Protecting journalists from harassment: Comparing existing protection mechanisms and the effects on democracy

In this chapter, we explore the level of harassment in the 18 participating countries of the 2021 Media for Democracy Monitor (MDM) (Trappel & Tomaz, 2021b, 2021c), focusing particularly on online instances and the extent to which the harassment of journalists is threatening democracy.

Sample

There is a quickly increasing body of studies and reports on harassment and intimidation of journalists around the world. These series of acts have a chilling effect on media freedom and journalists’ freedom of expression. The research literature on the topic has mostly focused on intimidation and harassment of journalists – particularly sexual harassment of women journalists – or journalists’ experiences of online harassment, and the impact on press censorship. In this chapter, we contribute to the debate by exploring the nexus between the harassment of journalists and the protection mechanisms adopted by leading news media organisations, professional journalism associations and other institutions, and national governments. We then discuss the effects on democracy in the 18 countries participating in the 2021 Media for Democracy Monitor (MDM). Our findings indicate how legal support and protection mechanisms might enhance journalists’ capacity to realise the news media’s democratic role in practice.

Main Findings

Despite the cultural differences and situations, harassment and intimidation of journalists is an increasing problem in most MDM participating countries. The few exceptions lie in countries such as Austria, Portugal, and Iceland, where harassment of journalists is rare or unknown, but journalists can rely on legal support and protection from their employers in case it occurs. The general increase of harassment echoes the findings of previous reports, conducted by UNESCO and the International Center for Journalists (Posetti et al., 2021; 2020) and the International Women’s Media Foundation (Barton & Storm, 2014; Ferrier, 2018), which indicate that online violence against women journalists has become a “frontline in journalism safety” (Posetti et al., 2021: 5), particularly during the Covid-19 pandemic. Harassment of professional journalists is also changing, as the attacks are moving offline with potentially deadly consequences. However, there is still reluctance from journalists, especially women, to report incidents of harassment and, as the 2021 MDM interviews show, there is a lack of awareness or even acknowledgment of gender and power (in)equalities inside newsrooms and in the digital media environment that might exacerbate the exposure of women. The harassment and intimidation of journalists have implications for journalists’ mental health, risk increasing self-censorship when news gathering and reporting, and influence future professional prospects. Some interviewed journalists considered leaving the profession altogether. Harassment, physical attacks, and death threats directed at journalists violate freedom of expression and media freedom, and affects the news media’s democratic performance at three levels: the production and dissemination of credible and diverse information by removing women or dissenting voices from the public debate; the role of the news media as mediators of the public debate by jeopardising discussions that may affect people’s lives; the watchdog function by targeting investigative journalists with death threats, judicial harassment, and abuse of financial levers.