Safety of Journalists CFOM Sheffield

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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Academic Consultation Report and Recommendations: 10th Anniversary of the UN Plan of Action on the Safety of Journalists and the Issue of Impunity

2022: UNESCO (2022), 70 pp.

"As press freedom continues a downward trend across the globe against a backdrop of rapidly changing landscape for the safety of journalists, the 10th anniversary of the UN Plan provided an opportunity to take stock of its key achievements during this first decade of implementation, as well as to id ... entify solutions to challenges that have arisen along the way. In this respect, UNESCO coordinated a multi-stakeholder consultative process involving regional and thematic consultations to collect partners’ experiences in promoting safety of journalists over the last decade as a basis for informing the course of action in the next 10 years and beyond. The consultative process included five regional and sub-regional consultations (for Africa, South Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean, Arab States and Europe), two thematic consultations (on the safety of women journalists, on risk management and transparency of digital platforms), and crosscutting academic consultations. This process brought together governments representatives, civil society organizations, academia, journalists, news organizations, IGOs and tech companies who shared experiences of the implementation of the Plan and provided and provided possible solutions to improve its coordination amidst a complex safety environment. From the eight consultations, UNESCO published a concise outcome document summarizing key processes and outcomes of each of the consultations. This document provided background reading and highlights of key issues and trends that informed discussions during the High-level conference on the Safety of Journalists which took place in Vienna on 3 -4 November. The conference was organized by the Austrian Federal Ministry of European and International Affairs in cooperation with UNESCO and the UN Office of the High Commissioner of Human Rights to commemorate the 10th anniversary of the UN Plan of Action and to reaffirm, recommit and reposition it for the next 10 years. Three other regional events were held to mark this anniversary. These are the Arab regional event that took place on 2-4 November in Tunis, Tunisia; the New York Group of Friends on Safety of Journalists event that took place in New York on 7 November 2022, and the Africa event that took place in Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe, on 11-12 November 2022. This report provides a detailed account of the three consultations held with academics on supporting and strengthening the future successful implementation of the UN Plan of Action." (Background, page 4-5) more

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Securing Australian Journalism from Surveillance

Diarmaid Harkin, Monique Mann

Deakin University; Alfred Deakin Institute for Citizenship and Globalisation (ADI) (2022), 31 pp.

"In Australia, the Data Retention Act (2015), the Assistance and Access Act (2018), the Identify and Disrupt Act (2021), and the International Production Orders Act (2020) have significantly increased the surveillance powers of law enforcement and intelligence agencies with implications for journali ... sts and the free press. This report draws on interviews with 19 journalists and 2 media-lawyers in Australia. The interviews were conducted between May and November 2021. The aim of the interviews was to gauge (a) the level of preparedness amongst journalists in Australia concerning surveillance, and (b) the impacts of increased surveillance powers on journalistic practices. There was wide variation in information security understanding and applied skill among media organisations and journalists. Some expressed “very low confidence” (Journalist F) that journalists were adequately prepared for the threats of electronic surveillance and a number conceded that they were not thinking about it “enough” (Journalist Q) or were just “learning on the job but could know more” (Journalist I). Some media organisations do not offer support in terms of education and training, policies and procedures, or formal guidance, and even among the most active and equipped organisations, support for cyber security concerns was described as “probably too far down the list of considerations” (Journalist D). In most instances, journalists were self-educating as “it is up to the individual journalist to make sure they are secure” (Journalist A). The 2019 AFP raids on the ABC and Annika Smethurst were described as a “holy shit” moment (Journalist P) that raised awareness of government surveillance of journalists. These raids resulted in many journalists and media organisations raising their efforts to protect their digital communications. Subsequently, over the past 2 to 3 years many journalists have migrated to encrypted communication applications such as Signal and Protonmail, while several media organisations have implemented SecureDrop for whistle-blowers to provide anonymity and security. Journalists suggested media organisations could do more to provide “formalised training” and “organisational support” (Journalist P) and invest more in their employees to provide confidence to potential sources that “journalists are good at this” (Journalist J)." (Executive summary) more

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Taming the People: Comparing Protests and Populism in Arab and American Politics

Sahar Khamis, Khalid Al-Jaber

Frontiers in Communication, volume 6, issue 780317 (2022), 11 pp.

"The spread of social media platforms ushered the beginning of an unprecedented communication era, which is borderless, immediate, widespread, and defies restrictions and censorship. Digital technology aided the spread of democracy and freedom of expression and helped to overthrow some Arab regimes ... more

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Fighting SLAPPs: What Can Media, Lawyers, and Funders Do?

Peter Noorlander

Washington, DC: Center for International Media Assistance (CIMA) (2022), 16 pp.

"Strategic lawsuits against public participation, or SLAPPs, are lawsuits taken against media organizations or activists with the sole purpose of silencing them. They typically involve a huge disparity in resources and the claimant’s tactic is to use the lawsuit, or threat of a lawsuit, to divert ... more

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Media Environment and Safety of Journalists During the Crisis in Georgia: Threats and Supportive Instruments

Mariam Gersamia, Maia Toradze

Environment and Society, volume 5, issue 5 (2022), 1 pp.

"Viable, free media is a crucial component of democratic progress in Georgia. Thirty years after the collapse of the Soviet Union and gaining independence, the safety of journalists while carrying out professional duties continues to be one of the critical indicators of progress in the country's med ... ia democracy. This research was triggered by the actualization of the acute and, in some ways, spontaneous media threat that arose during the pre-election period. More specifically, on July 5, 2021, two months before Georgia's local self-government municipal elections, media workers fell victim to a premeditated attack by pro-Russian radical groups during the coverage of demonstrations. As a result, 52 journalists from more than ten media outlets, camera operators, and photographers were assaulted. A TV Pirveli cameraman, Lekso Lashkarava, died a few days later due to severe injuries received during the demonstration. The research aims to distinguish the traits prevalent in the media environment during times of crisis and, even more specifically, during the pre-and post-election periods (particularly during the 2021 local government elections in Georgia). The research also responds to how political polarization and crises affect media and the macro and micro threats they reveal. The study identifies these media threats and assesses the reality of the media environment as seen through journalists' eyes. The research covers topics recommended by UNESCO (Towards a Research agenda on the safety of journalists) and examines seven of those ten recommended issues. A mixed research methodology was chosen for research design, more specifically, a sequential explanatory design. The research was conducted in two phases: the first phase involved the accumulation of quantitative data (through an online survey of 183 respondents from 56 media sources) and analysis, followed which the second phase involved qualitative research (3 focus group discussions). The research answers the questions as follows: How safe do media workers feel when performing their professional duties? What kind of threats have emerged during the 2021 pre-election media environment, and what are the expectations? What are some of the support mechanisms for improving the media environment, and what needs to be done to create a safer environment for media workers? Macro (4) and micro (6) media threats were identified during the research process. They are analyzed in sub-chapters in greater detail. These threats are interconnected and have their structure and aims. Media threats, which emerged during the discussion, contribute to self-censorship and escalation of fear, media credibility, reduction of support, and destabilizing media institutional viability. Political polarization and polarization between media organizations were identified as major macro media threats. Micro threats that were identified as a result of polarization are: Stigmatization of journalists and media (labeling them as biased towards certain political parties) and attempted smear campaigns; They are disrupting the execution of journalist duties. Among such actions are creating obstacles to providing a balanced narrative and bringing a quality media product to the public, primarily reflected in a premeditated restriction to sources and surveillance to disrupt the work process. One macro threat that emerged from the online survey and focus-group analysis was the incitement of physical and verbal violence towards journalists (this includes hate speech and the use of aggressive rhetoric by the state). These media threats reinforce self-censorship and fear, destabilize media institutions' viability and negatively affect the demonstration of solidarity and support toward media. One identified macro-threats towards journalists was the lack of investigation of crimes committed against journalists and impunity as an encouraging factor. Additionally, we could consider the malign nature of the Russian propaganda and malign influence in general as an additional factor, which serves as a leitmotif for the entire discussion on another macro threat. As a result of this study, recommendations have been put forward for various stakeholders. Implementing these recommendations will help create a supportive media environment, encourage solidarity, and improve coordination between different stakeholders during and after crises. Research conducted is by the Media and Communication Educational and Research Center (Georgia) with support of the Friedrich Naumann Foundation’s South Caucasus Office and the Federal Republic of Germany’s Federal Foreign Office." (Abstract) more

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Moving Barriers to Investigative Journalism in Latin America in Times of Instability and Professional Innovation

Vanessa de Macedo Higgins Joyce, Lourdes Cueva Chacón, Rosental Calmon Alves

Journalism Practice, volume 16, issue 9 (2022), pp. 1890-1908

"Latin American journalism has experienced recent transitions marked by digital affordances, including a growth of investigative journalism. The region has also experienced more political and economic instability, giving rise to a wave of threats and harassment against journalists. This repeated cro ... more

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Cómo prepararse para reportear situaciones de alto riesgo

Malva Izquierdo

Oxford: Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism (2022), 28 pp.

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Egyptian Women Journalists’ Feminist Voices in a Shifting Digitalized Journalistic Field

Sahar Khamis, Rasha El-Ibiary

Digital Journalism, volume 10, issue 7 (2022), pp. 1238-1256

"This qualitative feminist study analyzes Egyptian women journalists’ articulations of their shifting roles, struggles, and resistances to the political, legal, socio-economic, and professional challenges in a shifting, hybrid, and digitalized journalistic field. Through analyzing 16 interviews wi ... more

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From State Repression to Fear of non-state Actors: Examining Emerging Threats of Journalism Practice in Ethiopia

Téwodros W. Workneh

Journalism Practice, volume 16, issue 9 (2022), pp. 1909-1926

"Non-state media journalists in Ethiopia traditionally faced safety threats emanating from state-sponsored attacks and punitive legal frameworks. Recently, however, state hostility is being replaced by non-state actors’ aggression against journalists. By framing emerging threats of reporters’ sa ... more

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Working Under the “Sword of Damocles”: Experiences of Journalists in a Hybrid Regime

Ali Riaz, Fahmida Zaman

In: Masks of Authoritarianism

Arild Engelsen Ruud, Mubashar Hasan (eds.)

Singapore: Palgrave Macmillan (2022), pp. 37-55

"In the past decade, Bangladesh has witnessed severe erosion of democratic practices and weakening of democratic institutions. Incumbent has demonstrated its penchant for executive aggrandizement. These have transformed Bangladesh into a hybrid regime, which is marked with various characteristics in ... more

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Strict Fanaticism and Radicalism with the Post Battle on Dread Situation in Pakistan: Security Worries for Media Reporters in Kp

Azam Jan, Irem Sultana, Malik Adnan

Pakistan Journal of Linguistics, volume 4, issue 1 (2022), pp. 1-15

"Geo-strategically, Pakistan is placed in the region that has been frayed by wars conflict since the USSR’s (1979) invasion of Afghanistan. Since, Pakistan is sharing one of the longest borders with Afghanistan, hence could not remain impervious. The region, specially, Pakistan had not yet fully r ... more

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Determinants of Journalists' Autonomy and Safety: Evidence from the Worlds of Journalism Study

Basyouni Ibrahim Hamada

Journalism Practice, volume 16, issue 8 (2022), pp. 1715-1735

"The present study is an attempt to examine how objective structural political forces and subjective perception of political influences determine journalists' autonomy and safety. The evidence is based on responses representing journalists from 65 countries, which adds to the cross-cultural robustne ... more

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Violence Against Female Journalists in Indonesia: A Threat to Journalism and Freedom of the Press

Engelbertus Wendratama, Rahayu, Novi Kurnia, Puji Rianto, Monika Pretty Aprilia

Pemantau Regulasi dan Regulator Media (PR2Media); USAID (2022), 110 pp.

"This research was conducted through a survey (involving 1,256 respondents) and interviews (six informants) of female journalists in 191 cities, representing western, central, and eastern parts of Indonesia. This survey included 25 questions about the respondents’ violence experiences related to t ... more

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Freedom of Expression: A Myth or Reality? A Case of Pakistani Television Journalists

Awais Hameed, Tabassum Saba, Ali Haider Saeed

Journal of Media and Communication Studies, volume 2, issue 2 (2022), pp. 1-16

"This study is aimed at investigating the impact of security threats on the freedom of expression of Pakistani Television (TV) journalists. It has been observed that a growing trend of curtailment of freedom of expression is becoming new normal in the country. One of the significant problems related ... more

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Expanding the Analytical Boundaries of Mob Censorship: How Technology and Infrastructure Enable Novel Threats to Journalists and Strategies for Mitigation

Jennifer R. Henrichsen, Martin Shelton

Digital Journalism, volume 11, issue 10 (2022), pp. 1848-1867

"Mob censorship, which “expresses the will of ordinary citizens to exert power over journalists through discursive violence” is traditionally considered a grassroots phenomenon. However, within technically mediated systems, who is behind the mob is sometimes unclear. We therefore ask how the tec ... more

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Telling the Story: Remembering Elisabeth Blanche Olofio

Jules Swinkels

Free Press Unlimited; Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ); Reporters Without Borders (2022), 33 pp.

"Elisabeth Blanche Olofio’s reporting exposed local corruption and human rights abuses in the Central African Republic, providing her community with crucial information on the ongoing rebel advance at the time. On 5 January 2013, she was severely beaten, tortured and raped by Séléka rebels in he ... more

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Coping with the Murder: The Impact of Ján Kuciak’s Assassination on Slovak Investigative Journalists

Marína Urbániková, Lenka Haniková

Journalism Practice, volume 16, issue 9 (2022), pp. 1927-1947

"In this contribution, using a case-study approach, we focus on the assassination of Ján Kuciak and his fiancée and explore the impact and consequences that it had on the community of investigative journalists in Slovakia. By conducting a series of semi-structured interviews with top investigative ... more

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The murder of Gerry Ortega: Justice delayed, justice denied

Jos Midas Bartman

Free Press Unlimited; Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ); Reporters Without Borders (2022), 30 pp.

"The murder of Gerry Ortega is indicative of structural problems concerning the safety of journalists in the Philippines; while the hitmen are often arrested, the powerful masterminds behind the killings of journalists often evade justice. Gerry Ortega was a prominent broadcast journalist and enviro ... more

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Trauma exposure and post-traumatic stress disorder among regional journalists in Pakistan

Sayyed Fawad Ali Shah, Jan Faizullah, Tamar Ginossar, Patrick J. McGrail, Danish Baber, Rahman Ullah

Journalism, volume 23, issue 2 (2022), pp. 391-408

"This study sought to examine work-related exposure to trauma and predictors of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) symptoms among regional journalists in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) province, a conflict-ridden area in northwest Pakistan. We recruited 216 KP journalists. Analysis of the surveys re ... more

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Security Considerations When Engaging Sensitive Sources

Lukasz Król, Harlo Holmes

Internews (2022), 5 pp.

"These recommendations are targeted towards individuals working with sensitive sources on high-level projects that uncover government or corporate misdeeds. We have drafted a few additional steps you should keep in mind if you will be communicating with sensitive sources. Following the below steps w ... more