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.

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Indian Women Journalists’ Responses to Sexism and Sexual Harassment

Kalyani Chadha, Linda Steiner, Pallavi Guha

International Communication Research Journal, volume 52, issue 1 (2017), ?? pp.

"This research examines the everyday sexism and workplace sex discrimination experienced by women journalists in India. Nearly all of the popular and scholarly attention to the experiences of Indian women journalists has focused on high profile instances of rape and sexual assault. But this focus on ... more

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Google Scholar (28)

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Global violence against journalists: The power of impunity and emerging initiatives to evoke social change

Jeannine E Relly, Celeste Gonzalez de Bustamante

In: Routledge Companion to Media and Human Rights

Howard Tumber, Silvio Waisbord (eds.)

London; New York: Routledge (2017), 10 pp.

"Civic organizations, groups like Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch, play a key role in the production and circulation of human rights discourses. Scholars have examined the strategies civic organizations use to attract media coverage, the permeability of the news media to human rights me ... more

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Gendering War and Peace Journalism: New challenges for media research

Beri von der Lippe, Rune Ottosen

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

Ulla Carlsson, Reeta Pöyhtäri (eds.)

Göteborg: Nordicom (2017), pp. 61-70

"The article addresses in what way gender matters when dealing with war – and peace journalism. Issues discussed are to what extent the experiences of male and female reporters differ when they cover stories from the front line, especially regarding safety and working conditions. One important que ... more

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Fearing the Majority: Catholic Media in Muslim Indonesia

Wijayanto

Media Asia, volume 44, issue 1 (2017), pp. 33-39

"It was 16 June 2016, during the fasting month of Ramadhan. Inside the Kompas newsroom, tens of uninvited guests, mostly wearing white, were visiting the office of the media group. They were members of Islamic Defenders Front (FPI), a hardline Islamic group well known for its sporadic sweeping of In ... donesia, mostly in the name of defending Syaria law. Two days before, a letter had been sent to Kompas newsroom from the FPI, saying they wanted to seek clarification about some of the paper’s coverage. That night, one of the journalists said to me with a bitter smile, “This is a special exception where a guest determined the date and time of the visit without waiting for approval.” As planned, around 1 pm on June 16, those special guests were seated in one of the newspaper’s conference rooms, welcomed by chief editor of Kompas daily newspaper, Budiman Tanuredjo, as well as some other chiefs of the media group from Kompas.TV and Kompas.com. In a video that went viral on YouTube, people could see that the discussion was rather one-sided. The FPI members spoke while the journalist were mostly listening to them. Munarman, the FPI’s spokesperson, accused the media group of unfairly covering recent events. He highlighted the news about the latest swoop in Serang Regency, which caught a middle-aged woman, Saeni, selling food during the day during the fasting month. It was carried out by Satpol PP, the municipal police of the local government specifically functions as public order enforcers. Munarman believed that the raid was virtuous, to enforce Syaria law. He said Kompas had reported the news in a way that portrayed Saeni as a victim and the Satpol PP as the aggressor. Thus, in the view of FPI, Kompas had hurt the feeling of Muslim people. They demanded the coverage to be stopped. They also warned the news organization to never again do such reportage. The FPI members did not stop there. Munarman and other FPI members also incited violence. In an aggressive tone, Munarman warned that such coverage could provoke a repeat of the incidents of 1998. This was a reference to the mass riots in the days before the forced resignation of President Suharto on 21 May 1998. The riot involved ethnic violence against the Chinese minority. Thousands of stores owned by Chinese Indonesians were destroyed, robbed and burnt. Furthermore, tens of Chinese women were sexually abused. There is still ongoing debate about the underlying reasons why the Chinese were targeted, but one theory suggests that it was part of a regime strategy to channel public anger away from President Suharto. Interestingly, despite believing that Kompas was not wrong in a journalistic sense, their journalists responded to the accusations with submission. Responding with smile and a lower tone, Budiman Tanuredjo said, “If we were seen as already crossing the boundaries (kebablasan), please kindly let us know” (Budiman Tanuredjo, 23 June 2016). In the same vein, the journalists from Kompas TV responded that “we were advised that we might have crossed the boundaries in our way, our news routine, we really make it as a lesson”. The other senior journalists who acted as a spokesperson of the media said, “Thank you for your reminder.” Instead of arguing that they were acting according to their journalistic judgment, they decided to admit that they were wrong and apologise to the hardliners. The submissiveness of Kompas becomes more interesting when viewed against the fact that it was not the only media to report the incident. There were at least 10 other online media that reported the raid on Saeni. Those media were Republika, SindoNews, DW, BBC, BeritaSatu, Detik, Tempo, The Jakarta Post, Media Indonesia and Viva. Republika – an Islamic newspaper – was one of the most critical of the raid, explicitly describing Saeni as a victim. On 13 June 2016, they wrote that the spokesperson of the President said that the President had given support to Saeni, “who had been the victim of Satpol PP”. The article’s title was, “Jokowi Gave Charity to a Mother Who Sold Food.” The use of the word “victim” implied that there was a perpetrator, which was the Satpol PP. Yet, FPI did not attack Republika or any other media. Only Kompas became their target. This article argues that the allegations against Kompas and its response were a result of historical factors. Kompas has been repeatedly attacked by Islamic groups due to its Catholic roots. This tendency is exacerbated by the fact that existing blasphemy law provides immense space to prosecute anyone deemed to be offending the feelings of religious believers. Kompas journalists end up internalizing a belief that being minority Catholic is an “original sin” in a majority Muslim country." (pp.33-34) more

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The Emotional Toll on Journalists Covering the Refugee Crisis

Anthony Feinstein, Hannah Storm

Oxford: Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism (2017), 39 pp.

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Media professionals and armed conflict: Protection and responsibilities under international humanitarian law. Handbook

Nicole Urban

British Red Cross; british Institute of international and Comparative Law (2017), vi, 129 pp.

"This Handbook is primarily for use by media professionals who report from conflict zones. It is a practical and accessible guide to the rules of international humanitarian law (IHL) that protect media professionals and their work in armed conflict. It also considers the IHL responsibilities that me ... more

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The Cost of Truth Telling in India: Reporting in the Context of Intolerance

Pradip Ninan Thomas

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

Ulla Carlsson, Reeta Pöyhtäri (eds.)

Göteborg: Nordicom (2017), pp. 87-92

"I would like to begin by stating the obvious. Any way forward has to be based on a clear understanding of the possibilities for change in the environment and context of the press in India. While there is a lot to celebrate about the press in India, its institutional location within the market, its ... more

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Pluralism Under Attack: The Assault on Press Freedom in Poland

Annabelle Chapman

Washington, DC: Freedom House (2017), 20 pp.

"Poland has become a crucial battleground in the drive by authoritarian-minded leaders to gain control over political discourse and limit media pluralism. The Law and Justice government has sought to control the media as part of a broader push to weaken checks and balances and silence independent vo ... more

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Attacks on the Record: The State of Global Press Freedom 2017-2018

Freedom House (2017), 7 pp.

"Press freedom is facing new threats in major democracies as well as in repressive states, where authorities are focusing their efforts on social media and other online platforms after subduing the independence of major print and broadcast outlets. The analysis below—drawn from the findings of Fre ... more

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The Assault on Journalism. Building Knowledge to Protect Freedom of Expression
Top Insights

Ulla Carlsson, Reeta Pöyhtäri (eds.)

Göteborg: Nordicom (2017), 363 pp.

"To support joint efforts to protect journalism, there is a growing need for research-based knowledge. Acknowledging this need, the aim of this publication is to highlight and fuel journalist safety as a field of research, to encourage worldwide participation, as well as to inspire further dialogues ... more

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Safety concerns in the Nigerian media: What gender dynamics?

Lilian Ngusuur Unaegbu

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

Ulla Carlsson, Reeta Pöyhtäri (eds.)

Göteborg: Nordicom (2017), pp. 171-184

"This chapter focuses on gender dynamics in media safety in Nigeria. It critically examines the safety challenges journalists in Nigeria face in executing their duties in a country that has experienced different forms of conflicts, ranging from political instability, organized crime, terrorism, and ... more

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Defending Journalism: How National Mechanisms Can Protect Journalists and Address the Issue of Impunity. A Comparative Analysis of Practices in Seven Countries
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Elisabeth Witchel, Esben Q. Harboe (eds.)

International Media Support (IMS) (2017), 250 pp.

"The research documents how, despite immense ongoing challenges, in Afghanistan, Iraq, Nepal and Pakistan, some important advances have been made to develop joint structures and innovative approaches to defend the practice of journalism. It examines the long road Colombia has followed in the establi ... more

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Report of the International Mission to Nepal for Promoting Freedom of Expression and Safety of Journalists

Toby Mendel (ed.)

Nepal International Media Partnership (NIMP); International Media Support (IMS) (2016), 25 pp.

"The primary objective of the 2015 NIMP Mission was to provide technical inputs to activities underway under UNESCO’s Safety of Journalists project, particularly in terms of setting up an independent national mechanism on safety at the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC). Another key objective ... more

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An Overview of the Current Challenges to the Safety and Protection of Journalists

Cassie Clark

International Women's Media Foundation (IWMF) (2016), 22 pp.

"This overview report highlights key themes that affect journalists’ safety globally, including: 1) impunity for crimes against journalists, which fosters killings and abductions; 2) the range of dangers facing journalists; 3) the lack of resources for comprehensive security training and the hands ... more

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Supporting Safety of Journalists in Nepal: An Assessment Based on UNESCO’s Journalists’ Safety Indicators

Nirmala Mani Adhikary, Laxman Datt Pant

Paris: UNESCO (2016), 115 pp.

"This United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) report documents the national state of journalists' safety and the issue of impunity by providing an overview of the safety situation of journalists in Nepal. It also examines the context of safety and the responsibility ... more

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The Safety of Journalists and the Danger of Impunity: Report by the Director-General to the Intergovernmental Council of the IPDC (thirtieth Session)
Top Insights

UNESCO, International Programme for the Development of Communication (IPDC) (2016), 67 pp.

"This report provides an overview of a decade of killings of journalists, media workers and social media producers, between 1 January 2006 and 31 December 2015. The extent of the risks faced by those exercising their right to express opinions and disseminate information is demonstrated by the figure ... more

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UN Plan of Action on the Safety of Journalists and the Issue of Impunity
Top Insights

United Nations (2016), 21 pp.

"The UN Plan of Action on the Safety of Journalists and the Issue of Impunity is a systematic UN-wide plan to work toward a free and safe environment for journalists and media workers, including social media producers of public interest journalism, with a view to strengthen peace, democracy, and dev ... more

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Mexican Journalism, Still in the Line of Fire

Rosario Carmona

Washington, DC: Center for International Media Assistance (CIMA) (2016), 9 pp.

"Sadly, attacks on journalists in Mexico are nothing new. In April 2012, CIMA published a report detailing the violence against the media and recommending steps that the Mexican government could take in order to remedy the situation. The government of Mexico did enact some measures to protect journa ... more

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The psychological wellbeing of Iranian journalists: A descriptive study

Anthony Feinstein, Saul Feinstein, Maziar Behari, Bennis Pavisian

Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine Open, volume 7, issue 12 (2016), pp. 1-5

"Iran ranks 173 out of 180 countries on an index of press freedom. The purpose of the study was to assess the psychological wellbeing of Iranian journalists and document the stressors encountered in their work. Design: A secure website was established and participants were given their unique identif ... more

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The (Un)safe Practice of Journalism: An Analysis Based on UNESCO’s Journalists’ Safety Indicators Assessments

Reeta Pöyhtäri

In: Freedom of Expression and Media in Transition: Studies and Reflections in the Digital Age

Ulla Carlsson (ed.)

Göteborg: Nordicom (2016), pp. 103-107

"Journalists around the world are being killed and threatened for doing their work. This is a serious hindrance to freedom of expression and the safe practice of journalism. UN and UNESCO have led the process to create the UN Plan of Action on the Safety of Journalists and the Issue of Impunity to i ... more

The Assault on Journalism. Building Knowledge to Protect Freedom of Expression Top Insights

Defending Journalism: How National Mechanisms Can Protect Journalists and Address the Issue of Impunity. A Comparative Analysis of Practices in Seven Countries Top Insights

The Safety of Journalists and the Danger of Impunity: Report by the Director-General to the Intergovernmental Council of the IPDC (thirtieth Session) Top Insights

UN Plan of Action on the Safety of Journalists and the Issue of Impunity Top Insights

The Assault on Journalism. Building Knowledge to Protect Freedom of Expression
Top Insights

Defending Journalism: How National Mechanisms Can Protect Journalists and Address the Issue of Impunity. A Comparative Analysis of Practices in Seven Countries
Top Insights

The Safety of Journalists and the Danger of Impunity: Report by the Director-General to the Intergovernmental Council of the IPDC (thirtieth Session)
Top Insights

UN Plan of Action on the Safety of Journalists and the Issue of Impunity
Top Insights