"Since 2017, 518 journalists have been attacked while covering protests (U.S. Press Freedom Tracker, 2021) which is one of the most dangerous places to be as a journalist in the United States (Sterne & Peters, 2017). Despite the volatile climate around journalists as they cover increasingly dangerou ... s protests (Luqiu, 2020), there is minimal understanding as to the effect of these events on them (Talabi, et al., 2021). Furthermore, there is a gap in the hostility literature examining harassment that journalists face in the field. Through a survey of U.S. journalists, this study finds that covering protests causes journalists mental and emotional health concerns, which influences how they view their journalistic roles. Furthermore, the effects of positive and negative encounters at protests affected journalists personally, depending on who the perpetrator was (protestor or law enforcement)—influencing everything from PTSD and anxiety to intentions to leave journalism. The paper ultimately underscores the need for news organizations to make sure journalists not only are safe, but also feel safe, when reporting in the field." (Abstract) more

"Journalistic well-being is garnering increasing attention from scholars globally. Nevertheless, minimal research has explored how colleges and universities are teaching about such topics, especially as they pertain to hostility toward the press, which is on the rise. Utilizing a survey of journalis ... m instructors at ACEJMC-accredited U.S.-based universities, this study explores the state of education on the topics of abuse and safety toward journalists. Data indicate that instructors rarely teach about hostility in the classroom, although most feel efficacious to do so. Moreover, findings indicate an instructor is more likely to teach about hostility toward the press the more they see it as an issue and have encountered it personally as a journalist—particularly women faculty. Implications for these findings are discussed for journalism schools and their curriculum." (Abstract) more

"Journalists in democratically “free” countries have faced harassment from those external to the newsroom for decades, though that has recently increased in the United States by many accounts. To assess the effects of such harassment in the United States, 32 journalists were interviewed and more ... than 500 surveyed about their experiences with harassment, and how it has affected their professional work. Journalists’ emotions, gender, and the frequency at which they experience harassment were predictors of affect-driven work behaviors such as avoiding interviewing someone, being less active on social media, and even considering leaving journalism. Younger journalists were also more likely to engage in affect-driven work behaviors. Harassment also affected journalists’ work attitude of job satisfaction—specifically incivility and disruptive harassment. This type of harassment is likely to decrease job satisfaction while supervisor support and larger organizational size are likely to increase satisfaction. In sum, harassment from viewers, readers, and strangers affects how journalists act and think about their work. This research adds to literature on Affective Events Theory by highlighting harassment from organizational outsiders (readers, viewers, and strangers) as an affective event with significant affect-driven behaviors and attitudes. Furthermore, there are practical implications for practitioners discussed at the end of this paper." (Abstract) more

"This article utilizes theoretical concepts of sensemaking and affective events theory to analyze and interpret what type of harassment events journalists experience from readers, viewers, and strangers, and their subsequent emotional responses. Findings indicated journalists experience three forms ... of harassment at work from those external to the newsroom, and that women not only receive more sexual harassment than men, but they experience more overall harassment, from viewers, readers, and strangers. When examining affective reactions, men say they experience emotions of anger when harassed. Women, however, noted emotions of anger when experiencing sexual harassment, and emotions of fear when experiencing incivility and disruptive harassment and personally attacking harassment." (Abstract) more

"While there is an upsurge of research examining hostility toward the press from those external to the newsroom, there continues to be a lack of critical and robust theoretical foundation and agenda for such inquiry in countries considered to have a democratically free press. Therefore, the objectiv ... e of this article is to synthesize literature in the study of abuse and harassment of journalists, set forth clear definitions of terms, situate that literature within a larger theoretical context, and ultimately establish future lines of inquiry for research examining harassment of journalists. The primary argument of this article in theorizing hostility toward the press is examining the identity of a journalist as a place of oppression that intersects with other identities of oppression resulting in unique context-based experiences. The principal objective is to unify work in this growing field to help not only answer important questions about a topic gaining increasing attention, but to also do so with a critical foundation in how hostility toward the press is theorized." (Abstract) more

"At a time of growing threats to the press worldwide, including in supposedly ‘safe’ developed democracies, this article explores the nature of harassment perpetrated by strangers, one-time sources, and viewers against women broadcast journalists working at US local television stations. The stud ... y investigates the emotional labor – the work of managing one’s emotions to keep others happy – that is required for journalists negotiating such harassment. Through qualitative interviews, our research shows that women in such roles face four main types of harassment: (1) disruptive in-person harassment, (2) physical and abrasive in-person harassment, (3) online harassment as unwanted sexual advances, and (4) online harassment as threats and criticisms. We find that women perform a significant degree of emotional labor as they regularly deal with harassment and simultaneously attempt to mitigate or prevent further harassment." (Abstract) more