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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"Internet surveillance has become a crucial issue for journalism. The “Snowden moment” has shed light on the risks that journalists and their sources face while communicating online and has shown how journalists themselves can be targets of surveillance operations or other forms of malicious dig ... more
"As a consequence of the endemic anti-press violence, Mexican journalists work under dangerous conditions. The constant assaults have eroded the practice of free journalism and thus, the people's right to know. Drawing on a set of semi-structured interviews with news workers from the most violent st ... more
"This toolkit on international standards for freedom of expression builds on these efforts, aiming to give a global scope to this endeavour. By reinforcing the knowledge and capacities of the judiciary, the toolkit effectively contributes to the implementation of the UN Plan of Action on the Safety ... more
"The media sector in Moldova is diverse. Dogged investigative reporting plays a vital role in public life. However, the legal framework governing the sector is unstable and underdeveloped. In 2020, much of the country’s political class treated the independent press with hostility, viewing journali ... more

The Voice of Women and Challenges of Gender Equality in Georgian Media

In: Handbook of Research on Discrimination, Gender Disparity, and Safety Risks in Journalism
Hershey, PA: IGI Global (2021), pp. 232-250
"This research analyzes the media landscape in Georgia from a gender equality perspective to identify the existing stereotypes dominant in Georgian media organizations. Georgia (country) faces the challenges related to femicide, domestic violence, employment of women, early or forced marriages, sexu ... more

Online harassment of journalists as a consequence of populism, mis/disinformation, and impunity

In: The Routledge Companion to Media Disinformation and Populism
London; New York: Routledge (2021), pp. 178-187
"This chapter aims to examine additional factors associated with populism, disinformation and online harassment of journalists in an environment of impunity, though the relationship between digital communication and populism has been analysed since the late 1990s. It considers strategies that have b ... more
"Why do state authorities murder journalists? We show that the majority of journalists are killed in democracies and present an argument that focuses on institutional differences between democratic states. In democracies, journalists will most likely be targeted by local state authorities that have ... more
"This survey-based case study explored members' motives for using a closed Facebook group specifically for women journalists. Particularly, we explored a motivation based on the feminist ethics of care and members' experiences of harassment, job satisfaction, and confidence in discussing safety issu ... more
"A number of studies have demonstrated that journalists will experience traumatic events during the course of their careers. Yet a gap in the research exists regarding newsroom organizational leaders and the impact of trauma on their work and emotional health. This study used a grounded theory appro ... more
"The decrease in journalist safety and media freedom has a negative impact on the rule of law because journalists cannot act as public watchdogs. Its deterioration in Europe during the last decade is a worrying trend for society as a whole. The Council of Europe has tried to fight against it through ... more

Globalizing the Battle Against Impunity

In: Regardless of Frontiers: Global Freedom of Expression in a Troubled World
New York: Colombia University Press (2021), pp. 227-252
"When press freedom groups began a campaign against impunity, they set out to gain justice in individual cases of journalists murdered for their work. Did a global norm evolve in the process? Among the rights guaranteed by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Article 19, is notable for its ele ... more
"Digital journalism in Brazil is dominated by a few big players and has recently been threatened by the country’s challenging political and economic environment. Still, organizational structures promoting independent digital journalism (IDJ) persist. Originally understood as “the blogosphere,” ... more
"There is a growing recognition that journalists are exposed to dangerous or hazardous working conditions in many places worldwide. These conditions are suggested to be linked to greater macro-related structural risks, including changes to the political economy of news that increase labor precarity, ... more
"Journalists, across the world, are ever more at risk of surveillance from state and non-state antagonists. However, to work safely in a monitored environment is a substantial challenge for journalists. In such regimes, journalists and media organizations are often prone to attacks by the state auth ... more
"This article presents a mapping review of the available literature on the emotional well-being of journalists exposed to traumatic events. The review consists of three parts: (a) a summary of the results of trauma-related literature; (b) identification of the limitations of studies to date; and (c) ... more
"This chapter examines the root causes, development, and corrosive effects of the progressive “capture” of influential media by populist governments and other vested interests in Central and Eastern Europe over the past 20 years. Many countries in the region have proved vulnerable to media captu ... more
"Colombian journalists experience abundant threats and acts of violence as well as corporate and governmental obstacles to publishing the truth. In response, many reporters engage in selfcensorship, eschewing stories to protect their livelihoods—and their very lives. Our in-depth interviews with s ... more
"Today, a variety of gender-based threats and discrimination continue to characterize journalism. Both male and female journalists are prone to online and offline threats, casual stereotypes in their routine work, and discrimination (especially in terms of job opportunities, promotion, and pay-scale ... more

An investigation into Risks to Mental Health of Bangladeshi Journalists

In: Handbook of Research on Discrimination, Gender Disparity, and Safety Risks in Journalism
Hershey, PA: IGI Global (2021), pp. 167-193
"Mental health in workplaces is a global concern today, and Bangladesh is not an exception to that. It is a big concern in journalism as good journalism depends on healthy journalists and news organizations. Most of the scholarships on the topic have been done from the perspective of western and dev ... more

Unmasking Gender-Based Violence in Venezuelan Media

In: Handbook of Research on Discrimination, Gender Disparity, and Safety Risks in Journalism
Hershey, PA: IGI Global (2021), pp. 251-267
"The Venezuelan government has been instrumental to implement different types of gender-based violence and discrimination. Reports demonstrate that women have been killed, that their economic power decreased, and that they experienced problems related to access to education, health services, jobs, e ... more