"The central focus of this study is the dynamic and complex relationship between elections and (digital) media. This choice of focus is explained by the need to safeguard the integrity and credibility of electoral processes, as well as the role of the news media during election periods, in the face
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of new issues related to the digital environment. These issues include (i) online disinformation; (ii) the digital dimension of the safety of journalists and other media actors, and (iii) disruptive practices in election campaigning and communications." (Introduction)
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"The period between 2014 through the end of 2018 has seen 495 journalists killed, according to UNESCO data, which represents an 18% increase in the number of killings as compared to the preceding 5-year period (2009-2013). Based on the number of killings, the most dangerous regions for journalists a
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re the Arab States region, the Latin America and Caribbean region and the Asia and the Pacific region. Across all regions the vast majority of killings were of local journalists, rather than foreign reporters. The five-year period saw an inversion in the proportion of journalists being killed outside of conflict zones. While in 2014 a majority of journalist killings occurred in conflict regions, in 2017 and 2018 more killings (55% in both years) occurred outside conflict regions. This trend reflects the changing nature of violence against journalists, who were increasingly silenced for reporting on issues of corruption, crime and politics. Although the vast majority of journalists killed are men, killings of women journalists almost doubled relative to the previous 5-year period (24 female journalists were killed in 2009-2013, compared to 46 in 2014-2018). The issue of impunity remains widespread, with only 131 cases of journalists’ killings reported by Member States as being resolved since 2006, representing an overall impunity rate of 88%." (Executive summary, page 8)
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"This report maps threats against journalists in Afghanistan between January and December 2017. Divided into five key indicator categories, the report first provides an overview of the safety situation of journalists in Afghanistan; followed by the discussion of the roles and responses of State and
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political actors; the roles and response of media and intermediaries; and the roles and responses of the United Nations (UN) system and other extra-national actors with a presence in the country in relation to safety matters." (Executive summary)
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"This exploratory study introduces a human security framework to examine the challenges that journalists face from daily professional and societal constraints and pressures when attempting to fulfill their role to inform the public in areas of conflict. The research focuses on the influences on Pale
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stinian journalists in one of the most challenging regions in the world for independently reporting the news. Our framework includes seven dimensions of human security: personal, organizational, community/societal, economic, political, geographic, and infrastructural. Our study found that the Palestinian media are military targets, and journalists face direct and indirect censorship by the Israeli government as well as the Palestinian Authority and Hamas. Although we have adapted this framework for the Palestinian case in particular, the spheres of these influences on human security would likely pertain to other insecure situations for journalists. Applying this framework to journalism studies could open new avenues of academic discovery to analyze human security beyond violence, safety, and risk. Our main contribution, we suggest, is building out a human security framework for academic journalism studies in contested, conflict-prone, and post-conflict areas around the world." (Abstract)
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"Through interviews with 100 journalists and editors in seven countries, the authors examine safety as the main challenge for journalists covering war and conflict in both local and international contexts. The article places a particular focus on the situation for Filipino and Norwegian journalists.
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The underreporting of legal aspects of international conflict, combined with less security, means less presence and more journalistic coverage based on second-hand observation. The article argues that reduced access to conflict hotspots owing to the tactical targeting of journalists might distort the coverage of wars and conflicts, and affect the quality of journalism in future." (Abstract)
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"This report describes and analyses how online propaganda against journalists across the world - through hate, harassment, threats and fabricated news – undermines independent reporting, sows doubt among the public and makes journalists, in particular female journalists, open for online attacks an
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d physical abuse to the detriment of freedom of expression and open, democratic societies. To stem the tidal wave of mostly anonymous online propaganda against journalists, in particularly female journalists across the world who are exposed to unacceptable amounts of online sexual abuse, Fojo Media Institute, the publisher of this report, plans to set up #journodefender, a global hub to monitor, investigate and take action against the-ends-justifies-the-means trolling with particular focus on assisting journalism in countries that are particularly badly affected." (Prologue)
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"A prevailing culture of impunity for threats to the safety of journalists fuels their repetition. A failure of justice emboldens perpetrators and undermines journalists’ trust in the political will to guarantee their effective protection. Since 2012, the international community has increasingly s
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ought to shine a spotlight on this issue, setting out an ambitious global agenda for States to act on the safety of journalists through a series of resolutions adopted at the UN Human Rights Council, UN General Assembly, and UN Security Council. UN Resolutions on the Safety of Journalists call on all States to effectively enhance the safety of journalists and break the cycle of impunity through targeted action on three interconnected fronts: prevention, protection, and remedy." (Abstract)
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"Afghan journalists have been experiencing a deteriorating situation, due to a multitude of threats. They operate in a situation of low popular literacy, as well as low media literacy. Threats from Taliban and other insurgents cause many journalists to live in constant fear. This article is based on
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interviews with 28 Afghan journalists. They report that they are less willing to take risks than before, their editors even less so. Routines are far from always in place in media institutions, and quite a few journalists have not received necessary security equipment. Almost all report experiencing post-traumatic stress syndrome, some have even experienced physical harm. We conclude by stating that Afghan journalists are caught in a balancing act, facing powerful violent insurgents, oppressive authorities and media owners." (Abstract)
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"In international conflict correspondence safety mechanisms are unequally employed to protect local news-staffs in contrast to international staffs. Arguably, this has had the greatest impact on image production from war zones, exposing local photojournalists to increased dangers. But it also raises
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the possibility that local photographers from conflict-torn countries may represent conflicts to international audiences differently than do international photographers. This possibility is explored in this study using the case of Afghanistan. Based on photojournalists’ perceptions and comparisons of international and locally produced images, we explore potential effects of the shifting reliance on local rather than international photojournalists on how distant wars come to be pictured to international audiences. This study advances an argument for giving increased protection to local photojournalists in conflict zones." (Abstract)
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"Local fixers are becoming increasingly important for international media due to escalating security threats to international journalists, budget cuts within international media organizations, and the disappearance of long-stay correspondents. Local fixers give local color and context to news storie
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s, but their work in conflict regions is extremely dangerous. Making things worse, fixers are at the bottom of the international correspondence totem pole. This paper approaches the situation from the perspective of fixers using qualitative in-depth interviews made in northwestern Pakistan, whereby we see fixers’ problems in a wider context of post-colonial relationships. The role of Western international journalists is discussed within a cultural context of hegemony, primarily drawing on theories of Edward Said and Antonio Gramsci." (Abstract)
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"Pakistan has been declared as most dangerous country for media professionals all over the world, like, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) is the riskiest place due to militancy and insurgency. For this purpose, this research has been conducted to investigate the phenomenon. The research has been conducted thr
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ough quantitative methodology, while survey technique was used for data collection. Questionnaire was used as data collection tool, while data was collected by simple random sampling method from three main press clubs of Peshawar, Swat and Charsadda districts of KP. The results revealed that most of media professionals have lack of personal and family awareness due to the lack of training and proper knowledge about crisis and conflict zones coverage. Results of correlation test significant value of .000, in regression analysis the value of R is 0.194 which shows the capacity of relationship and ANOVA analysis significant value 0.000 confirmed that there is strong relationship amid awareness of personal and family security in crisis reporting and performance of journalists in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan." (Abstract)
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"Pakistan’s journalists confront fatal safety risks in the line of their duty and are at the mercy of various types of pressure and extremist groups that threaten, kidnap and even murder them with almost total impunity. Despite the growing violence against journalists in Pakistan, there is a deart
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h of national academic studies that offer insights into threats to journalists’ safety and the country’s rampant culture of impunity. Therefore, using the system theory, this study explores Pakistan’s issues of impunity and threats to journalists’ safety in conflict and non-conflict situations. The study also analyses the country’s laws for the protection of journalists’ rights to freedom of expression, access to information, online and offline safety, fair trial and equal pay-scales. In addition, the study unpacks the journalists’ lived experiences of safety risks in Pakistan and their perceptions regarding the country’s culture of impunity. To achieve these objectives, this study uses the qualitative methods of document review and indepth interviews (face-to-face). Moreover, the study uses thematic analysis to analyse the gathered data." (Abstract)
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"This study aims to measure the level of digital security awareness of journalists in Turkey who use digital technology in the course of their work. In the study, research questions are answered using data collected by means of an online survey in relation to the digital security risks faced, the ex
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tent to which digital technology is used, the digital security tools employed and the extent of digital security training undertaken. The study reveals that journalists in Turkey are faced with security issues ranging from personal threats to physical and digital attacks and that they rely heavily on digital technology. The study concludes that they lack awareness of digital security risks, and only a small percentage have undertaken safety training to protect themselves and their sources in either the physical or digital worlds." (Abstract)
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"Safety of journalists has been studied as part of freedom of expression. However, there is scarce qualitative research on Colombian regional journalists’ safety. This chapter seeks to address issues surrounding journalists’ safety and censorship in Colombia shedding light on triple menace: the
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decrease in journalistic quality, citizens’ right to information and the influence on journalists’ professional behavior by analysing the multifaceted press censorship from 2008 to 2017, which occurred before and after the Peace Accord between FARC guerrilla and president Juan Manuel Santos. Media ethnography and in-depth interviews were used. Employing the Bourdieu’s Theory of Professional Field, the praxis, rationale and censorship of journalists during the conflict were mapped. The findings shed light on how the censorship went on during a more stable period in the conflict and how journalists were silenced and threatened." (Abstract)
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"The literature on public figures attacked by their audiences is unclear why female and male figures react differently to attacks. This study examines why female journalists are more likely than male journalists to use avoidance strategies as a reaction to online attacks. Avoidance includes limiting
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audience engagement, adapting reporting behavior, and thinking about quitting journalism. Drawing on social role theory and gender stereotypes, this study contrasts two explanatory hypotheses. The results, based on mediation analyses of online survey data of 637 journalists representative of Switzerland, show that women are more likely than men to use avoidance strategies because women are more stressed by attacks. This heightened stress is argued to result from differences in gender role socialization. In contrast, while women are somewhat more severely attacked than men, this cannot explain their greater probability of avoidance. Results contribute a theoretically and empirically rich explanation of gendered reactions to attacks." (Abstract)
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"This article takes UNESCO’s Academic Research Agenda on Safety of Journalists as its point of departure. We present an overview of contributions to a selection of research conferences and academic publications focusing on safety of journalists and categorize them according to the research agenda.
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The overall aim of the contributions is to discuss research on ideas andpractices that create unsafe conditions, as well as possible strategies and solutions from practical, theoretical, national orinternational perspectives. Through this exercise, we find where the focus areas are and what is lacking in current research on safety of journalists, and the discussion serves as an introduction to the chapters of this special issue." (Abstract)
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"The Handbook of Research on Combating Threats to Media Freedom and Journalist Safety is an essential reference source that evaluates how diverse threats impact on journalists wellbeing, their right to freedom of expression, and overall media freedoms in various contexts and assesses inadequacies in
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national security policies, planning, and coordination relating to the safety of journalists in different countries. Featuring research on topics such as freedom of the press, professional journalism, and media security, this book is ideally designed for journalists, news writers, editors, columnists, press, broadcasters, newscasters, government officials, lawmakers, diplomats, international relations officers, law enforcement, industry professionals, academicians, researchers, and students." (Abstract)
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