Document details

Tribal Journalists under Fire: Threats, impunity and decision making in reporting on conflict in Pakistan

In: The Assault on Journalism. Building Knowledge to Protect Freedom of Expression
Ulla Carlsson; Reeta Pöyhtäri (eds.)
Göteborg: Nordicom (2017), pp. 147-158

Institution of author: University of Peshawar; Southern Illinois University Carbondale

"This study investigates the challenges faced by local journalists caught between the global “war on terror” and its local consequences in Pakistan’s Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA). Threats and impunity are commonplace in this buffer zone bordering Pakistan and Afghanistan, compelling scores of native journalists to flee with their immediate families to the relative peace of nearby Peshawar, where they continue to report on issues back home. In-depth interviews with local journalists reveal how threats and impunity work as structural constraints that affect reporting. Working under the logic of neoliberalism, media outlets extract what they can out of these reporters, but the risks are often considered journalists’ personal responsibility and add to their dependence on colleagues. This chapter offers valuable insight into the concerns of local journalists, and demonstrates how they resist the power holders in Pakistan and adapt to the complicated intersections of state, militant and foreign interests." (Abstract)