circumvention Tools & Strategies
3
Government Communication Strategies
3
Community Radios
3
Iraq War (2003)
3
Russia-Ukraine War <2014-
3
Extremism & Terrorism Reporting
3
Trauma, Coping with Trauma, Trauma Therapy
3
Disinformation, Misinformation, Fake News
3
Documenting Human Rights Violations
3
Accountability & Transparency of the Media
3
Associations & Networks of Journalists
3
Media Reporting, Reporting on Journalism & Communication Issues
3
Television Journalism
3
Media & Communication Policies
3
Post-Socialist Media Systems & Landscapes
3
Migration & Refugees Reporting & (Social) Media Representation
3
Caruana Galizia, Daphne (1964-2017)
3
Right-Wing Extremism
3
Public Media, State Media
3
Networks & Networking
3
User-Generated Contents
3
Civic Engagement, Citizen Participation, Civil Society & Media
2
Gender Advocacy & Empowerment, Gender Mainstreaming
2
Media Advocacy, Media Activism
2
Audience Feedback, Interaction & Participation
2
Independent & Oppositional Media in Authoritarian Regimes
2
Political Cartoons & Comics
2
Film Actors, Directors & Producers, Filmmakers
2
Data Protection: Law & Regulation
2
Media / Communication Control
2
Crisis Communication
2
Genocides
2
Perpetrators
2
Transitional Justice Reporting
2
Media Criticism
2
Minority Journalists
2
Climate Change Communication, Climate Journalism
2
Defamation Law & Regulation
2
Bribery & Corruption in Journalism
2
Objectivity & Veracity of Reporting
2
Fact-Checking & Verification of Sources
2
Gender Discrimination, Gender Inequalities
2
Good Practice Examples
2
Indigenous Journalists & Communicators
2
Transnational & Comparative Communication Research
2
European Union (EU)
2
UNESCO & IPDC Media Assistance
2
Reporters Sans Frontièrs
2
Journalism Concepts & Cultures
2
Journalism Studies & Research
2
Journalistic Quality
2
Exiled Journalists
2
Corruption Reporting & Role of Media in Curbing Corruption
2
Political Reporting
2
Local Communication & Media
2
Confidential Sources, Whistleblowing, Protection of Journalists' Sources
2
Law & Regulation: Protection of Confidential Sources & Whistleblowers
2
Conflict & War Photography
2
Military
2
Opinion Leaders, Politicians, Decision Makers, Elites
2
Kompas (Newspaper, Indonesia)
2
Islamist Communications & Media
2
Research Methods
2
Crimes, Criminality, Organized Crime
2
Disappeared People, Missing People
2
Resilience
2
Access to Media & Information
1
Access to Media & Information: Migrants, Refugees, Diasporas
1
Access to Information Laws, Right to Information Regulation
1
Editorial Independence: Influence of Advertisers
1
Advocacy Campaigns
1
Civic Engagement, Citizen Participation, Civil Society & Digital Communication
1
Audiences & Users
1
Audience Expectations & Satisfaction
1
Audience Orientation
1
Social Media Analytics, Web Metrics, User Data Analytics
1
Trust in the Media, Credibility of Media
1
Authoritarian Regimes: Transnational Repression
1
Election Campaigns
1
Catholic Media
1
Documentaries, Television Documentaries, Web Documentaries
1
Digital Media Censorship, Control & Filtering, Internet & Social Media Censorship
1
Censorship Circumvention Tools & Strategies
1
State Influence on the Media
1
OSCE Representative of Freedom of the Media
1
Government / State Advertising: Allocation Policies & Regulation
1
Alternative Communication & Media
1
Conflicts: Victims' Perspectives
1
Terrorism
1
Boko Haram
1
Gaza War (2023-)
1
Humanitarian Interventions
1
Iraq-Kuwait Gulf War (1990-1991)
1
War Crimes
1
Conflict-Sensitive / Peace Communication
1
Dealing With the Past
1
Human Rights Protection & Violations: Media Representation & Reporting
1
Media Assistance in Conflict Regions & Fragile Countries
1
Violence in the Media
1
Discourse & Discourse Analysis
1
Theatre
1
Financing Nonprofit Organizations
1
International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC)
1
Sustainable Development Goals (SDG)
1
Algorithms & Big Data
1
Data Journalism, Computer-Assisted Investigative Reporting
1
Digital Media Startups
1
Digital Platform & Intermediaries Regulation
1
Digital & Information Literacy
1
Digital Political Communication
1
Online Magazines & Newspapers
1
Social Media
1
Content Moderation & Regulation: Social Media
1
Democratization & Digital Media / Social Media
1
Facebook
1
Twitter & Microblogs
1
Trolling (Social Media)
1
AI in Journalism & Media
1
Generative AI, including ChatGPT et al.
1
Digitalisation, Online Communication & Democracy / Democratization
1
Diaspora Media
1
Prisoners & Communication / Media
1
Racism
1
Religious Minorities & Media
1
Romani People
1
Disaster & Humanitarian Crisis Communication
1
Earthquakes, Floods, Tsunamis, Natural Disasters
1
Conspiracy Narratives, Conspiracy Theories
1
Disinformation & Misinformation Law & Regulation
1
Foreign Disinformation, Foreign Information Manipulation Operations, Foreign Propaganda
1
Health Disinformation & Misinformation
1
Identifying & Researching Disinformation
1
Media Literacy: Disinformation, Fake News, Hate Speech
1
Media Commercialisation
1
Media Concentration
1
Media Ownership
1
Political Economy of Media
1
Public Goods, Commons
1
Infotainment, Politainment
1
Sports Reporting
1
Environmental Journalism
1
Environmental & Land Conflicts Reporting & Media Representation
1
Defamation, Libel, Slander
1
Defamation: Effects on Victims
1
Bias in News Media
1
Self-Regulation of Media
1
Evaluation Criteria, Evaluation Indicators
1
Self-Assessment, Self-Evaluation
1
Gender and Media, Gender and Communication
1
Female Opinion Leaders, Politicians, Decision Makers
1
Gender-Based Harassment, Intimidation & Violence: Media Representation & Reporting
1
Gender Representation & Stereotypes in the Media
1
Media Assistance: Gender Focus
1
Health Journalism
1
Mental Health (General)
1
History of Journalism
1
History of the Press
1
China: Transnational Information Operations, International Broadcasting, Public Diplomacy
1
Foreign Countries: Reporting & Media Representation
1
Foreign News, International News
1
International Media Associations / Organizations
1
Transnational Media Corporations, International Media Companies
1
OSCE
1
International Federation of Journalists (IFJ)
1
Collaborative Journalism, Journalism Cooperation
1
Constructive Journalism, Solution-Oriented Journalism
1
Journalism Studies: Research Projects
1
Vox Pop Interviews
1
Journalistic Skills
1
Journalistic Style & Language
1
Journalists: Trust in Public Institutions
1
Labour Market for Journalists
1
News Agencies
1
Newsroom Management
1
Business & Economics Journalism
1
Court Reporting & Media Representation of Judicial System
1
Death & Grief: Reporting & Media Representation
1
Service Journalism, Consumer Information, Lifestyle Journalism
1
Metaphors
1
Translations & Translating
1
Local Television
1
Media Assistance: Elections
1
Media Assistance: Financial Sustainability & Management
1
Media Assistance: Implementing Organizations
1
International Media Support (IMS) (Media Development NGO, Denmark)
1
Media Assistance: Journalists' Associations, Media Associations
1
Media Assistance: Law & Regulation, Media Policy Consultancies
1
Media Assistance: Media & Information Literacy
1
Media Development Indicators
1
Media & Information Literacy
1
Transition Countries: Media Systems & Media Landscapes
1
Criminal Law & Criminal Prosecution
1
Internet Governance, Internet Policies
1
Law, Legislation, Judiciary (General)
1
Transitional Justice
1
Contracts, Labour Agreements, Service Contracts
1
Forced Migration, Forced Displacement
1
Cadwalladr, Carole (British Investigative Journalist)
1
Khashoggi, Jamal (1958-2018)
1
Ressa, Maria
1
Photographers
1
Hindu Nationalism
1
Political Extremism
1
Fragile / Post-Conflict States
1
Security
1
Personal Safety
1
Parliaments
1
Politics and Media
1
Election Campaigns: Social Media
1
Independent & Oppositional Media
1
Influence of Media on Politics
1
Political Transition and Media
1
Public Spheres
1
Emotions in Communication & Media
1
Memory, Memorizing
1
Mental Stress
1
Fundamentalisms (Religious)
1
Communication & Media Indicators
1
Communication & Media Research Associations & Networks
1
Digital Sources
1
Political Indicators
1
Interviewing (Journalistic Genre)
1
Assassination
1
Human Security
1
Sexual Violence & Abuse, Rape
1
COVID-19 Pandemic: Economic, Political and Social Effects
1
Rohingya
1
Blockchain Technologies
1
Open Source Software
1
Telecommunication Law, Regulation & Policies
1
Al-Jazeera
1
Theories of Communication & Media
1
Language
Document type
Countries / Regions
Authors & Publishers
Media focus
Publication Years
Methods applied
Journals
Output Type
"This study investigates the motivations for the hostility towards the press by the audience and how to control online harassment of journalists in Nigeria. Data for this study are from online and face-to-face semi-structured interviews of 54 Nigerians in Nigeria. Finding shows that perceived journa ... more
"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 ... more
"In 2019, 51 people were killed in terror attacks at two mosques in Christchurch, a city on the east coast of the South Island of New Zealand with a population of around 400,000 people. It was the deadliest mass shooting in the country’s history and the first terror attack of its kind on home soil ... more
"Despite the pervasiveness of workplace sexual harassment, the connection between sexual harassment and job satisfaction in the news industry remains insufficiently researched. This 16-country and one state study (N*=*1583) sampled news personnel from Sub-Saharan Africa, Southeast Asia, and the Arab ... more
"This report presents findings from the third wave of the Worlds of Journalism Study (WJS3), conducted between 2021 and 2025. In this iteration, we focused on journalists’ perceptions of risk and uncertainty in their profession and sought to identify key factors that shape how journalists navigate ... more
"With this Policy Manual, we provide guidance for building an information space free from oligopolistic control, resilient to manipulation, and supportive of independent, pluralistic media. This Policy Manual proposes both structural reforms and targeted mitigation measures – focusing on media vis ... more
"During the COVID-19 crisis, journalists doubled efforts to keep societies informed, safe, and disease-free. The study examines and compares specific challenges that journalists, based in diverse world regions, confronted during the COVID-19 pandemic. A survey was conducted with 215 journalists work ... more
"This study examines the online harassment faced by political journalists in Pakistan on Twitter, specifically focusing on the actions of users affiliated with various political parties. By selecting the 12 most active journalists on Twitter, we combined both content and textual analyses to examine ... more
"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 ... more
"Anti-press sentiment based on negative emotions of disgust and hatred has prevailed in Korea since the mid-2010s. Through in-depth interviews with ten journalists working for Korean news organizations, supplemented with an analysis of self-reflective articles, this study investigates how journalist ... more
"While online harassment directed towards women journalists are under wide discussion, the mechanism of audience intervention in stopping online harassment is less explored. Integrating bystander invention, ambivalent sexism, and social identity theories, we propose and test an integrative framework ... more
"Grounded in the intersections of culture, gender and occupation, this paper explores the challenges and barriers faced by “elite” Pakistani women working in a journalistic profession steeped in male dominance shaped by patriarchal values. One-on-one in-depth interviews were conducted with nine ... more
"This second volume focuses on primary trauma experienced by journalists, with a particular focus on the gendered dimensions, as shared by female journalists and researchers. By focusing on female journalists’ firsthand encounters, the book explores the complex psychological, emotional, and profes ... more
"Journalists have often been considered the "fourth emergency service". They are first on the scene, alongside paramedics, fi re and police, running towards danger rather than away, and providing independent, veritable and crucial information in the public interest. And yet, unlike frontline workers ... more
"In the next five years, Free Press Unlimited will work towards the following five goals to enhance the safety of media professionals: 1. Media professionals supported by Free Press Unlimited programmes are able to deal effectively with interference and threats at a physical, digital, legal and psy ... more
"This ten-point checklist highlights key tips for journalists undertaking digital approaches to investigative journalism." (Introduction)
"This document is the second of a set of three practical guidelines that provide recommendations for considering an intersectional gender approach when: monitoring and documenting attacks against journalists and social communicators (Guideline 1); advocating on emblematic cases for advocacy (this Gu ... more
"With attacks against storytellers increasing year-on-year, concern has grown about the lack of safety and security resources available to them. This is the focus of our study. Through a series of 120 interviews with artists, filmmakers, journalists, funders, activists, academics and others, along w ... more