Journalism is a life-threatening profession in many countries. DW Akademie has studied the situation worldwide and developed recommendations for how projects can best support media professionals.
Threats against individual journalists and entire media outlets have become one of the most serious problems for press freedom. Those who attack journalists are also attacking democratic values. And not only media professionals themselves, but also governments concerned with the protection of journalists, international institutions and non-governmental organizations are wondering how best to counter this situation. What are the most promising strategies to support courageous journalists? Where are the gaps in existing support mechanisms? Who needs special attention, who has not been sufficiently taken into account so far?
Between September and November 2022, DW Akademie conducted a comprehensive international exploratory study as part of the German government's Hannah Arendt Initiative. 149 media safety experts and journalists from all continents were interviewed. Journalists came together at various events to discuss the most pressing challenges. Local organizations, media networks and partners contributed important information that paints a picture of the global safety situation of media workers and existing support mechanisms.
The findings are presented in this brochure - condensed into five proposals. The recommendations are primarily written from the perspective of international actors. In addition, the publication includes an actor mapping that will be useful for actors in the field.