"In this contribution, using a case-study approach, we focus on the assassination of Ján Kuciak and his fiancée and explore the impact and consequences that it had on the community of investigative journalists in Slovakia. By conducting a series of semi-structured interviews with top investigative
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journalists (N = 12), we seek to answer two questions: How have they coped with the murder of their colleague? And, how has this incident changed their everyday journalistic practices and routines when it comes to achieving and maintaining safety? We identified 12 coping actions which, based on their function, were organised into five higher order families of coping: emotional purging; sharing and support seeking; avoidance and displacement; defiance and defence; and spreading the legacy and giving meaning to the tragedy. Regarding safety and security practices, the journalists claim that their approach has fundamentally changed. A variety of measures to stay safe, both online and offline, were adopted both on the organisational and on the individual level. However, many of these measures are not used consistently, mostly because they are not deemed necessary when covering non-sensitive topics, but also because of their impracticality in everyday journalistic work, and sceptical and fatalistic approach of the journalists to safety." (Abstract)
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"The safety of journalists is one of the most formidable challenges for press freedom and democracy around the world. The problem is the result of the juxtaposition of various forms of violence that break journalists’ sense of security and autonomy – the ability to control and decide the paramet
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ers of their work. Threats to safety drive journalists to self-censorship and to use extreme caution. Here I propose that the problem of journalists’ safety is worse and more complex today than in the recent past. This explains why the problem has received growing attention globally, and why it is hard to find solutions. A growing academic and grey literature continues to demonstrate that violence is a sprawling problem, and the challenges for implementing effective, sustainable solutions to confront a multidimensional problem, with local and national particularities. The articles in this issue provide further insights for understanding threats to safety and debating solutions." (Abstract)
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"The Citizen Lab and Access Now have conducted a joint investigation into Pegasus hacking in El Salvador in collaboration with Frontline Defenders, SocialTIC, and Fundación Acceso. We confirmed 35 cases of journalists and members of civil society whose phones were successfully infected with NSO’s
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Pegasus spyware between July 2020 and November 2021. We shared a sample of forensic data with Amnesty International’s Security Lab which independently confirms the findings. Targets included journalists at El Faro, GatoEncerrado, La Prensa Gráfica, Revista Digital Disruptiva, Diario El Mundo, El Diario de Hoy, and two independent journalists. Civil society targets included Fundación DTJ, Cristosal, and another NGO. The hacking took place while the organizations were reporting on sensitive issues involving the administration of President Bukele, such as a scandal involving the government’s negotiation of a “pact” with the MS-13 gang for a reduction in violence and electoral support. While evidence linking a particular infection to a particular Pegasus customer is often unavailable, in this case we identified a Pegasus customer operating almost exclusively in El Salvador since at least November 2019 that we call TOROGOZ, and have connected this operator to an infection attempt against El Faro." (Key findings)
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"This guide aims to encourage civil society and community organizations, activists and individuals to engage with the United Nations' (UN) Universal Periodic Review (UPR) mechanism on freedom of expression, safety of journalists and access to information issues. The guide explains why it is importan
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t to focus on freedom of expression in the UPR, followed by an overview of the UPR mechanism; a brief introduction to freedom of expression; and practical guidance on civil society engagement with the UPR. It also provides a set of resources for further information on the topics addressed. These guidelines build upon a joint Amnesty-UNESCO survey of more than 70 civil society respondents from different regions; a series of consultation webinars held between March and June 2022; and comprehensive interviews with civil society organizations from different regions." (Introduction, page 1)
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"Along the first lockdown of the world because of covid 19 pandemic, the professional media regained their monopoly of reliable information linked to the health crisis of all kinds: political, social and economic thanks to the journalism of quality. Journalists were on the front lines to ensure the
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necessary and reliable information for their audiences during the unprecedent global pandemic crisis. The public was in need of exact news and this was assured by the quality journalism only in field and online. Professional journalists were in the frontline but this had its cost. This paper deals with the issue of the safety of journalists in the practice of their profession during the 2020 crisis, in several countries. Thematic analysis is applied to examine the challenges, risks and fears of journalists during that time through individual and collective experiences of journalists, testified, published in media articles or expressed on professional forums around the world. In some countries the journalism was considered as "a public good" and so media organizations have taken the necessary measures to ensure a safe functioning during lockdown periods but political power has stigmatized journalists and puts more pressure on them than in normal times. There have been even more restrictions on access to official information and several cases of journalist's imprisonment and harassment are reported. The data analysis show evidence of lack of physical, psychological, financial and digital security protection of journalists in several areas of the world. The pandemic influenced to worsen the basic conditions for a quality journalism to live. The world should figure out how to do the necessary in order to save the journalism, this irreplaceable public good." (Abstract)
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"This study aims to fill the gap of the practical impediments for journalists properly doing their work during the COVID-19 pandemic over a single country. It is achieved by mapping the situational threats faced by the press in Portugal, as one of the best countries that grant media a free environme
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nt to work, which illustrates the challenges faced by media in established democracies. Drawing on the analysis of 34 episodes reported by national and international monitoring bodies over twenty months since the onset of the coronavirus crisis in the country, it concludes that economic threats alongside limitations in accessing information prevailed to the detriment of verbal and physical attacks or smear campaigns and online harassment. Apart from the nuance of the far-right hostility towards the press due to the health restrictions during campaign reporting as a new type of threat manifestation, the remaining threats experienced by the Portuguese media accelerated or aggravated previous trends." (Abstract)
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"Mob censorship, which “expresses the will of ordinary citizens to exert power over journalists through discursive violence” is traditionally considered a grassroots phenomenon. However, within technically mediated systems, who is behind the mob is sometimes unclear. We therefore ask how the tec
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hnical affordances of the Internet and telecommunications networks complicate the identification of attackers and their motivations and multiply the forms of retaliation that attackers level against journalists. We conducted 18 semistructured interviews with seven current or former journalists, as well as 11 professionals with experience defending news organizations, including security specialists, press freedom advocates, and newsroom infrastructure support staff. Through a constructivist grounded theory approach and in conversation with Lewis and Westlund’s (2015) 4A framework, we found that journalists and those defending news organizations do not reliably identify sources and motivations behind attacks, which may be grassroots in nature but may also be instigated by corporate or government actors. Journalists nonetheless infer attribution and motivation from the context surrounding attacks. Systemic issues related to the lack of diversity, ongoing financial constraints, and journalistic norms of engagement, alongside a lack of internal and platform support, exacerbate repercussions from these attacks and harm journalism’s role in a democracy." (Abstract)
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"These UNESCO guidelines aim to provide practical support to National Human Rights Institutions (NHRIs) on the use of the UPR process to improve freedom of opinion and expression, safety of journalists, and access to information and to strengthen their capacity to engage with the process in all its
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stages." (About, page 1)
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"These recommendations are targeted towards individuals working with sensitive sources on high-level projects that uncover government or corporate misdeeds. We have drafted a few additional steps you should keep in mind if you will be communicating with sensitive sources. Following the below steps w
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ill make it much harder for a dedicated adversary to figure out who your sources are." (Publisher description)
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"This report seeks to serve two purposes. The first is to research and document the state of media freedom and safety of journalists in Africa and to provide specific and evidence-based recommendations to guide policy makers, media development organisations and other media freedom and human rights a
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ctors to address identified gaps that undermine the safety of journalists and media freedom in Africa. Secondly, the report seeks to reinforce the safety of journalists and enhance legal and institutional frameworks by providing recommendations to support the implementation of the UN Plan of Action on the Safety of Journalists (UNPoA) and the Issue of Impunity" (Introduction, page 6)
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"With 33 journalists killed since the beginning of Andrés Manuel López Obrador’s presidential term in December 2018, Mexico heads the list of the most violent countries for journalists in Latin America—and that of countries not at war. While journalist organizations demand a meaningful protect
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ion apparatus to safeguard their physical safety, official corruption, and criminal impunity continue to escalate the pressures to which media staff are exposed, especially in Mexican states where cartels and criminal groups have the largest footprint. This study aims to precisely identify the pressures, both internal and external, facing journalists who report on organized crime in Mexico. To do this, we drew from the Hierarchy of Influences Model, and interviewed 22 Mexican journalists who work on the organized crime beat in the country’s capital and in the most violent states in the Republic. The results suggest that the most influential forces they face are associated with the organizational level (such as editorial line or institutional censorship), and the extramedia level (e.g., anti-press violence from cartels/authorities, and government advertising contracts)." (Abstract)
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"As populist campaigns against the media become increasingly common around the world, it is ever more urgent to explore how journalists adopt and respond to them. Which strategies have journalists developed to maintain the public's trust, and what may be the implications for democracy? These questio
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ns are addressed using a thematic analysis of forty-five semistructured interviews with leading Israeli journalists who have been publicly targeted by Israel's Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu. The article suggests that while most interviewees asserted that adherence to objective reporting was the best response to antimedia populism, many of them have in fact applied a “strategic bias” to their reporting, intentionally leaning to the Right in an attempt to refute the accusations of media bias to the Left. This strategy was shaped by interviewees' perceived helplessness versus Israel's Prime Minister and his extensive use of social media, a phenomenon called here “the influence of presumed media impotence.” Finally, this article points at the potential ramifications of strategic bias for journalism and democracy. Drawing on Hallin's Spheres theory, it claims that the strategic bias might advance Right-wing populism at present, while also narrowing the sphere of legitimate controversy—thus further restricting press freedom—in the future." (Abstract)
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"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
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ecovered from horrors of the stated war when unfortunately, the episode of the September 11, 2001, provoked another war in the area, framed as “war against terrorism”. The said war prompted a wave of religious extremism and radicalism in the region. Tactically, the killing of Osama Bin Laden in 2011brought the war on terror to its ultimate end but its after effects is still seriously hurting Pakistan. This state of affairs paved way for the emergence of war reporting in Pakistan. By now, dozens of journalists have been killed during performing their professional duties. This paper is an effort to explore the issues of religious extremism and radicalism in Pakistan and associated threats for the journalists engaged in reporting the same. The study is quantitative in nature and makes use of a questionnaire for data collection. The study found that lack of safety protocol such as deficient safety gadgets; training deficiency; and rush to break news endanger war reporter’s lives." (Abstract)
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"Research indicates that TV news journalists’ ongoing exposure to trauma can result in psychopathology. However, we currently know little about potential differences in trauma exposure between individuals in varying journalistic roles. The aim of this study is to contextualize the existing knowled
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ge of psychological outcomes for TV news journalists and to complement current deductive trends in literature by asking: How do TV news journalists of differing roles and responsibilities experience unique factors that ultimately influence their trauma exposure? Individuals in journalistic roles that experience differences in their exposure to trauma compared to other roles, may be at risk of elevated psychopathology or in need of greater support to prevent distress. A social constructivist approach was adopted and in-depth interviews were conducted with 21 Australian TV news camera-operators and reporters. Analysis was conducted according to a systematic and transparent thematic analysis. The findings suggest that TV news camera operators and reporters experience differences in: (1) experiences of industry culture within organizational hierarchy, (2) role expectations of physical proximity to trauma, and (3) social visibility during trauma exposure. By considering role-based differences, this study recommends resources and support necessary for reporters and camera operators. The present findings inform news organizations providing support for their staff, and news consumers of the circumstances under which news workers perform roles." (Abstract)
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"This study examined the Knowledge, Attitude and Practice (KAP) of digital safety among journalists in Kano State. It aimed at examining the awareness of digital safety and threats and also the mechanisms used by Kano state online journalists to respond to such threats. The study adopted the Protect
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ion Motivation Theory (PMT). The study employed a survey method using structured questionnaires. Data were gathered from 210 respondents through a simple random sampling of online journalists. Findings of the study revealed that most online journalists in Kano state are quite aware of digital safety and digital threats. However, the majority of journalists just use strong password and changing of password as a mechanism to prevent attacks online. Findings also show that most female journalists in Kano experienced intimidation and harassment online. This could be due to the fact that women in northern Nigeria are not given much freedom like men. Therefore, there is a high need for professional training of Kano journalists, especially female journalists, on advanced strategies to prevent themselves and their data online." (Abstract)
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"This is a report on the health of the open-source digital safety tool ecosystem that draws from the BASICS experience. Internews' BASICS project (Building Analytical and Support Infrastructure for Critical Security tools) was a 30-month initiative to strengthen the capacity of open source digital s
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afety tool development teams ("tool teams") to better understand their vulnerable users, respond to urgent security and privacy threats, and evaluate their impact. BASICS set out to address the unique challenges faced by tool teams in order to improve the protection of the users of these tools. Vulnerable populations, such as human rights defenders and marginalized groups, count on independently-developed open source digital safety tools not only to provide safety and censorship circumvention, but also to avoid reliance on cloud-based services which can be censored or hacked, and to protect themselves from costly licensing issues when using commercial tools. Many of the most popular and most critical open source digital security tools are maintained and updated by "tool teams" rather than businesses or organizations. These ad-hoc groups have little if any institutional capacity, are often under-resourced, and have limited insight into the specific needs of at-risk users." (Publisher description).
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"The murder of Gerry Ortega is indicative of structural problems concerning the safety of journalists in the Philippines; while the hitmen are often arrested, the powerful masterminds behind the killings of journalists often evade justice. Gerry Ortega was a prominent broadcast journalist and enviro
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nmental activist in the province of Palawan. Ortega’s work: informing the public on graft and corruption within the provincial government, made him a target for those in power. He was not afraid to openly criticize local politicians such as then-governor Joel T. Reyes for their corruption, publicly opposing Palawan mining projects. On the morning of 24 January 2011, Gerry was shot and killed. The alleged mastermind is that same former governor of Palawan, Joel T. Reyes. Reyes has escaped justice for more than a decade. He continues to wield influence over local public officials in Palawan. He has now filed his candidacy for the position of governor in the upcoming local elections in May 2022." (Abstract)
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"Sardasht Osman was a courageous and talented 23-year-old citizen journalist, who wrote about corruption and political mismanagement within the Kurdish Regional Government (KRG) in a period of political upheaval. On 13 December 2009, Sardasht wrote a satirical article accusing the family of Presiden
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t Barzani of corruption and nepotism, a ‘red line’ in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq (KRI). The article, titled: ‘I Am In Love With Barzani’s Daughter’, juxtaposed the hardships of average Kurdish citizens with the lavish lifestyle of the Barzani family. On 4 May 2010, Sardasht was kidnapped in Erbil and assassinated because of his writings. Twelve years later, no one has been arrested and convicted for his kidnap and assassination, and there are serious allegations that officials linked to the Barzani family were involved in the murder. Our investigation team interviewed dozens of witnesses, analyzed official case files and statements, and reviewed satellite imagery and photographic evidence. The aim was to scrutinize the official investigation and unearth new findings concerning Sardasht’s murder. This report reveals serious flaws in the official investigation into the kidnap and assassination of Sardasht, and finds credible allegations that Kurdish authorities were directly involved in the murder." (Abstract)
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"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
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so many countries across the world to better their record when it comes to journalist murders. This is tied to the fact that addressing impunity requires addressing systemic failures. As murders of journalists often reveal informal power structures, solving a murder entails more than implementing an independent and thorough investigation. The collusion of power, especially between organized crime and political actors, seems to be one of the main challenges to improving the record on impunity. This is clearly illustrated by the consequences of the investigation into the murder of young Slovak investigative journalist Ján Kuciak. The investigation - aided by journalistic research - exposed a network of corrupt people in power involved in the killing, leading to the arrest of numerous judges, prosecutors and high-ranking police officials. In this paper, we conclude that we see merit in changing our narrative: instead of focusing so much on the cyclical effects of impunity, we should focus our discussions and efforts on ways in which we can address the root causes of journalist murders. We believe this can set much needed change in motion. To this end, we have identified several avenues to justice in this report. There is no silver bullet to solve the complex issue of impunity, but there are common threads in the cases that have been solved, which we believe we should take as a starting point." (Abstract, page 2)
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"Freedom of speech and freedom of the press is generally attributed to an independent society where the basic rights of citizens are ensured. Balochistan, the western and resources rich province of Pakistan with its huge geopolitical importance has been under a strong wave of terrorism for the last
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two decades. This menace of terrorism has severely affected citizens of the province including media workers.
Design/Methodology/Approach: This research endeavor is an attempt to explore the impact of terrorism on the performance of media professionals in Balochistan. The study is based on the Hierarchy of Influence model which provides ground to explore the influence of terrorism. In this quantitative study, the researchers employing the systematic sampling technique have selected 50 media professionals out of 194 registered journalists of five press clubs: Quetta, Chaman, Noshki, Mastung, and Loralai.
Findings: The survey findings show that terrorism has badly affected the quality of their reporting. The study also reveals that objective journalism is hard to follow in the province by journalists as they are always threatened not only by terrorists but also by the law enforcement agencies to mold the reports in their favor.
Implications/Originality/Value The findings also indicate that terrorism has also affected journalists’ personal lives." (Abstract)
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