[WRITING] "Addressing the Dangers of Freelance Journalism"

[rfmcdonald]

At the Inter Press Service, Valentina Ieri writes about the dangers faced by freelance journalists in many countries.

As the reliance on freelance journalists by news organisation has increased, so has the burden of guaranteeing a safe working environment for these journalists, especially when reporting from war-torn areas.

Since the civil uprise of the Arab Spring and the outbreak of the Syrian civil war in 2011, reporters are facing increasing threats, from abduction, to imprisonment, kidnapping and ultimately murder. This situation affects not only individual journalists, but journalism sector more broadly.

In February 2015, several journalists organisations such as the Freelance Frontline Register (FFR) and the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), along with major news organisations and networks, wires, and journalist representatives launched altogether the ACOS (A Culture of Safety) Alliance: a coalition that tries to embed a culture of safety practices in the news industry and access to the tools that freelancers need to report safely.

[. . .]

Payment to freelancers and local journalists is important because it also effects their security, said Courtney Radsch, Advocacy Director at CPJ.

“There are countless stories of freelancers who have to make a trade off to get security equipment, a good translator, or an armoured car…So news organisations have the moral responsibility to freelancers essentially to treat them in the same way that they would treat their own staff,” Radsch told IPS.