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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Beyond Incivility: Understanding Patterns of Uncivil and Intolerant Discourse in Online Political Talk

Patricia Rossini

Communication Research, volume 49, issue 3 (2022), pp. 399-425

"This article takes up the popular argument that much online discussion is toxic and hence harmful to democracy, and argues that the pervasiveness of incivility is not incompatible with democratically relevant political talk. Instead of focusing on the tone of political talk, scholars interested in ... more

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Cyber security, surveillance and journalism in Scotland

Angela Daly, Elaine Robinson, David McMenemy

Dundee: Leverhulme Research Centre for Forensic Sciences (2022), 21 pp.

"The report is the output of a RSE-funded project on how journalists in Scotland undertake their work in the digital age from the point of view of cyber security and surveillance impacts. This research interviewed ten journalists from Scotland, from various beats, locations, and employment backgroun ... 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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Counter digital revolution, disinformation, and journalistic constraints in Arab media

Sahar Khamis, Khalid Al-Jaber

Journalism Research/Journalistik, volume 3, issue 5 (2022), pp. 234-252

"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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Trauma-Informed Journalism

Kevin J. Becker, Lori Shontz

In: Trauma in Adult and Higher Education: Conversations and Critical Reflections

Laura Douglass, Aubry Threlkeld, Lisa R. Merriweather (eds.)

Charlotte, NC: Information Age Publishing (2022), pp. 205-220

"Covering stories of tragedy and trauma is commonplace for journalists. To date, no organized or consistent approaches for teaching journalists about the impacts of trauma on their own lives, and the lives of those that are impacted by tragedy, have been developed. Journalists are left on their own ... more

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Media and Uncertainty. Understanding the Institutional Precarity of Journalism: A Macro Approach to the Civil Diminishment of Journalism

Sara Torsner

International Journal of Communication, volume 16 (2022), pp. 3885-3897

"This article develops a conceptual framework for understanding risk to journalism, more specifically, risk to the standing of journalism as a civil institution generated by macro-level state and market forces of civil diminishment. While the state and market arguably belong to the most well-studied ... more

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Strengthening safety and security resources for visual storytellers and journalists. A scoping study
Deep Insights

Peter Noorlander, Agnieszka Raczynska, Camila Mariño, Juliana Lopes

International Resource for Impact and Storytelling (IRIS); Ford Foundation (2022), iv, 114 pp.

"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

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Post-2018 Media Landscape in Ethiopia: A Review

Mulatu Alemayehu Moges

Center for the Advancement of Rights and Democracy (CARD) (2022), v, 46 pp.

"The advancement of digital technologies, political and legal changes, and the growth in the number of journalism schools in Ethiopia have generally contributed to the overall growth of media outlets and media workers. However, there is no comprehensive source of information that shows the impact of ... more

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Endangered Voices: Nigerian Journalists’ Safety amid the COVID-19 Pandemic

Moyosore Omowonuola Alade, Bernice Oluwalanu Sanusi

In: Health Crises and Media Discourses in Sub-Saharan Africa

Carol Azungi Dralega, Angella Napakol (eds.)

Springer (2022), pp. 109-126

"This chapter examines the difficult conditions Nigerian journalists faced while reporting during the COVID-19 pandemic, focusing on the threats and dangers faced by Nigerian broadcast journalists and its implication for journalism practice amid a pandemic. Using a qualitative approach, we conducted ... more

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Evaluation of Freedom of Expression and Safety of Journalists in Nigeria

Olushola Mary Okpodu

American Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences Research, volume 6, issue 2 (2022), pp. 125-133

"The freedom of expression and Journalists* safety, as well as other media practitioners have become an issue of debate on press freedom and the working condition of reporters following untoward development on the media space which has become a preoccupation with journalism professional organization ... more

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Lives, Jobs, Homeland: Afghan Women Journalists Lose All

Association of Women in Radio and Television (AWRT-K) (2022), 52 pp.

"According to a survey conducted by Reporters without Borders (RSF) in December 2021, from 10,790 people working in Afghan media (8,290 men and 2,490 women) at the start of August 2021, only 4,360 (3,950 men and 410 women) were still working and the number may reduce even further. For this survey, d ... ata were collected through online and in-person manual surveys in May 2022. The questionnaire included 23 questions and was completed by 308 respondents in Dari (75.97%) and Pashto (24.03%). All 100 percent respondents were female. The survey largely represented reporters (54.87%), followed by journalists (19.16%), producers (9.74%), presenters (3.90%) and others (12.01%). [...] A majority of respondents (67.86%) reported that they have lost their jobs since the de facto authorties’ takeover of Afghanistan in August. The highest ratio of respondents having lost their jobs compared to the respondents interviewed were in Bamyan (100%), followed by Kandahar (91%), Balkh (85%), Badakhshan (68%) and Kabul (62%). 60.39% of respondents reported that they have felt ‘major changes’ since the collapse of the former government. In addition, 28.90% respondents reported changes in some cases. As for the level of restrictions imposed on reporting since the de facto authorities’ takeover of power, an astounding 80.52% of respondents reported the case to be ‘very restricted’. As far as the reporting autonomy is concerned, 45.13% respondents mentioned that ‘Government Interferences have Increased’, while 35.71% responded as ‘Bad’ meaning the independency in journalists’ reporting is bad. 46.75% of respondents mentioned that the de facto authorities’ spokespersons do not respond to female journalists, followed by 29.55% who mentioned that they do respond, but just in some cases. All 100% of the respondents reported that they have received some kind of threat since the de facto authorities have taken over the power, and reported the major threat against female journalists to be the new restrictions imposed by the de facto authorities (52.9%), followed by the gender-based discrimination (18.8%), and threats posed by extremist groups (16.9%). A majority of the respondents (55.19%) reported that they were restricted from their work specifically due to their outfit/sense of clothing and some (27.92%) reported that they have experienced the same but to some extent only." (Executive summary, pages 5-6) more

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Brief No.1: Media Restrictions and the Implications for Gender Equality in Afghanistan

Michelle Gehrig

Kabul: UN Women (2022), 29 pp.

"After nearly 20 years of international investment and successful efforts to build a diverse media landscape and strengthen journalism standards, the Afghan media sector has fundamentally changed for the worse since the Taliban (also referred herein to as the de facto authorities) takeover on 15 Aug ... more

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Guidelines for Documenting & Confronting Impunity for Crimes Against Journalists

Karachi: Pakistan Press Foundation (PPF) (2022), 26 pp.

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Knowledge and Practice of Safety Protocols among Journalists Serving as Frontline Workers in the COVID-19 Fight in Ebonyi State, Nigeria

Kenneth Adibe Nwafor, Emmanuel Chukwudi Nweke, Zainab A. Oji, Ijeoma Njoku

International Journal of Ebola, AIDS, HIV and Infectious Diseases and Immunity, volume 7, issue 1 (2022), pp. 20-37

"This study investigated the knowledge and practice of safety protocols among journalists serving as frontline workers in the fight against COVID-19 in Ebonyi State, Nigeria. Descriptive survey research design was adopted. Structured questionnaire served as instrument for data collection. The popula ... more

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Journalism in Onset of COVID-19 Pandemic in Bangladesh: Governance and Coping Strategies of Newspaper Journalists

Rakib Ahmed, Uzzwal Kumar Mondal, Mridha Md. Shiblee Noman

Society & Change, volume 25, issue 4 (2022), pp. 53-71

"This paper is about newspaper journalism practices under the COVID-19 pandemic in Bangladesh. Based on two separate theories - Communication Competence Theory, and Risk and Crisis Communication Management Theory -, this study intends to understand the challenges that newspaper journalists faced whi ... more

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WorldCat (36)

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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Google Scholar (40)

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Embedded authoritarianism: The politics of poor press freedom in Indian Kashmir

Tawseef Majeed

Media, Culture & Society, volume 44, issue 3 (2022), pp. 613–624

"The current article explores journalism practice amid waning press freedom in Indian Kashmir. Contextualising the recent renovation and introduction of authoritative new media policy 2020, the article maps the constant struggles of the journalists in the region. I consulted five working journalists ... 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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Reset Required? Evaluating the Media Freedom Coalition After its First Two Years

Mary Myers, Martin Scott, Mel Bunce, Lina Yassin, Maria Carmen Fernandez, Rachel Khan

University of East Anglia (UEA); City University of London; University of the Philippines-Diliman (2022), 69 pp.

"The purpose of this report is to evaluate the Media Freedom Coalition (MFC) in its first two years of operation, from 2019 to 2021. The MFC is a partnership of 50 countries working together to advocate for media freedom and the safety of journalists. Our independent report is based on over 100 inte ... more

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An Uphill Battle: From Impunity to Justice for Journalist Murders
Deep Insights

Evelien Wijkstra, Jos Midas Bartman

Free Press Unlimited (2022), 31 pp.

"For this report we analyzed hundreds of cases of journalists who were murdered in reprisal for their work. What stands out is their courage to report misdemeanor by those in power despite the clear and often well-known risks this entails for them. What stands out as well is the lack of capacity in ... more

Strengthening safety and security resources for visual storytellers and journalists. A scoping study Deep Insights

An Uphill Battle: From Impunity to Justice for Journalist Murders Deep Insights

Strengthening safety and security resources for visual storytellers and journalists. A scoping study
Deep Insights

An Uphill Battle: From Impunity to Justice for Journalist Murders
Deep Insights