Journalism & Working Conditions of Journalists

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"Stop Reporting or We'll Kill Your Family": Threats to Media Freedom in Afghanistan

Patricia Gossman

New York: Human Rights Watch (2015), 45 pp.

"Afghan journalists face threats from all sides: government officials exploiting weak legal protections to intimidate reporters and editors to compel them not to cover controversial topics; the Taliban and other insurgent groups using threats and violence to compel reporting they consider favorable; ... and police and justice officials letting threats, assaults, and even murders go uninvestigated and unprosecuted. Most of the threats come from individuals acting on behalf of powerful government officials or influential local actors, including militia leaders and so-called warlords. Violent attacks on journalists that go uninvestigated and unpunished reflect wider impunity and failure to establish the rule of law in Afghanistan. Afghan journalists often respond to the dangers with self-censorship. Many steer clear of reporting on sensitive issues—including corruption, land grabbing, violence against women, and human rights abuses—as a means to minimize safety risks. Kabul-based editors often avoid assigning stories that could put their reporters at significant risk. Editors and journalists told Human Rights Watch that self-censorship has become a survival mechanism for them. Those outside of the country’s main cities are especially vulnerable to reprisals from powerful individuals and groups because they are more exposed: they lack the protection provided by a larger Afghan media and international presence. The cultural and social conservatism of the provinces also contributes to the difficulty of reporting on controversial issues outside of the capital. The Taliban and other insurgent groups remain a potent source of intimidation and violence against journalists and media outlets. When the insurgency first emerged in 2002, journalists were among its early targets because the insurgents treated journalists as extensions of the Afghan government or Western military forces. However, in recent years, the Taliban and other insurgent groups have used the media as a propaganda platform, and actively court the press in their campaign against the government, including by pressuring reporters to cover their statements or not write articles deemed critical, sometimes with threats of violence. Female journalists in Afghanistan face particularly formidable challenges. In addition to the dangers facing all journalists, they must contend with social and cultural restrictions arising from being Afghan women in the workplace, which limit their mobility in urban as well as rural areas, and increase their vulnerability to sexual violence." (Summary, page 1-2) more

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"Offiziell haben wir Meinungsfreiheit"

Kirsten Herrmann

Message, issue 4 (2014), pp. 76-79

"Farida Nekzad leitet die Nachrichtenagentur Wakht in Afghanistan. Im Message-Interview erklärt sie, unter welchen Gefahr Journalistinnen in ihrem Land arbeiten und welche Medien Warlords bevorzugen." (Einleitung)

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Zwischen Information und Mission. Journalisten in Afghanistan: Berufliche Einstellungen und Leistungen

Kefa Hamidi

Global Media Journal - German Edition, volume 3, issue 2 (2013), 18 pp.

"Die Ermittlung der beruflichen Einstellungen geschah mittels einer vollstandardisierten Befragung, an der 195 Journalisten in Afghanistan teilnahmen. Eine Inhaltsanalyse in den drei wichtigsten afghanischen Zeitungen erbrachte eine Zusammenstellung der Leistungen von Journalisten. Der wichtigste Be ... more

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Journalism in Afghanistan: Current and Post-2014 Threats and Journalist Safety Mechanisms

Copenhagen: International Media Support (IMS) (2013), 28 pp.

"This report seeks to provide an immediate overview of the current insecure media environment in which Afghan journalists work and the threat scenario potentially facing them after the 2014 withdrawal of international troops. The aim of the report is to provide input into local and international dis ... more

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Propagandaschlacht am Hindukusch

Merjam Wakili, Kefa Hamidi

Message, issue 4 (2012), pp. 22-25

"Afghanische Journalisten sind weit davon entfernt, unabhängig arbeiten zu können. Ihre Etats kommen aus dem Westen, aus Pakistan oder Iran. Die Kritik daran wächst." (Seite 22)

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SkillCity Master Trainers Manual on Investigative Journalism with a Focus on Accountability and Transparency in Afghanistan

Wali Zahid

Kabul: Saba Media Organisation (2009), 143 pp.

"This guide, compiled with the most updated sources at the time of going to press in early 2009, will take you step by step towards becoming an effective investigative journalist, gaining and practicing the necessary skills and thus gaining the self-confidence required to do a job that is both effec ... more

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Media for Democracy in Afghanistan: A Handbook for Journalists

Sukumar Muralidharan (ed.)

Bruxelles: International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) (2008), 28 pp.

"The purpose of this handbook is to lay out some principles that could function as guideposts for journalists in Afghanistan as they seek to grapple with the evolving complexities of democracy in action. It seeks to provide concrete suggestions on how global best practices in political reporting and ... more

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Growth Under Adversity: Afghanistan Press Freedom Report 2007-2008

Sukumar Muralidharan (ed.)

Redfern; Kabul: International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) Asia-Pacific; Afghan Independent Journalists' Association (AIJA) (2008), 19 pp.

"Independent media have expanded and diversified in Afghanistan, though the country remains a precarious and hazardous place for journalists and media organisations. Nine journalists have been killed between January 1, 2007 and the writing of these lines (though one case remains a little unclear), w ... more

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Journalism Afghan Style: Afghanistans Medienlandschaft und ihre Besonderheiten

Merjam Wakili

Berlin: Wissenschaftlicher Verlag Berlin (wvb) (2007), 212 pp.

"Wie arbeiten Journalisten in einem Land wie Afghanistan? Wie sah und vor allem wie sieht die Medienlandschaft und die Pressefreiheit in dem vom Krieg geschundenen Land am Hindukusch aus? Die vorliegende Arbeit liefert Antworten zu diesen bisher von der Forschung komplett vernachlässigten Fragen. D ... more

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Reporting the Future: A Handbook for Afghan Journalists

Jamila Aman, Alan Davis, Andrew Stroehlein, John West (eds.)

London: Institute for War & Peace Reporting (IWPR) (2002), 57 pp.

"The Handbook for Afghan Journalists is designed to help Afghan journalists in three ways. First, it serves as an explanation in their own language to many of the ideas and concepts behind international journalism. Second, it provides practical guidance on many of the basic techniques of journalism. ... more

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Experience of a Journalism Teacher in Afghanistan

Paul B. Snider

Journalism Quarterly, volume 45, issue 3 (1968), pp. 316-318

"Journalism education in Afghanistan — State of the question — Professional training and the country's requirements." (Jean-Marie Van Bol, Abdelfattah Fakhfakh: The use of mass media in the developing countries. Brussels: CIDESA, 1971 Nr. 2168, topic code 163.1)

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Developing Journalism in an Emergent Nation: Afghanistan

H. R. Jolliffe

Journalism Quarterly, volume 39, issue 3 (1962), pp. 355-364

"The author, a journalism professor at Michigan State University, recounts some of his successes and frustrations in establishing a program of journalism education in Afghanistan's capital city. He points out the importance of journalism and education to all the emergent nations, and urges AEJ to ta ... more