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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"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

Safety of journalists in Germany

In: Safety of journalists in Europe: Threats and best practices to tackle them
San Domenico di Fiesole: European University Institute (2021), pp. 43-52
"The physical and digital safety of journalists is an important parameter to assess basic conditions for a plural media environment. If one examines the situation in Germany based on the given categories, it becomes clear that there are problems in various areas. At the same time, however, ideas alr ... more
"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 ... more

Threats and Attacks on Women Journalists in the Philippines

In: Handbook of Research on Discrimination, Gender Disparity, and Safety Risks in Journalism
Hershey, PA: IGI Global (2021), pp. 43-59
"Due to continuing threats and attacks on the media, journalist safety has been the subject of increasing scholarly research in the Philippines. A gap in the literature, however, is research on safety issues affecting Filipino women journalists in particular, despite reports on specific challenges t ... 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
"The Nigerian media scene is notably vibrant, which can be perceived as a democratization of communication and liberalization of the press where anyone with the means to own a media establishment can do so. Thus, the challenge with the Nigerian media is no longer the issue of access but, rather, tha ... more
"Zubair Mujahid was a journalist from Mirpurkhas in Pakistan whose stories exposed corruption and human rights abuses. His stories and columns were published in the Daily Jang, an Urdu language newspaper based in Karachi, Pakistan’s largest urban centre. On 23 November 2007, Zubair was shot while ... 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
"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

Bulgarian Journalists Under Pressure: Threats, Violence, and Freedom of Speech

In: Handbook of Research on Discrimination, Gender Disparity, and Safety Risks in Journalism
Hershey, PA: IGI Global (2021), pp. 212-231
"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 ... more
"This study explores forms of social media fatigue described by professional journalists, including frustration with the perception of their increased affective labor, dissatisfaction with communication environments on particular social media platforms, and increased anxiety about the possible impac ... more
"Utilizing a constellation of conceptual tenets drawn from critical digital technology theory, field theory and concepts of digital democracy, this article argues that the post-coup period in Zimbabwe has solidified digital journalism practices in three main ways. These are: (i) the consolidation of ... more

Health and Safety Risks to Journalists During Pandemics

In: Handbook of Research on Discrimination, Gender Disparity, and Safety Risks in Journalism
Hershey, PA: IGI Global (2021), pp. 90-103
"Journalists play a critical role in the dissemination of health information to the public. This chapter explores the challenges created by COVID-19 for journalists in Pakistan. It also examines how the pandemic has shed light on the disparities and safety risks in the Pakistani journalism and expos ... more

Covering conflict: Safety, sanity and responsibility

In: Insights on Peace and Conflict Reporting
London; New York: Routledge (2021), 13 pp.
"The chapter reflects upon reporting conflict based on the author’s own experiences from several decades in the field. Exploring the assessments being made around risk and safety as Head of Newsgathering at the BBC, decisions which have echoes in the themes of this book. Through a personal practic ... more
"Violence against journalists is nothing new. It has been around in various iterations for decades: harsh criticism of the profession, media headquarters ransacked and destroyed, journalists considered bargaining chips or a means to apply pressure during periods of conflict, or during political, eco ... more
"Despite the fact that Nigeria's transition from military rule to democracy is over two decades, violence targeting journalists still remains a recurring issue. On this basis, this paper aims to examine patterns of violent attacks targeting journalists in Lagos, Nigeria. Design/methodology/approach: ... more
"Across the globe, governments have issued emergency and drastic measures aimed at tracking the spread of COVID-19 and safeguarding public health. Notwithstanding the necessity and importance of some of these measures, this work argues that numerous governments around the world used the pandemic cri ... more
"This chapter examines Zimbabwean print journalists’ everyday newsmaking experiences during the 2008 disputed harmonized elections. The article is sequel to our article (Tsarwe and Mare 2019), which exclusively relied on qualitative content analysis of a state-owned weekly (The Sunday Mail) and tw ... 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