"European Parliament resolution of 25 November 2020 on strengthening media freedom: the protection of journalists in Europe, hate speech, disinformation and the role of platforms (2020/2009(INI))." (Introduction)
"The chapters document a multitude of factors pushing journalists to self-censor out of fear of repercussions such as government pressures, police brutality, social violence, corruption, misogyny and gendered stereotyping, surveillance, economic factors and more. The range of causes of self-censorsh
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ip are grounded in the actions (and perceived future actions) of a variety of actors, including state and government officials, commercial enterprises, civil society groups and citizens in general. Self-censorship due to perceived risk hinders (critical) reporting on a range on topics of societal importance, including corruption, organized crime, politics, religion, sex, homosexuality, minority groups, and human rights violations in general. Risk associated with publishing also entails that journalists sometimes avoid seeking out information out of fear of knowing. Possible measures that can be taken by journalists and newsrooms in order to minimize risks and decrease self-censorship among journalists include safety training, organizational and psychological support, moderation of online comments sections, gender policies in newsrooms, and collective efforts to share information and “speak out” against prosecution, harassment and other safety risks. NGOs and other civil society initiatives supporting journalism can help strengthen laws protecting journalists online and offline, improve netiquette, gender equality and push governments to respect freedom of speech and the media." (Abstract)
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"In Uganda, local non-governmental organizations (NGOs) such as Human Rights Network for Journalists-Uganda and Uganda Media Women’s Association have become instrumental in the fight for media freedom and combating impunity for crimes committed against journalists. Despite this effort, little rese
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arch has been dedicated to the contribution of such organizations in promoting safety and reducing incidents of self-censorship among journalists. This study examines the role of NGOs in reducing journalistic self-censorship and promoting safety of journalists. The discussion in this chapter is based on qualitative interviews with four members of two NGOs working in the area of media freedom and ten purposively selected journalists who have previously been defended or protected by NGOs that promote media freedom. Findings of this research show that NGOs play key roles in educating journalists on their right to seek and publish information and fight impunity by prosecuting perpetrators of crimes against journalists. The NGOs also offer free legal services to journalists who are detained for crimes related to their work. This support has minimized the practice of self-censorship and built resilience among journalists to continue with their work." (Abstract)
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"Risks to journalists are rising with disasters, epidemics, physical, mental and digital harassment all increasing globally. Some 1382 journalists have been killed since 1992 and 246 are imprisoned. However, the threat type has been changing, with the majority of journalists killed annually being on
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es working in their own country, often who are targeted for assassination. In response, UNESCO and others have called for research into best practice for safety education to halt this and the consequential decline in global media freedom. This five-year award winning project, A Holistic Humanitarian Approach to Enhance the Safety and Resilience of Journalists Globally, tested the hypothesis that a new pedagogy based on a 'holistic humanitarian' philosophy would be more effective in protecting journalists working in dangerous domains globally than existing provisions. The little-changed 30-year-old dominant international provision, the 'military battlefield' pedagogy, is used by the world's major news organizations like BBC, CNN and the New York Times. This new pedagogy adapted and customized best practice from other professions and used Taylor's 2020 Competencies for Disaster Healthcare professionals. A new program was devised and the two international cohorts who took it in 2018 and 2019 judged that it 'very significantly' enhanced their resilience and safety skills. Its concentration on group and individual physical and mental resilience building, risk mitigation, psychology, communication, self-defence, and digital security skill acquisition was a paradigm shift in training internationally for news professionals in dangerous environments. The research, thus, proved the study's hypotheses." (Abstract)
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"Côte d’Ivoire’s national election in 2010 descended into civil war into 2011 when incumbent President Laurent Gbagbo refused to concede the presidency to the internationally recognized winner Alassane Ouattara. The three political players in this election—the parties of Ouattara, Gbagbo, and
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France—had deep economic incentives in the outcome of Côte d’Ivoire’s election. Drawing from interviews conducted in 2016 and 2017 in Côte d’Ivoire with 24 journalists, findings show that journalists endured many acts of harassment from political parties trying to manipulate the news coverage of this election. I argue that the mechanisms observed in Côte d’Ivoire’s electoral crisis reflect how conditions of war activate informal power alliances within the political–economic dynamics of a Global South nation in the postcolonial era. These alliances push on media in ways they would not normally during peacetime. Côte d’Ivoire is a former colony of France. It is a part of “Françafrique,” a region of 12 French-speaking African countries where France still retains considerable economic impact and has intervened militarily dozens of times since the colonies were emancipated in the early 1960s." (Abstract)
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"This paper investigated media personnel employers’compliance with safety and protection of professionals in charge of dissemination of information whenever their assignments take them to places where their lives could be at risk. The occupational safety and health convention spells out the requir
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ements that employers of labour are expected to fulfill in order to protect workers at the front line of disease of epidemic or pandemic proportions as contained in the International Labour Organisations Convention. The paper has four sections that include, introduction, literature review and analysis. Interview was used as data collection instrument. The primary data was relied upon. The qualitative data was analysed in themes. This paper argued that Health correspondent have a duty to protect themselves when at the frontline in order save their lives and that of their colleagues and their family. All safety precautions have to be adhered to. Their employers too are expected to give them all necessary kits to adhere to the safety precautions." (Abstract)
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"Safety of female journalists in and beyond the newsroom continues to stimulate debate on how risky environments can trigger self-censorship among journalists, yet few studies have investigated women journalists’ experience of risk in specific work contexts. This chapter examines the perception of
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risk among female journalists who cover political demonstrations, and how they negotiate such risks. Anchored in theories of media and gender, self-censorship and resilience, the chapter dwells on political demonstrations that have become pervasive in the more than 30-year rule of Uganda’s current president. Data were collected through focus group discussions with female reporters and structured in-depth interviews with newsroom managers. Findings indicate that covering political demonstrations is perceived as risky for female journalists, who are also increasingly aware of their vulnerability. This perceived vulnerability produces a deterrent effect on women’s enthusiasm to cover riots. Nonetheless, women rely on techniques that spur collective resilience, which in turn helps to avert self-censorship. Although focusing on political demonstrations, the instantiated perceptions would likely resonate with other situations in which female journalists work. Thus, applying a gender lens to future self-censorship and resilience studies may open new frontiers of understanding, especially of what gender-specific self-censorship and resilience practices thrive in different contexts." (Abstract)
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"This chapter’s point of departure lies in its focus on how journalists and media organizations navigate through unsafe environments and avoid self-censorship. The study specifically explores the connection between safety and self-censorship and journalist’s deployment of social media in the Uga
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ndan context. Through interviews and focus group discussions, the study shows that journalists and media organizations (sometimes) use social media to avoid covering unsafe news scenes and to bypass suppression intended to drive them into self-censorship. Journalists and media organizations are able to overcome state-instigated censorship by using platforms such as Facebook and Twitter to obtain journalistic material, which may not be accessible through conventional means. Using the case of the Ugandan government closure of Daily Monitor newspaper in 2013, the chapter shows that the media organization heavily relied on social media to remain in operation during the period when it was under siege. The chapter concludes that employing social media in journalism practice is one of the mechanisms used by journalists and media organizations to surmount safety problems and repression. The author acknowledges the safety problems arising from digital tools and platforms but argues that exploiting the advantages they present, such as being alternative avenues for newsgathering, reporting and dissemination, contributes profoundly to the survival of independent journalism in non-democratic societies." (Abstract)
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"The media play an essential role of informing and mobilising voters as well as facilitating a two-way communication process between citizens and those vying for electoral offices during elections. This allows citizens to get information on various issues from the contenders, which largely informs t
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heir electoral decisions. In most less democratic societies however, this media function is increasingly becoming difficult to fulfil due to challenges journalists encounter during electoral processes. Using Uganda’s last general elections in 2016 as a case study, this article discusses the safety of journalists during elections basing on findings from a bigger study on the media coverage of the 2016 elections, supplemented by in-depth interviews with 10 journalists who covered the elections. In addition, the analysis makes reference to the 2016 Uganda Press Freedom Index. Findings of this research show that journalists face more safety and security risks during elections particularly perpetuated by state security agencies. Compared to previous elections, the 2016 elections also recorded the highest number of victims who were female journalists. This article highlights key challenges journalists face during elections, which include: state harassment and intimidation, arrest of those considered critical to the state, and denial of access to important information. Due to concerns of their own safety, journalists have responded to the insecure work environment by engaging in self-censorship, thereby giving biased or limited information to the public. The article identifies gaps that media development agencies can help to close if the media are to play their rightful role in a democratic society, especially during the electoral process." (Abstract)
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"The definition of censorship denotes direct or overt restriction on free expression or freedom of the media. The popular understanding of self-censorship involves a person’s involuntary self-silencing. A journalist’s wilful, personal, intentional self-censorship, at times motivated by selfish m
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otives, is often overlooked especially when there is complicit acceptance of political perspective or financial interest, or normalization/naturalization of unethical practices. Systems and ideologies can condition individuals to self-censor using what Louis Althusser has termed Ideological State Apparatuses and Repressive State Apparatuses, including interpellation. The Zimbabwean Crisis that has resulted in the polarization of Zimbabwean media along political lines demands an evaluation of the notion of self-censorship. Instead of merely focusing on the involuntary nature of self-censorship, there is need to assess instances when journalists self-censor and selfishly comply with political and commercial interests at the expense of serving the lofty ideals of the public good and public interest. Numerous examples exist where Zimbabwean journalists were abused and their rights violated leading to the adoption of self-preservation by such journalists and others when faced with the choice of whether to write or not to write, to tell or not tell. However, journalists are systematically recruited into party and commercial systems, and they have comfortably adopted a cosy demeanour to the extent of collaborating with powerful interest groups and formations. When journalists self-censor not because of fear of violence or threats or other safety concerns, it undermines the transcendental ideal of providing information as a public good and in the public/national interest." (Abstract)
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"In this study, I examine the perilous conditions facing Filipino journalists covering the Mindanao region, focusing on differences in threats and dangers faced by those who are local to the region and those parachuting in from Manila. Using a qualitative approach, I have conducted one group intervi
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ew with two local and two non-local journalists, and five in-depth one-to-one interviews with journalists and expert sources, in 2017. The study additionally draws on interviews with fourteen Filipino journalists and editors from 2014. The journalists perceive that safety differ depending on whether they are local to the conflict they cover or not. Safety issues are significant for the ways in which they operate in the field and decisions they make. Extra-judicial killings and impunity for perpetrators committing crimes against journalists perpetuate dangerous conditions particularly for local journalists, while kidnapping for ransom is among the greatest threats perceived by non-local journalists. In situations which non-local journalists can retreat, their local counterparts stay behind and face reprisals. Ethics is imperative to safety particularly for local journalists. Safety training should be tailored to and differentiate between security challenges. Collaboration between local and non-local journalists may improve their safety altogether, but media organisations must adequately compensate both." (Abstract)
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"Journalist safety is vital to media freedom as it shows stakeholders' duties to protect the media from crime and to guard media freedom. The media have the power to combat problems via coverage, yet evidence submits that journalist insecurity persists in Ghana. So, the study aims to examine how the
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Ghanaian media are tackling journalist insecurity through coverage. Using agenda-setting and framing theories, content analyses of 66 news stories from newspapers, and five interviews are used to gather data to study the coverage and framing of journalist insecurity in the media and how they tackle threats to media freedom. Thematic analysis of data gathered showed that the newspapers were unable to give prominence to the problem because only 30.60% of total editions gave attention to the issue. Also, the media failed to present journalist insecurity as an issue that needs national attention because only 10.6% of the news stories used thematic frames. This undermines media freedom as it allows journalist insecurity to thrive, hence, failure to advocate journalist safety." (Abstract)
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"One of the greatest obstacles confronting the journalism profession in the discharge of their duties is the indiscriminate physical and digital threat being experienced by journalists all over the world, particularly within sub-Saharan Africa. The continuous attacks facing journalists in Africa, mo
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st especially during election times, violate their fundamental human rights. Journalists play a major role in the dissemination of information before, during and after an election. Unfortunately, elections in many African States are characterised by uncertainty, due to the possibility of election-related violence, which has led to the killing and disappearance of many journalists.
Design/methodology/approach: The study adopts a qualitative research approach involving a descriptive survey design. A purposive sampling of 20 respondents is adopted across various media organisations in Nigeria.
Findings: The study explores the role and importance of journalists during an election. It also examines the consequences of electoral violence on journalists and the discharge of their duties. It further assesses the role of the state authority in the protection of life and the safety of journalists during the election period. Finally, the study posits that a guard against the threat against journalists such as killings, ill-treatment and other interferences during and after the election period is essential and should be taken as a collective responsibility of all the various stakeholders in the community and nations." (Abstract)
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"Open-source intelligence gathering and analysis (OSINT) techniques are no longer predominantly the remit of private investigators and journalists. An estimated 80-90% of data analysed by intelligence agencies is also now derived from publicly available material. Additionally, the massive expansion
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of the internet and, in particular, social media platforms, have made OSINT increasingly accessible to civilians who simply want to trawl the Web for information on a specific individual, organisation or product. In May 2018, the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) was implemented in the UK through the new Data Protection Act, intended to secure personal data against unjustified collection, storage and exploitation. This document presents a preliminary literature review of work related to the GDPR and OSINT, which was collated as the basis for an as-yet-unpublished study evaluating the effects of the GDPR on OSINT capabilities in the UK. The literature reviewed is separated into the following six sections:‘What is OSINT?’,‘What are the risks and benefits of OSINT?’,‘What is the rationale for data protection legislation?’,‘What are the current legislative frameworks in the UK and Europe?’,‘What is the potential impact of the GDPR on OSINT?’, and ‘Have the views of civilian and commercial stakeholders been sought and why is this important?’. As OSINT tools and techniques are accessible to anyone, they have the unique capacity for being used to hold power to account. It is therefore important that new data protection legislation does not impede civilian OSINT capabilities." (Abstract)
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"Afghanistan is one of the world’s most dangerous places for journalists. There are, however, no data on the mental health of Afghan journalists covering conflict in their country. The study aims to determine the degree to which Afghan journalists are exposed to traumatic events, their perceptions
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of organizational support, their rates of symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and depression, their utilization of mental health services and the effectiveness of the treatment received.
Design/methodology/approach: The entire study was undertaken in Dari (Farsi). Five major Afghan news organizations representing 104 journalists took part of whom 71 (68%) completed a simple eleven-point analog scale rating perceptions of organizational support. Symptoms of PTSD and depression were recorded with the Impact of Event Scale – Revised (IES-R) and the Centre for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale (CES-D), respectively. Behavioral comparisons were undertaken between those journalists who had and had not received mental health therapy.
Findings: The majority of journalists exceeded cutoff scores for PTSD and major depression and reported high rates for exposure to traumatic events. There were no significant differences in IES-R and CES-D scores between journalists who had and had not received mental health therapy. Most journalists did not view their employers as supportive.
Originality/value: To the best of authors’ knowledge, this is the first study to collect empirical data on the mental health of Afghan journalists. The results highlight the extreme stressors confronted by them, their correspondingly high levels of psychopathology and the relative ineffectiveness of mental health therapy given to a minority of those in distress. The implications of these findings are discussed." (Abstract)
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"This chapter contributes to journalism research from the Uganda's context by investigating the types and sources of threats to journalists' safety and media freedom in the country. The authors achieve this by examining relevant documents on the state of journalism in Uganda and interviewing journal
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ists. There are two overarching questions that this chapter is concerned with, which are What are the types of threats to journalists' safety and media freedom? and What are the sources of threats to journalists' safety and media freedom in Uganda? The investigation is grounded in theory about journalists' safety and media freedom. The data were collected through document analysis and interviewing of a purposively selected of sample of journalists in Kampala. The data was collected between April and May 2019 in Kampala, Uganda's capital. The findings show rampant violations against journalists and the media. The violations include physical assault, intimidation, arrests in addition to destruction of journalists' property such as cameras. These are perpetuated by security agencies." (Abstract)
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"Although Nepal has entered a new era of democracy and press freedom since 2006, self-censorship still exists in the reporting/editing of many Nepali journalists. Nepal has more than 100 years of press history, most of it has faced pressure from the government if not censorship. Drawing upon intervi
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ews with journalists, the chapter demonstrates how self-censorship is being practised in Nepali media houses as a result of state power, the culture of impunity, commercial interests, and political inclination of journalists. While highlighting these agents, the chapter also aims to explain the difference in practices of self-censorship by gender and type of news media." (Abstract)
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"This contribution singles out and seeks to analyse the most essential elements of the OSCE Ministerial Council Decision on Safety of Journalists, adopted in Milan on 7 December 2018. Those elements aim to create an enabling environment for the media, in particular, through the compliance with speci
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fic international obligations, recognition of certain functions of journalists, enumeration of the modern threats to their safety, including digital safety. Authors provide a background on the road to the decision within the OSCE, highlighting the main contradictions among its participating States, and put it in the context of other international commitments on media freedom and freedom of expression. As the first holistic OSCE document on freedom of the media, the decision significantly extends the current set of commitments by the participating States and may pave the way to a global instrument on the subject." (Abstract)
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"The challenges faced by journalists and mass media in war torn countries are serious. The same could be said to be the case in Afghanistan. Though freedom of speech and of the mass media are among the on-going struggles of the Afghan people after the fall of the Taliban regime, it is worrying that
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the initial success against the Taliban or other new enemies not irreversible. Threats of violence against journalists and the mass media come from militant groups, politicians and government apparatus. The objective of this paper is to examine the security challenges involving the exercise of free of speech by journalists and the mass media in Afghanistan. The situation also requires the analysis provisions of the constitution and relevant legislation to see if they are equal to the threats. On the other side of the question, the paper also examines violations of the rights of journalists by the government machinery. This paper applies the doctrinal method wherein the research examines the laws of Afghanistan relating to the freedom of speech and freedom of the mass media. The quest of the paper among others is about the adequacy of the relevant provisions of the constitution and legislation. Lastly, the paper makes recommendations to improve the safety of journalists and the mass media." (Abstract)
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