"The interviews and the analyses by the experts show that: –– Quality content increases safety. The editors interviewed for this publication confirm that fair and balanced journalism, which clearly distinguishes between facts and opinion and treats the people at the center of the story with resp
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ect tends to lead to increased respect from the audience and makes the journalists less of a target for potential attackers. It also increases trust on the part of audiences as well as with advertisers willing to pay for content. –– Audience engagement plays a crucial role in terms of safety. No matter whether through a membership model, regular informal exchanges or listener clubs — an audience that values a certain media outlet will be less likely to accept any attacks against it. –– Flexible and resilient business models are a must-have. They help organizations to react to new threats, to adapt strategies, and to maintain high quality and independent reporting in times of crisis. –– No viability without digital security. A media outlet that loses all its data or whose data gets hacked and its sensitive sources revealed, loses everything: content and credibility. Online attacks are more likely and easier to carry out than physical attacks. Digital security is an essential part of any safety concept. –– Diversity pays off. During the COVID-19 crisis, women and minority groups came under particular attack all around the world, online and offline. To include their stories and perspectives is not only a moral obligation but also makes business sense as they make up an essential part of audiences anywhere on the globe." (Synopsis, page 39)
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"In 2017, following the #MeToo movement stirred by the public outing of Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein, the safety of women at the workplace became a prime agenda for international news media. Although far from being truly inclusive, the #MeToo movement rapidly spread to other parts of the worl
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d. Women of different nationalities, backgrounds, and race shared their stories of abuse and survival using the #MeToo hashtag and its variants. In 2018, women within the news media industry in India joined the movement and called out prominent editors, filmmakers, and artists on social media for perpetrating and abetting acts of sexual harassment and abuse against them. As an immediate result, several accused were made to resign from their organizations and dropped from prestigious public posts. However, a backlash to the movement followed soon after, most evidently in the form of victim-shaming and defamation lawsuits against women. Based on the theory of epistemic advantage, the study explores the perception of sexual harassment among journalists in India using in-depth interviews." (Abstract)
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"Journalism is a two-faced mirror that both generates and reflects social inequalities: Both people's experiences within news organizations and the content published by them make the gender inequality visible. We can define journalism, just like all other patriarchal institutions, as an institution
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that generates gender inequality. In order to get a clear understanding of this problem, we have to address the actors, means, processes and conditions that generate this inequality in journalism first, and then we may suggest solutions based on real-life cases. Indeed, knowledge building is, as always, a priority in order to make working conditions safer for women and LGBT journalists. This chapter aims to support the struggle for gender equality in journalism within this context." (Abstract)
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"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
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e-based contribution, the chapter describes covering a conflict as “dirty, dangerous and nerve-wracking” and how, both in covering conflict and in journalism as a whole, grey areas are more common than absolutes. The author reflects upon the opportunities and challenges posed by technology in war zones, the particular tension in covering a conflict in your own home patch and the innate desire – despite all of these concerns – that some journalists have to go to war." (Abstract)
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"International media monitoring organisations have continually called for commitment of critical actors of free expression and media freedom to ensure the safety of journalists in their strive for open societies. Another dimension to this call is the need to draw attention to the issue of gender-bas
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ed threats and discrimination in the media industry and its implications for free expression and media freedom. This chapter explores discrimination, gender equality, and safety risks in journalism." (Abstract)
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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
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ital attacks from different actors. More recent revelations, such as those coming from the “Pegasus Project”, have underlined even more dangerous threats posed to the safety of journalists, increasingly targeted with spyware technology. Due to the sensitivity of their work and sources and given their strong “watchdog” role in democracies, investigative reporters are in a particularly dangerous position when it comes to the potential chilling effects of surveillance on their work of journalists. This paper analyzes investigative journalists’ views and self-reflections on the impacts of Internet surveillance on their work by means of in-depth qualitative interviews with reporters affiliated with the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) and working in Italy, Germany, Hungary, Spain, Switzerland, and the UK. The paper touches on different angles of the Internet surveillance issue by analyzing journalists’ concerns about national and international surveillance players and the overall impact of surveillance on news work." (Abstract)
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"Globally, there is an increase in online attacks on journalists with gender dimensions to these attacks. Also, it is established that digital innovations have augmented free expression and the augmentation allows means for online attacks. Though evidence submits that studies on the problem of onlin
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e attacks on journalists abound, there is dearth of such studies in Ghana and this chapter attempts to fill this gap. Using the feminist theory, this chapter explores the types and sources of online attacks on male and female journalists in Ghana and investigates whether an increase in free expression is a contributing factor to the problem. To achieve this aim, the study employs qualitative methods of in-depth interviews and document reviews and offers a thematic analysis of the qualitative data to understand the lived experiences of Ghanaian journalists. Findings revealed that journalists frequently experience psychological and sexist online attacks when perpetrators express their views on unfavourable coverage from the media." (Abstract)
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"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
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een utilised or suggested to combat online harassment of journalists on the path forward. Online harassment of women journalists has been documented more frequently than of male journalists, who often are attacked because of their coverage. Online harassment has risen in recent years via comment sections under online news articles barraging journalists’ emails and social media accounts with defamatory, threatening, demeaning, or even pornographic material. The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe recommends that countries consider prosecuting the online harassment of journalists through existing harassment laws. One cross-country study found that online harassment disrupts routine practices and the extent that women journalists can interact with audiences." (Abstract)
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"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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"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:
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This study was descriptive and cross-sectional in design. Social disorganisation theory was deployed as theoretical framework. Data were principally elicited through the in-depth interview method. Multistage sampling techniques were used for the selection of 25 journalists across six media organisations in Lagos. Findings: The results showed that assault on journalists is a common phenomenon in the city, with more cases usually recorded during period of general elections. Three major factors were identified by respondents as underlying violent attacks on journalists. Also, security personnel and political thugs were mentioned as the major perpetrators of violent attacks on journalists. Originality/value: This research not only provides a unique and significant insight into the issue bordering on violent attacks that are being directed at media practitioners in Nigeria it equally puts forward some useful and far-reaching recommendations that can be adopted to effectively address the problem." (Abstract)
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"The journalists’ right to perform their watchdog role and to do their routine jobs without fear of being killed, kidnapped, harassed, and attacked is a topic of utmost importance for freedom of the media and freedom of expression. However, in the past decade, journalists’ killings across the gl
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obe indicate that journalism is no more a safe profession. Noticeably, the Asia-Pacific region is the third worst violator of media freedom in the world. While the level of media freedom and journalists’ safety is not better in the Middle East and the North African regions, the Asia-Pacific region stands out because it is home to the two of the top ten worst countries for journalists’ killings over the past 25 years, namely: Pakistan and India. Therefore, drawing on the system theory, this study aims to investigate the journalists’ lived experiences of diverse safety risks in Pakistan and India. To accomplish this aim, this study uses the qualitative methods of document reviews and in-depth interviews. Besides, this study uses thematic analysis to analyse the gathered data. The analyses of journalists’ lived experiences of safety risks reveal a stark systemic failure to protect them and safeguard their right to freedom of expression in these two countries." (Abstract)
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"The erosion of media freedom is a growing phenomenon. Worldwide, journalists face obstruction, hostility, and violence as powerful political and private actors exercise a repressive influence on the media system. Citing historical and contemporary cases from different geographic regions, this chapt
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er reviews the relationship between media freedom and political systems and the circumstances that lead governments to exercise control over the media. It examines how structural shifts in the digital media environment in conjunction with the resurgence of authoritarian governments and the emergence of post-truth communication have rendered news media vulnerable to capture and control. The chapter discusses major mechanisms for media control including ownership structures, financial and regulatory pressures, and the harassment of journalists. Finally, the chapter assesses the key issues for the future of media freedom and potential countermeasures for media control and capture." (Abstract)
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"Journalists have always faced restrictions on their freedom of speech and threats to their security in Pakistan. During Pakistan's 2018 general elections, the country's media was also managed and controlled to create a maligned public-sphere to misguide the Pakistani voters. Public sphere was malig
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ned through misinformation, political propaganda and distortion of facts and maneuvering of journalism. This created ill effects for public discourses on democracy. Findings obtained through in-depth interviews of twenty journalists, who covered elections 2018, revealed that strategic media maneuvering was witnessed during the country's 2018 elections. Media freedom was largely constrained and journalists faced physical, psychological and financial threats in the line of their duty and for their efforts to foster democracy in the country. This study revealed Pakistan's long history of dictatorship, weak political system, and national psyche of control as the major reasons for such happenings." (Abstract)
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"There is a growing and urgent threat to the safety of journalists across Europe which constitutes a terminal threat to democracy and urgent action by Council of Europe Member States is required. At the international level, detailed guidance and standards for the protection of journalists have been
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developed, based on the binding legal requirements of the European Convention on Human Rights. Member States should now put in place National Action Plans to ensure that these international standards are implemented in practice. The foregoing paragraphs summarize the most urgent action points along with examples of State practice. There is much that Member States can learn from each other, and from countries outside Europe who have taken action to protect the safety of journalists. It is recommended that Member States conduct a thorough review of the threats to journalists’ safety in their countries and engage in genuine partnership with journalists and civil society to remedy these risks. All-encompassing National Action Plans should be drawn up, implemented, and kept under regular review. These Plans must contain ‘SMART’ (specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, time-bound) action points that respond to the needs on the ground – for example, providing police protection, or supporting evacuation mechanisms for journalists. Underpinning the National Action Plan must be a positive and genuine commitment to the importance of the right to freedom of expression: political leaders and public officials should explicitly recognize that violence against journalists constitutes a threat to democracy, unequivocally condemn violent attacks, and stop denigrating the media. A positive message needs to come from the top that freedom of expression is vital to democracy." (Conclusion and recommendations, page 20)
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"Many East African states have developed restrictive legal and policy measures regarding the use of the internet. This has resulted in the declining state of media freedom and safety of journalists. This article addresses freedom of expression as a pre-condition for safeguarding journalists in selec
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ted East African countries of Tanzania and Burundi. It highlights notable cases, where the regional court has emphasized the importance of press freedom as a precursor for democracy. It concludes that the relevant regional legal framework offers adequate protection for the safety of journalists. However, countries have not fully implemented their obligations. In particular, press and cyber laws create a chilling effect on the treatment of journalists. The article contributes to a broader interrogation of how discourses about the safety of journalists are constructed and applied in the context of growing online activity." (Abstract)
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"Pakistan’s journalists confront severe safety risks across the country and impunity to crimes against them allows the perpetrators to go unpunished. Now the country is recognized as one of the deadliest places for working journalists in the world. Given this situation, the Pakistani female journa
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lists are more vulnerable because they are not only prone to safety risks and sexual harassment, but also they face gender discrimination when it comes to their recruitment and equal pay-scale. In the past decade, there has been an alarming increase in attacks on female journalists and incidents of their sexual harassment in Pakistan. Notwithstanding the growing plague of sexual harassment and gender discrimination in the country, the resilience of female journalists to work within a threatening and prejudiced environment has not yet fully explored and analysed. Therefore, drawing on the postcolonial feminist theory, this study aims to investigate the Pakistani female journalists’ lived experiences of sexual harassment, threats and discrimination. The study also analyses the impacts of sexual harassment, threats and gender discrimination on the country’s female journalists. To achieve the aforementioned aims, this study uses the qualitative methods of in-depth interviews and focus groups discussion, and offers a thematic analysis of qualitative data." (Abstract)
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"In-depth interviews with 75 female journalists who work or have worked in Germany, India, Taiwan, the United Kingdom, and the United States of America reveal that they face rampant online gendered harassment that influences how they do their jobs. Many of the women report that if they aim to engage
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with their audience online – which is a job requirement for many of them – they frequently face sexist comments that criticize, attack, marginalize, stereotype, or threaten them based on their gender or sexuality. Often, criticism of their work is framed as misogynistic attacks and, sometimes, even involves sexual violence. The journalists have developed a variety of strategies for dealing with the abuse, including limiting what they post online, changing what stories they report on, and using technological tools to prevent people from posting offensive words on the journalists’ public social media pages. Results show that this harassment disrupts the routinized practice of reciprocal journalism because it limits how much these women can interact with the audience in mutually beneficial ways without being attacked or undermined sexually. While experiences of harassment were consistent across the countries studied, cultural differences were evident in how much the journalists were expected to engage online. Results are discussed in relation to the hierarchy of influences model that aims to explain how multiple forces influence media content." (Abstract)
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