Violence Against Journalists

What Can Happen

The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) is an independent, nonprofit organization founded in 1981 to track attacks of various kinds on journalists and to try to prevent them. In nearly three decades of effort around the world, the CPJ has classified the various things that can happen to journalists. The list includes the following potential actions, listed alphabetically. In the course of pursuing a story, a journalist may be

• abducted;
• attacked physicall;
• censored (defined as “suppressed, banned, or closed down”), expelled, and harassed (defined as “access denied or limited; materials confiscated or damaged; entry or exit denied; family members attacked or threatened; dismissed or demoted [when it is clearly the result of political or outside pressure]; freedom of movement impeded; [or] detained for less than 48 hours”);
• imprisoned (“arrested or detained by a government entity for at least 48 hours”);
• killed (includes those journalists killed in crossfire or while covering dangerous assignments or where the motive is unconfirmed);
• made the subject of legal action (“such as having [needed] credentials denied or suspended fined sentenced to prison; visas denied or canceled; passage of a restrictive law; libel suit intended to inhibit coverage”);
• missing or vanished (“where no group has taken responsibility for the journalist's disappearance”); and
• threatened with physical harm or some other type of retribution.

The CPJ issues an annual report detailing the various attacks on journalists during the previous year. From 1992 through 2008, they document more than 720 journalists who have been killed. Most at risk have been print media reporters (32 percent of reported deaths), followed by broadcast reporters (21 percent) or editors (16 percent). Nearly 18 percent have been video or still photographers. One can readily follow the continuing problem in the daily press and online as attacks on the press are widely covered in Western media.

And while not clear in the list provided above, intimidation of publishers or media owners can have the same effect—scaring off nosy reporter employees who may be getting too close to information that would be embarrassing (or worse) if publicized. In many developing countries, the threat of losing one's job is a serious one, often hard to overcome just to get the story. Such indirect threats are much harder to trace but can have effective results in closing down reporting efforts.

Sources of Violence

Unfortunately there are many potential sources of attacks on journalists. While government officials are often thought the most likely perpetrators, especially in repressive political regimes, they are not alone. Criminals of various kinds (especially those dealing in drugs), shady business owners or managers, crooked sports teams, rival journalism entities—indeed anyone whose activities may be uncovered by investigative journalists may be the source of threats—or worse—to journalists.

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