Document details

A Mission to Inform: Journalists at Risk Speak Out

Strasbourg: Concil of Europe (2020), 149 pp.

ISBN 978-92-871-8657-7

"The present study brings together a unique collection of open testimonies from 20 journalists working in different member states of the Council of Europe. Each of these journalists spoke about the risks and pressures they perceived and experienced in exercising their profession, as well as their strategies to build resilience and carry on in their “mission to inform”. At times, the price these women and men have had to pay for standing by their obligation to inform the public in an impartial and complete way was enormous, ranging from intrusions and limitations on private and family life, to putting their lives at risk. This was, for example, the case of Daphne Caruana Galizia, who reported fearlessly on sensitive issues, notably corruption, and who was murdered just 10 days after giving a powerful interview for this book. This was the last interview Daphne Caruana Galizia ever gave. A sample of 20 interviews cannot be representative of the situation in the Council of Europe member states. The merit of these interviews is to further exemplify different forms of interference with press freedom already identified in the 2017 study, as well as journalists’ perceptions regarding the dangers of the profession and the strategies they employ to persevere in their work." (Foreword)
1 Narratives of intimidation, 39
2 A chilling effect: the consequences of a hostile environment, 69
3 The impact of context, 85
4 Resilience in the context of journalism, 105
5 Urgent and resolute responses: the way ahead, 125
Appendices, 145