Country and Region-Specific Safety Issues

Filter

507

Sort by:

Direction:

Download (28)

Associations among traumatic experiences, threat exposure, and mental health in Pakistani journalists

Suzanna M. Koster, Hans M. Koot, Jamil A. Malik, Marit Sijbrandij

Journal of Traumatic Stress, volume 35, issue 2 (2022), pp. 581-592

"Pakistan is considered to be relatively unsafe for journalists; however, little is known about how working in situations that involve a high risk of trauma exposure and personal threat impacts journalists' mental health. The present study aimed to examine the associations among reporting on topics ... more

Download (24)

Coping with the Murder: The Impact of Ján Kuciak’s Assassination on Slovak Investigative Journalists

Marína Urbániková, Lenka Haniková

Journalism Practice, volume 16, issue 9 (2022), pp. 1927-1947

"In this contribution, using a case-study approach, we focus on the assassination of Ján Kuciak and his fiancée and explore the impact and consequences that it had on the community of investigative journalists in Slovakia. By conducting a series of semi-structured interviews with top investigative ... more

External Link (116)

Media Environment and Safety of Journalists During the Crisis in Georgia: Threats and Supportive Instruments

Mariam Gersamia, Maia Toradze

Environment and Society, volume 5, issue 5 (2022), 1 pp.

"Viable, free media is a crucial component of democratic progress in Georgia. Thirty years after the collapse of the Soviet Union and gaining independence, the safety of journalists while carrying out professional duties continues to be one of the critical indicators of progress in the country's med ... ia democracy. This research was triggered by the actualization of the acute and, in some ways, spontaneous media threat that arose during the pre-election period. More specifically, on July 5, 2021, two months before Georgia's local self-government municipal elections, media workers fell victim to a premeditated attack by pro-Russian radical groups during the coverage of demonstrations. As a result, 52 journalists from more than ten media outlets, camera operators, and photographers were assaulted. A TV Pirveli cameraman, Lekso Lashkarava, died a few days later due to severe injuries received during the demonstration. The research aims to distinguish the traits prevalent in the media environment during times of crisis and, even more specifically, during the pre-and post-election periods (particularly during the 2021 local government elections in Georgia). The research also responds to how political polarization and crises affect media and the macro and micro threats they reveal. The study identifies these media threats and assesses the reality of the media environment as seen through journalists' eyes. The research covers topics recommended by UNESCO (Towards a Research agenda on the safety of journalists) and examines seven of those ten recommended issues. A mixed research methodology was chosen for research design, more specifically, a sequential explanatory design. The research was conducted in two phases: the first phase involved the accumulation of quantitative data (through an online survey of 183 respondents from 56 media sources) and analysis, followed which the second phase involved qualitative research (3 focus group discussions). The research answers the questions as follows: How safe do media workers feel when performing their professional duties? What kind of threats have emerged during the 2021 pre-election media environment, and what are the expectations? What are some of the support mechanisms for improving the media environment, and what needs to be done to create a safer environment for media workers? Macro (4) and micro (6) media threats were identified during the research process. They are analyzed in sub-chapters in greater detail. These threats are interconnected and have their structure and aims. Media threats, which emerged during the discussion, contribute to self-censorship and escalation of fear, media credibility, reduction of support, and destabilizing media institutional viability. Political polarization and polarization between media organizations were identified as major macro media threats. Micro threats that were identified as a result of polarization are: Stigmatization of journalists and media (labeling them as biased towards certain political parties) and attempted smear campaigns; They are disrupting the execution of journalist duties. Among such actions are creating obstacles to providing a balanced narrative and bringing a quality media product to the public, primarily reflected in a premeditated restriction to sources and surveillance to disrupt the work process. One macro threat that emerged from the online survey and focus-group analysis was the incitement of physical and verbal violence towards journalists (this includes hate speech and the use of aggressive rhetoric by the state). These media threats reinforce self-censorship and fear, destabilize media institutions' viability and negatively affect the demonstration of solidarity and support toward media. One identified macro-threats towards journalists was the lack of investigation of crimes committed against journalists and impunity as an encouraging factor. Additionally, we could consider the malign nature of the Russian propaganda and malign influence in general as an additional factor, which serves as a leitmotif for the entire discussion on another macro threat. As a result of this study, recommendations have been put forward for various stakeholders. Implementing these recommendations will help create a supportive media environment, encourage solidarity, and improve coordination between different stakeholders during and after crises. Research conducted is by the Media and Communication Educational and Research Center (Georgia) with support of the Friedrich Naumann Foundation’s South Caucasus Office and the Federal Republic of Germany’s Federal Foreign Office." (Abstract) more

External Link (90)

Google Scholar (97)

WorldCat (90)

From State Repression to Fear of non-state Actors: Examining Emerging Threats of Journalism Practice in Ethiopia

Téwodros W. Workneh

Journalism Practice, volume 16, issue 9 (2022), pp. 1909-1926

"Non-state media journalists in Ethiopia traditionally faced safety threats emanating from state-sponsored attacks and punitive legal frameworks. Recently, however, state hostility is being replaced by non-state actors’ aggression against journalists. By framing emerging threats of reporters’ sa ... more

External Link (139)

Google Scholar (104)

WorldCat (102)

Moving Barriers to Investigative Journalism in Latin America in Times of Instability and Professional Innovation

Vanessa de Macedo Higgins Joyce, Lourdes Cueva Chacón, Rosental Calmon Alves

Journalism Practice, volume 16, issue 9 (2022), pp. 1890-1908

"Latin American journalism has experienced recent transitions marked by digital affordances, including a growth of investigative journalism. The region has also experienced more political and economic instability, giving rise to a wave of threats and harassment against journalists. This repeated cro ... more

Download (37)

Tackling Impunity: Lessons from the Public Inquiry Into the Assassination of Daphne Caruana Galizia

Article 19; Daphne Caruana Galizia Foundation (2022), 87 pp.

"This report analyses the model of a Public Inquiry - or a similarly independent process such as a parliamentary inquiry - that can run in parallel with a criminal investigation but has the broader remit of investigating the circumstances that led to murder, and the political climate within which it ... more

Download (46)

National Human Rights Institutions and Journalist Safety

Binod Bhattarai

Copenhagen: International Media Support (IMS) (2022), 98 pp.

"This report explores the role of national human rights institutions (NHRIs) in South and Southeast Asia – Nepal, the Philippines, Indonesia and Pakistan – and how their engagement in supporting national protection mechanisms for journalists can contribute to upholding their mandate of promoting ... human rights for all. Indonesia has an estimated 100,000 journalists in a population of over 271 million people. Its geography represents a challenge for monitoring violations of press freedom and the safety of journalists. In Indonesia, journalists’ and civil society groups have begun to support vulnerable journalists and to collaborate on setting up a national safety mechanism for them. Such a mechanism could involve existing organisations of journalists, the National Human Rights Commission of Indonesia, the Press Council and other state agencies. Preliminary consultations are assessing which institutions might anchor such a mechanism and whether the existing legal framework is appropriate or adequate. Nepal saw a rise in the persecution and assassinations of journalists during the Maoist government conflict (1996-2006) and the long transition to a new constitution (2006-2015). Some perpetrators were prosecuted successfully, but many cases remain open. Nepal was one of the first countries whose NHRI considered the establishment of a mechanism for journalists’ safety. The Nepal National Human Rights Commission and the Federation of Nepali Journalists began working towards this in 2012, and their efforts culminated in 2019 when the Nepal National Human Rights Commission approved a directive to establish a multi-stakeholder mechanism for upholding the freedom of expression of all citizens, including journalists. Pakistan has one of the world’s highest rates of impunity for crimes against journalists, despite the formidable efforts of journalists’ and civil society groups. For example, out of over 140 journalist deaths, only three perpetrators have been prosecuted and all three verdicts were overturned on appeal. However, change could be in the air: Pakistan enacted a new national law in 2021 – based on one adopted earlier by a provincial government – to protect journalists’ safety. While this legislation is welcome, those laws do not include a role for the Pakistan National Commission of Human Rights and thus could be more robust, according to journalists’ and civil society groups. The Philippines is one of the world’s most dangerous countries for journalists, but the government has begun working with its NHRI on a multi-stakeholder mechanism to protect them. Since 1986, 234 journalists and media professionals in the Philippines have been killed, including 19 after President Rodrigo Duterte took charge of the administration in October 2016. According to media and civil society groups, state agencies have allegedly been involved in 114 attacks and threats against journalists and civil society advocates who had first been “red-tagged” by the authorities for their supposed links with armed communist insurgents and/or “terrorism”. In July 2018, the Philippine Commission on Human Rights (CHR) adopted a resolution to form a taskforce with a mandate to monitor and investigate media-related extrajudicial killings. This led to more collaboration between the CHR, media and civil society groups. As a result, the Philippine Action Plan on the Safety of Journalists was launched in November 2019, as part of a threeyear European Union project that seeks to establish a national multi-stakeholder mechanism for the safety of journalists." (Executive summary, pages 9-10) more

Download (54)

Lives, Jobs, Homeland: Afghan Women Journalists Lose All

Association of Women in Radio and Television (AWRT-K) (2022), 52 pp.

"According to a survey conducted by Reporters without Borders (RSF) in December 2021, from 10,790 people working in Afghan media (8,290 men and 2,490 women) at the start of August 2021, only 4,360 (3,950 men and 410 women) were still working and the number may reduce even further. For this survey, d ... ata were collected through online and in-person manual surveys in May 2022. The questionnaire included 23 questions and was completed by 308 respondents in Dari (75.97%) and Pashto (24.03%). All 100 percent respondents were female. The survey largely represented reporters (54.87%), followed by journalists (19.16%), producers (9.74%), presenters (3.90%) and others (12.01%). [...] A majority of respondents (67.86%) reported that they have lost their jobs since the de facto authorties’ takeover of Afghanistan in August. The highest ratio of respondents having lost their jobs compared to the respondents interviewed were in Bamyan (100%), followed by Kandahar (91%), Balkh (85%), Badakhshan (68%) and Kabul (62%). 60.39% of respondents reported that they have felt ‘major changes’ since the collapse of the former government. In addition, 28.90% respondents reported changes in some cases. As for the level of restrictions imposed on reporting since the de facto authorities’ takeover of power, an astounding 80.52% of respondents reported the case to be ‘very restricted’. As far as the reporting autonomy is concerned, 45.13% respondents mentioned that ‘Government Interferences have Increased’, while 35.71% responded as ‘Bad’ meaning the independency in journalists’ reporting is bad. 46.75% of respondents mentioned that the de facto authorities’ spokespersons do not respond to female journalists, followed by 29.55% who mentioned that they do respond, but just in some cases. All 100% of the respondents reported that they have received some kind of threat since the de facto authorities have taken over the power, and reported the major threat against female journalists to be the new restrictions imposed by the de facto authorities (52.9%), followed by the gender-based discrimination (18.8%), and threats posed by extremist groups (16.9%). A majority of the respondents (55.19%) reported that they were restricted from their work specifically due to their outfit/sense of clothing and some (27.92%) reported that they have experienced the same but to some extent only." (Executive summary, pages 5-6) more

Download (39)

Journalism safety and the actuality of achieving gender equality in the media landscape of Uzbekistan

Mukarram Otamurodova

European Scholar Journal, issue December (2022), pp. 13-15

"Uzbekistan faces socio-political changes in the last years and the impact of these turnouts are reflected in the media landscape of the country. Several cases show that the issues of gender equality and the safety of journalists are becomingmore threatening. Some journalists suffer from political p ... more

External Link (124)

Google Scholar (110)

WorldCat (97)

Digital (In)Security in Latin America: The Dimensions of Social Media Violence against the Press and Journalists’ Coping Strategies

Summer Harlow, Ryan Wallace, Lourdes Cueva Chacón

Digital Journalism, volume 11, issue 10 (2022), pp. 1829-1847

"As the journalism industry faces increasing risk and insecurity in the digital environment, there is still much to know about how journalists are reacting to and internalizing online harassment, and what the consequences are for their routines. Approaching the problem from a socio-technical perspec ... more

External Link (98)

Google Scholar (92)

WorldCat (82)

Embedded authoritarianism: The politics of poor press freedom in Indian Kashmir

Tawseef Majeed

Media, Culture & Society, volume 44, issue 3 (2022), pp. 613–624

"The current article explores journalism practice amid waning press freedom in Indian Kashmir. Contextualising the recent renovation and introduction of authoritative new media policy 2020, the article maps the constant struggles of the journalists in the region. I consulted five working journalists ... more

External Link (97)

Google Scholar (112)

WorldCat (98)

Risks and Resilience in the Case of Brazilian Female Journalists: How Women Perceive Violence Against Media Professionals and Cope with its Effects

Gisele Barão da Silva, Giulia Sbaraini Fontes, Francisco Paulo Jamil Marques

Journalism Studies, volume 24, issue 7 (2022), pp. 956-975

"The article examines how Brazilian women journalists claim gender-related issues influence the risks they experience in their professional routines and private life. Data was collected through 31 semi-structured interviews with female professionals who experienced episodes of violence during the co ... more

Download (34)

Post-2018 Media Landscape in Ethiopia: A Review

Mulatu Alemayehu Moges

Center for the Advancement of Rights and Democracy (CARD) (2022), v, 46 pp.

"The advancement of digital technologies, political and legal changes, and the growth in the number of journalism schools in Ethiopia have generally contributed to the overall growth of media outlets and media workers. However, there is no comprehensive source of information that shows the impact of ... more

External Link (145)

Google Scholar (138)

WorldCat (120)

The Voice of Women and Challenges of Gender Equality in Georgian Media

Mariam Gersamia, Maia Toradze, Liana Markariani

In: Handbook of Research on Discrimination, Gender Disparity, and Safety Risks in Journalism

Sadia Jamil, Baris Çoban, Bora Ataman, Gifty Appiah-Adjei (eds.)

Hershey, PA: IGI Global (2021), pp. 232-250

"This research analyzes the media landscape in Georgia from a gender equality perspective to identify the existing stereotypes dominant in Georgian media organizations. Georgia (country) faces the challenges related to femicide, domestic violence, employment of women, early or forced marriages, sexu ... more

External Link (116)

Google Scholar (120)

WorldCat (101)

Burning out and turning off: Journalists’ disconnection strategies on social media

Diana Bossio, Avery E. Holton

Journalism, volume 22, issue 10 (2021), pp. 2475-2492

"This study explores forms of social media fatigue described by professional journalists, including frustration with the perception of their increased affective labor, dissatisfaction with communication environments on particular social media platforms, and increased anxiety about the possible impac ... more

External Link (130)

Google Scholar (142)

WorldCat (121)

Dealing With Sexual Harassment: Are Women Journalists Silenced at Work?

Janess Ann J. Ellao, Evelyn F. Roxas, Therese Patricia S. Torres

In: Handbook of Research on Discrimination, Gender Disparity, and Safety Risks in Journalism

Sadia Jamil, Baris Çoban, Bora Ataman, Gifty Appiah-Adjei (eds.)

Hershey, PA: IGI Global (2021), pp. 24-42

"In the Philippines, sexual harassment is among the threats and attacks women in media face. While Filipino women journalists experience being sexually harassed by colleagues and sources, several have opted not to report such incidents for fear of being blamed and fear of retaliation from the accuse ... more

External Link (73)

Google Scholar (77)

WorldCat (72)

Patterns of violent attacks targeting journalists in Lagos, Nigeria

Ikem Godspower Ujene, Usman Ojedokun

Journal of Aggression, Conflict and Peace Research, volume 13, issue 1 (2021), pp. 50-60

"Despite the fact that Nigeria's transition from military rule to democracy is over two decades, violence targeting journalists still remains a recurring issue. On this basis, this paper aims to examine patterns of violent attacks targeting journalists in Lagos, Nigeria. Design/methodology/approach: ... more

External Link (134)

Google Scholar (119)

WorldCat (117)

Unmasking Gender-Based Violence in Venezuelan Media

Mariateresa Garrido

In: Handbook of Research on Discrimination, Gender Disparity, and Safety Risks in Journalism

Sadia Jamil, Baris Çoban, Bora Ataman, Gifty Appiah-Adjei (eds.)

Hershey, PA: IGI Global (2021), pp. 251-267

"The Venezuelan government has been instrumental to implement different types of gender-based violence and discrimination. Reports demonstrate that women have been killed, that their economic power decreased, and that they experienced problems related to access to education, health services, jobs, e ... more

External Link (102)

Google Scholar (111)

WorldCat (101)

“In their own words”: Journalistic mediation of electoral conflict in polarized Zimbabwe

Admire Mare, Stanley Tsarwe

In: Media, Conflict and Peacebuilding in Africa

Jacinta Maweu, Admire Mare (eds.)

London; New York: Routledge (2021), 18 pp.

"This chapter examines Zimbabwean print journalists’ everyday newsmaking experiences during the 2008 disputed harmonized elections. The article is sequel to our article (Tsarwe and Mare 2019), which exclusively relied on qualitative content analysis of a state-owned weekly (The Sunday Mail) and tw ... more

External Link (115)

Google Scholar (117)

WorldCat (98)

Media capture in Central and Eastern Europe: The corrosive impact on democracy and desecration of journalistic ethics

William Horsley

In: The Routledge Companion to Journalism Ethics

Lada Trifonova Price, Karen Sanders, Wendy N. Wyatt (eds.)

London; New York: Routledge (2021), 9 pp.

"This chapter examines the root causes, development, and corrosive effects of the progressive “capture” of influential media by populist governments and other vested interests in Central and Eastern Europe over the past 20 years. Many countries in the region have proved vulnerable to media captu ... more