"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
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limited options to generally restrict press freedom. Where local governments are elected, negative reporting could mean that local politicians lose power and influence, especially if they are involved in corrupt practices. Analyzing new global data on journalist killings that identify the perpetrator and visibility of the journalist, we show that local-level elections carry an inherent risk, particularly for less visible journalists. Killings perpetrated by criminal groups follow a similar pattern to those by state authorities, pointing to possible connections between these groups. Our study shows that without effective monitoring and accountability, national democratic institutions alone are unable to effectively protect journalists from any perpetrator." (Abstract)
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"The Anglo-American intelligence agencies' use of journalists as spies or propagandists and the practice of providing intelligence agents in the field with journalistic cover have been a source of controversy for many decades. This article examines the extent to which these covert practices have tak
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en place and whether they have put journalists' lives in danger. This article, drawing on various methodologies, examines a number of cases where the arrest, murder or kidnap of journalists was justified on the grounds that the journalist was a 'spy'. This has been followed through with research, using a range of sources, that shows there have been many occasions when the distinction between spies and journalists has been opaque. The article concludes that widespread use of journalistic cover by spies has put lives in danger, but that the extent is unquantifiable." (Abstract)
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"The introductory chapter to the thematic issue, entitled "Rethinking Safety of Journalists," shows how promoting the safety of journalists is closely related to press freedom. It presents the articles of the thematic issue and highlights how the safety of journalists is no longer a concern of indiv
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iduals or individual nation states only, but is now also a global concern, whereby the international community is obliged to come to the defense of journalists' safety." (Abstract)
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"Despite a plethora of threats such as funding, violence, ownership etc., challenging Journalism profession; amateurs who engage in the practice, seem to continually pose more threats. Amateurs arguably exacerbate the spread of fake and misleading information, disinformation, misinterpretation of is
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sues, improper delivery of information etc., despite the existence of some environmental threats which tend to be hampering efficiency. The aim of this work is to crusade for efficiency and safe practice of journalism in the face of these threats. This paper further seeks to redefine a journalist; the basic qualities required of practicing journalists; the distinctions between professional journalists and amateurs; other environmental constraints confronting practicing journalists; ways the safety of journalists could be observed, and what roles the relevant bodies and individual journalists are to play in the process. This is in view of the possible impact of media contents on the general public. This paper therefore advocates for efficiency and safe practice of journalism profession devoid of litigations, conflicts, hate messages, ethical or language issues as well as the provision of good work environment for practicing Journalists to boost their productivity. We conclude that existence of amateurs and other environmental constraints should not downplay or discredit the prestige of the profession as a highly disciplined one." (Abstract)
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"Journalists covering environmental issues around the globe are at heightened risk of murder, arrest, assault, threats, self-exile, lawsuits, and harassment because environmental controversies often involve influential business and economic interests, political power battles, criminal activities, an
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d corruption, plus politically, culturally, and economically sensitive issues concerning Indigenous rights to land and natural resources. This study uses in-depth interviews with journalists and other experts to explore such situations, including the psychological effects on these journalists’ sense of mission and professional practices. Interviewees generally did not seek therapy or counseling after their adverse experiences. Those experiences led some journalists to change their careers but strengthened the professional commitment that other journalists feel." (Abstract)
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"The very basis for journalism to perform its societal role of enabling a well-informed citizenry through the factual reporting of news, grounded in professional standards of accuracy, sincerity and objectivity is that it is undertaken safely. Indeed, the ability of journalism to pursue what we here
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name a “civil role” (Harrison, 2019), which fosters solidarising inclusion among members of society in support of a shared communicative civil life, is conditioned by its inextricable relationship with a well-informed citizenry. Key to this relationship is a media and information literate public that is able, not only to critically evaluate media, but also has the capability to understand the societal value of journalism. This paper therefore argues that strategies to secure journalistic safety must consider how this relationship between journalism and a media and information literate citizenry is prone to attack by divisive anti-civil forces (e.g. from illegitimate state and market intrusion) that produce conditions of civil diminishment and un-safety for journalists (Harrison, 2019 and Torsner, 2019). This paper first develops a theoretical understanding of the link between a media and information literate citizenry and the (un)-safety of journalism. It establishes how journalistic safety is both positively linked to a media and information literate public that functions as a potential bulwark against attacks targeting journalism – forms of civil resistance, and negatively interlinked with a media and information illiterate citizenry that engenders hostility towards journalism. We conclude that strengthening the media and information literacy of society should be considered as a strategy to safeguard a free, independent and safe environment for journalism. Second, the paper uses empirical case studies to illustrate the role of citizens and communities of audiences in protecting journalism through expressions of solidarity that articulate an understanding of the societal value of journalism. Doing so the paper examines how a strong relationship of trust between journalism and communities of audiences, and between journalism and members of society, via media and information literacy, can serve to protect journalism in contexts where independent journalism is restricted and regularly attacked." (Abstract)
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"How do journalists around the world view their own function and role in society? Based on a landmark study that has collected data from more than 25,000 journalists in 66 countries between 2012 and 2015, Worlds of Journalism examines the different ways journalists conceive of their responsibilities
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, their relationship to society and government, and the work they do. The authors conclude that there is no one conception of journalism and instead advance a global classification of journalistic cultures: the corporate libertarian model (e.g., U.S. and Australia); the public-service remit model (e.g., parts of continental Europe); the social interventionist model (e.g., parts of the Islamic World); the developmental faciliative model (e.g., parts of Africa and Asia); and the coercive heteronomy model (e.g., China and Russia). The book is organized around a series of key questions regarding journalists' autonomy, influences on their practice, journalism's role in society, journalists' trust in social institutions, and their perceptions about the ongoing transformation of journalism. Worlds of Journalism reveals how perceptions of journalism are created and re-created by journalists and how the practice of journalism is affected by different political, social, and economic institutions. The authors challenge essentialist ideas about journalism and provide an understanding of the diversity of worldviews and orientations of journalists in terms of roles, ethics, and influences." (Publisher description)
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"This entry introduces the concept of violence against journalists and the press. It synthesizes multiple approaches to the phenomenon to create a comprehensive definition, reviews dimensions of violence and the occupational and individual domains in which they create harm, identifies key findings a
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nd gaps in academic and advocacy organization literature, and explores future directions for research on this phenomenon." (Abstract)
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"The Handbook of Research on Combating Threats to Media Freedom and Journalist Safety is an essential reference source that evaluates how diverse threats impact on journalists wellbeing, their right to freedom of expression, and overall media freedoms in various contexts and assesses inadequacies in
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national security policies, planning, and coordination relating to the safety of journalists in different countries. Featuring research on topics such as freedom of the press, professional journalism, and media security, this book is ideally designed for journalists, news writers, editors, columnists, press, broadcasters, newscasters, government officials, lawmakers, diplomats, international relations officers, law enforcement, industry professionals, academicians, researchers, and students." (Abstract)
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"As I am writing this, the United Nations has counted 68 journalists killed in the line of duty around the world in 2018 (UNESCO, 2018a). That is nothing unusual. From 2012 to 2016, 530 journalists died on the job - an average of two per week. Very few of these are accidental deaths. Some are killed
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in hostile frontlines, where the risks of working in a place with bits of metal flying through the air at supersonic speeds are self-evident. But many more are singled out, murdered specifically for their work. The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) reports that since it started counting the dead in 1992, it has found 1322 cases where the motive was clearly linked to the journalists' work. However, the CPJ's numbers are almost certainly an underestimate. It uses a very conservative definition of "journalist", excluding bloggers, citizen journalists, or support staff." (Abstract)
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"Right-wing populists often criticise the established media for being untruthful or censoring what critics consider to be important information—for instance, the ethnic background of perpetrators—and for being biased against right-wing populist actors. That hostility towards journalism can be un
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derstood as a consequence of the right-wing populist worldview. Because such criticism uses professional norms of journalism against it and due to particular aspects of how journalism functions, it remains difficult for journalists to respond to such criticism. Certain responses risk confirming and even normalising the right-wing populist worldview." (Abstract)
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"More and more countries are deciding the answer to a bad press is to imprison journalists who dare to report anything that is critical." (Abstract)
"The summarised reports in this chapter show that the scope of safety and sacrifice is far greater than each actor alone or their sum can account for. Although the discussion did not offer an investigation into the USA and other mature democracies, it is clear from the survey in the European territo
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ry that safe havens are few and in between, and that even in stable democracies the conditions for journalism and free expression remain vulnerable and can deteriorate surprisingly fast." (Abstract)
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"This chapter explores the complicated ways in which journalists became subjects within the stories of Ferguson and Baltimore through a particular focus on the discursive identification of journalists as either victims or perpetrators of violence. It focuses on two evaluative frameworks: journalists
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as victims and journalists as perpetrators of violence. The former comprises the self-presentation of journalists as under attack by the very subjects they cover. The second narrative springs from various actors inside and outside of journalism who are upset by the patterns of news coverage around Ferguson and Baltimore. Compared to the graphic images of journalists being tear-gassed, forcibly arrested, or trampled upon by police and protestors, examples in which the press may be considered as perpetrators of violence necessitate a more nuanced interpretation. As tragic as the events in Ferguson and Baltimore were, they also serve as instructive episodes for examining discourses of media accountability and the journalistic assumptions and patterns that emerge." (Abstract)
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"Comparative studies of journalism have become immensely popular in recent times, yet a range of methodological and logistical challenges persist in existing work. This introduction to the special issue on “Comparing Journalistic Cultures” provides a brief overview of these challenges, before pr
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oviding an overview of the genesis of the Worlds of Journalism Study, an unprecedented, global and collaborative undertaking to examine journalistic culture in 66 countries. In particular, we reflect on how the study approached and aimed to solve methodological challenges, providing some ideas that may aid future studies in this field." (Abstract)
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"According to The Committee to Protect Journalists, 2 per cent of all journalists killed since 1992 worked on the sports beat. At present, however, we have limited knowledge of the specific dangers faced by sports journalists. This chapter presents findings from exploratory research on 78 reports of
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violations of the media freedom or personal safety of sports journalists. Threats to media freedom include being banned from press conferences or events, the seizure of passports or denial of accreditation. The personal safety of sports journalists is compromised through verbal abuse, assaults, attacks, personal and social media harassment, detention, legal pressure, and killings. The key perpetrators identified in the sample were fans, athletes and coaches, owners and officials of sports clubs and national associations, international sports federations, and authorities in authoritarian regimes hosting sports mega-events." (Abstract)
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"There is a history to why the challenge of securing safety for journalism has become a prominent issue in many parts of the world. This is partly because of increased attacks on journalists, but it is also a function of global developments that have afforded space for the issue to come to fore as a
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major concern by the international community – with associated impact on other actors as well. Safety can, and should, be distinguished from other dimensions relevant to journalism – media freedom, pluralism, independence, gender and digital matters. At the same time, attention to safety – within a framework of rights, highlights the interconnections and wider possibilities of work on this subject. Furthermore, because knowledge about the topic is a relatively green-fields opportunity, academic engagement can have real impact. Looking ahead, with intensification of digital dynamics in societies, the issue of safety (affecting both off- and online worlds) is likely to increasingly be a key component in the emerging and broadening ecology of journalistic practice." (Abstract)
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"This study will contain an analysis on the international and regional standards in the field of freedom of expression, as stipulated in the United Nations conventions and in the European Convention of Human Rights. Further we will establish a link between the breach of the freedom of expression whe
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n cases of violence against journalists arise, especially tackling the impunity problem. The paper will focus on the study of the ECtHR judgements regarding freedom of expression and cases of violence against journalists. Also, we will address the recent recommendations at the Council of Europe level. Concluding, the study will attempt to express some recommendations in solving the problem of violence against journalists." (Abstract)
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"When discussing the safety of journalists, it is quite natural that the focus is foremost on practitioners: those professional journalists, citizen journalists and other media workers who report about incidents, processes and their consequences from troubled sites around the world. Their accounts o
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f the dangers and problems encountered in their work are important evidence on which efforts to improve the situation can be based. But it is not sufficient, indeed not right, to leave practitioners alone in this struggle. One resource that could make a valuable contribution is research. But what is or could be the role of researchers in the context of improving the safety of journalists? Why should the research community include this topic in their research agenda? Perhaps the main argument can be derived from the Finlandia Declaration, which was accepted on the UNESCO World Press Freedom Day in Helsinki in May 2016. It states, among other things, that “the right to information is critical for informed decision-making” (Finlandia Declaration 2016). The Declaration of course refers to what professional and citizen journalists and other media workers are doing, but at the same time, this statement actually applies to what scientific research can do: accu mulate reliable and accurate information about the obstacles to exercising the right to information. In this respect, journalists’ work and researchers’ studies on journalists’ work complement one another and serve the same purpose, that of making our world a better place for citizens." (Page 141)
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