Safety of Journalists CFOM Sheffield

The Centre for Freedom of the Media (CFOM) at the University of Sheffield (UK) is an interdisciplinary research centre with global outreach on issues of media freedom, journalism safety, editorial standards and impunity. During the 2022 Academic Consultation on the UN Plan of Action on the Safety of Journalists and the Issue of Impunity, CFOM conducted a literature stocktake to scope out academic literature published in the area of media freedom, journalism safety and impunity. CFOM collated this information and produced a literature database organised by themes or countries for accessibility. The collection is especially strong on country- and region-specific safety issues and on surveys of emotional wellbeing of journalists. This special collection is curated by gemma.horton@sheffield.ac.uk.

Filter

1003

Sort by:

Direction:

Download (0)

Freedom of expression and threats to journalists’ safety: An analysis of conflict reporting in journalism education in Pakistan

Sadia Jamil

Journalism Education, volume 6, issue 2 (2017), pp. 7-16

"This article has addressed the level of journalists’ safety in Pakistan, revealing the diverse threats to journalists’ safety and their right to freedom of expression in the country. Freedom of expression is an individual right, for which no one should be attacked or killed. However, in this st ... udy, journalists’ feedback reveals that not only their lives but their right to freedom of expression is at risk because of the prevailing unsafe environment in Pakistan. The study suggests journalism is a dangerous profession in Pakistan because of physical, psychological, financial, social, emotional and topic-specific risks, which constrain journalists’ right to freedom of expression and affect them most while doing their routine jobs. Despite the unsafe environment and constant threats, this study indicates that only 18% of surveyed journalists have received safety training to protect themselves in conflict and non-conflict situations. The following questions need to be addressed when analysing issues around journalists’ safety training in Pakistan, namely: who are the trainers? Are trainers themselves trained for journalists’ safety training, bearing in mind the local safety circumstances? What is the role of local and international NGO’s in promoting journalists’ safety education either at university or media organisational level? Further research on these aspects is crucial for the better training of journalists. This study reveals that the education of conflict reporting and peace journalism is not the major part of journalism curricula in Pakistan’s public and private sector universities. The curriculum in most of the universities do not reflect distinctively the local aspects of journalism teaching and approaches, which is important for enabling journalists to understand the context within which they perform their work. As highlighted by Abit and Kenneth in their article, the case of Kosovo is quite similar to Pakistan – where journalism education lacks local teaching approches. Therefore, in this article, I emphasize certain initiatives such as: the inclusion of journalists’ safety and peace journalism modules in curriculum; collaboration with international universities for innovative pedagogical models; regular curriculum revision and local-context teaching and research within this field. Others have underlined the need for a few more significant inititatives that I think are crucial as far as journalists’ safety education is concerned, such as: enhancing journalists’ awareness of their rights and physical and psychological safety; protection of their equipment, and legal protection while covering war or conflict." (Conclusion) more

Safety training for journalists: A case study with the Spanish military

Leire Iturregui Mardaras, María José Cantalapiedra González, Leire Moure Peñín

Journalism Education, volume 6, issue 2 (2017), pp. 56-64

"This paper studies how the training of journalists has been approached in Spain. Since 2003, the Army War College has held annual Training Courses for War Correspondents. Over three hundred journalists have been trained on these courses. This study analyses and reflects on how the Spanish Army carr ... more

Download (0)

Examining the Practices That Mexican Journalists Employ to Reduce Risk in a Context of Violence

Sallie Hughes, Mireya Marquez-Ramirez

International Journal of Communication, volume 11 (2017), pp. 499-521

"Research on journalists working in contexts of risk has examined either war correspondents on temporary assignments or the psychological effects of covering traumatic events, usually after the events have ended. Although these studies are important, they fail to account for the growing importance o ... more

Download (0)

Women in Media: The Nepalese Perspective

K. C. Prakriti

International Journal of Social, Political and Economic Research, volume 4, issue 1 (2017), pp. 33-38

"A journalist is a person who involves in activities such as writing/ reporting for newspapers, magazines or on news websites in order to be published/ broadcasted. The journalists have social responsibility i.e. objective reporting. Media is the "Fourth Estate" and journalists are the watchdogs of ... more

Download (1)

Freedom of Expression and Violence Against Journalists

Radu Florin Geamanu

Lex ET Scientia International Journal (LESIJ), volume 2 (2017), pp. 118-135

"This study will contain an analysis on the international and regional standards in the field of freedom of expression, as stipulated in the United Nations conventions and in the European Convention of Human Rights. Further we will establish a link between the breach of the freedom of expression whe ... more

Download (0)

A Country without Mercy: Afghan Journalists Caught in Crossfires

Elisabeth Eide

In: The Assault on Journalism. Building Knowledge to Protect Freedom of Expression

Ulla Carlsson, Reeta Pöyhtäri (eds.)

Göteborg: Nordicom (2017), pp. 81-86

"In the last Afghan solar year (22 March 2015 – 21 March 2016), twelve journalists and media workers were killed, exceeding any previous year in recent history. In June 2016, the US photographer David Gilkey and his interpreter, journalist Zabihullah Tamanna, were killed in a Taliban attack in Maj ... more

Download (0)

Digging for Transparency: How African Journalism Only Scratches the Surface of Conflict

Ibrahim Saleh

Global Media Journal - African Edition, volume 9, issue 1 (2017), pp. 1-10

"It has become a pattern to find academics, professionals and students of journalism bragging with the scope, techniques and dilemmas of investigative journalism. But there is one gaping hole: nowhere was information collated about the heroic contributions, and often the sacrifices, that were made f ... more

External Link (28)

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

Syed Irfan Ashraf, Lisa Brooten

In: The Assault on Journalism. Building Knowledge to Protect Freedom of Expression

Ulla Carlsson, Reeta Pöyhtäri (eds.)

Göteborg: Nordicom (2017), pp. 147-158

"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, compell ... more

External Link (29)

Risk and Resilience among Journalists Covering Potentially Traumatic Events

Trond Idås, Klas Backholm

In: The Assault on Journalism. Building Knowledge to Protect Freedom of Expression

Ulla Carlsson, Reeta Pöyhtäri (eds.)

Göteborg: Nordicom (2017), pp. 235-240

"Journalists covering crises are at high risk of experiencing potentially traumatic events. This chapter presents a study with 375 journalists who covered the 2011 terror attack in Norway. The purpose was to investigate whether social support (SS) was related to psychological distress (posttraumatic ... more

Download (5)

Prevent – Protect – Prosecute: Acting on UN Human Rights Council Resolution 33/2

London: Article 19 (2017), 38 pp.

"In September 2016, the UN Human Rights Council (HRC) broke new ground with the unanimous adoption of HRC Resolution 33/2 on the safety of journalists. The HRC is the world’s highest human rights body and its resolutions are a strong collective commitment from States to act on priority human right ... more

External Link (27)

Assaults against Journalists: We see the tip of the iceberg

Katharine Sarikakis

In: The Assault on Journalism. Building Knowledge to Protect Freedom of Expression

Ulla Carlsson, Reeta Pöyhtäri (eds.)

Göteborg: Nordicom (2017), pp. 119-128

"The summarised reports in this chapter show that the scope of safety and sacrifice is far greater than each actor alone or their sum can account for. Although the discussion did not offer an investigation into the USA and other mature democracies, it is clear from the survey in the European territo ... more

External Link (30)

Google Scholar (31)

WorldCat (25)

Philippine and global research on news media safety: Crossing disciplines, bridging gaps

Ramon R. Tuazon, Paz H. Diaz, Therese Patricia C. San Diego

Media Asia, volume 44, issue 1 (2017), pp. 8-16

"This chapter therefore proposes steps toward closing the gaps in the research on the safety of journalists and media workers in the Philippines and across the globe. While there is no absence of research on the subject, there is a preponderance of anecdotal research and a lack of empirical studies. ... more

External Link (30)

UNESCO’s Research Agenda on the Safety of Journalists: Call for new academic research initiatives

Reeta Pöyhtäri

In: The Assault on Journalism. Building Knowledge to Protect Freedom of Expression

Ulla Carlsson, Reeta Pöyhtäri (eds.)

Göteborg: Nordicom (2017), pp. 103-108

"Within this global context, UNESCO is the UN agency with the mandate to advance “the mutual knowledge and understanding of peoples, through all means of mass communication” and to promote “the free flow of ideas by word and image”. UNESCO has defined press freedom as designating the conditi ... more

External Link (31)

The United Nations’ Role in Promoting the Safety of Journalists from 1945 to 2016

Silvia Chocarro Marcesse

In: The Assault on Journalism. Building Knowledge to Protect Freedom of Expression

Ulla Carlsson, Reeta Pöyhtäri (eds.)

Göteborg: Nordicom (2017), pp. 45-60

"The United Nations (UN) has played an increasing role in promoting the safety of journalists. Yet little has been done to study its work from a historical perspective. This paper explores global attempts to promote journalist safety carried out by the UN system, from its inception in 1945 until 201 ... more

External Link (33)

Google Scholar (28)

WorldCat (28)

Disrupting the disruption: A key role for academics in the protection of freedom of expression

Agnès Callamard

Media Asia, volume 44 (2017), pp. 2-7

"Agnes Callamard argues that academics have unique responsibilities in a dark era of violence." (Abstract)

Download (2)

Field Guide: Media Professionals and Armed Conflict. Protection and Responsibilities Under International Humanitarian Law
Key Guidance

Nicole Urban

British Red Cross; British Institute of International and Comparative Law (2017), 57 pp.

"This Field Guide summarises the legal protection and responsibilities of media professionals operating in armed conflicts. It focuses on international humanitarian law (IHL) – also known as the ‘law of armed conflict’ – and sets out some aspects of international and UK criminal law. It is i ... more

Download (1)

An Attack on One is an Attack on All: Successful Initiatives to Protect Journalists and Combat Impunity
Top Insights

Larry Kilman

Paris: UNESCO (2017), 98 pp.

"This report takes a look at a selection of the innovative, successful ways media companies, individual journalists and civil society organizations are coming together to improve journalist safety. These are cases of people taking the initiative, of acting on behalf of the profession, of not sitting ... more

External Link (27)

Journalists not spies. The importance of the legal distinction for the protection of journalists during armed conflicts

Mariateresa Garrido Villareal

Journalism Education, volume 6, issue 2 (2017), pp. 48-55

"International Humanitarian Law (IHL) has long-claimed that recognition as a civilian is critical to a journalist's safety during war, but the new US Manual blurs that line and says journalists must better understand the distinction between civilians and combatants. Given the fact that journalists m ... more

External Link (21)

Google Scholar (21)

WorldCat (20)

Shooting the messengers

Steven M. Ellis

British Journalism Review, volume 28, issue 1 (2017), pp. 57-62

"More and more countries are deciding the answer to a bad press is to imprison journalists who dare to report anything that is critical." (Abstract)

External Link (27)

Roads to Influence: A Practical Toolkit to Increase Safety for Journalists Through Advocacy in Somalia/Somaliland

International Media Support (IMS); Fojo Media Institute (2017), 20 pp.

"The overall approach to advocacy in this toolkit is generic, but the toolkit focuses on increasing safety for journalists in Somalia/Somaliland. The order of the different steps follows a logical sequence. However, do keep in mind that advocacy is not necessarily a linear process. Advocacy rarely f ... more

Field Guide: Media Professionals and Armed Conflict. Protection and Responsibilities Under International Humanitarian Law Key Guidance

An Attack on One is an Attack on All: Successful Initiatives to Protect Journalists and Combat Impunity Top Insights

Field Guide: Media Professionals and Armed Conflict. Protection and Responsibilities Under International Humanitarian Law
Key Guidance

An Attack on One is an Attack on All: Successful Initiatives to Protect Journalists and Combat Impunity
Top Insights