It’s a tough time to be a reporter...
This fight to protect press freedom has to be global, where we all stand up to strengthen voices of colleagues who are being silenced, imprisoned, killed, in growing numbers. Journalism has always been a risky business - but now the risks are rising as never before. Lyse Doucet, chief international correspondent, BBC, @bbclysedoucet, London UK
...but there are pockets of hope
It’s almost impossible to be a reporter in Ethiopia because of systematic government repression (see Human Rights Watch’s recent report on media freedom). And the Committee to Protect Journalists recently published its top 10 censors lists, including Eritrea, Saudi Arabia, Iran, Vietnam and China. But there are vibrant media communities in many places, including of course citizen journalists, and you can find some of their stories here. Emma Daly, communications director, Human Rights Watch, @emmadaly @hrw, New York, US
Related: Live Q&A: How can NGOs support an independent press?
The threat of terrorism is being used to decrease press freedom
It certainly is in Ethiopia, where dozens of journalists are imprisoned under the country’s anti-terror laws – usually for stories that aren’t remotely connected to terrorism. The same thing happens in Vietnam and other countries. The UK is setting a pretty bad example by using its anti-terror laws to arrest reporters and their sources and publicly taking power tools to destroy hard disks that supposedly have “dangerous” information on them. Peter Noorlander, CEO, Media Legal Defence Initiative, @mediadefence@PeterNoorlander, London, UK
And violence is being used to silence journalists
Trauma exposure in itself can be a form of censorship. On a weekly basis we talk to journalists who fear that the tide of violence they are witnessing may be overwhelming their ability to respond. In places like Mexico and Syria , – but not only in those countries – compassion fatigue, depression, and post-traumatic stress disorder can all impair individuals’ abilities to produce nuanced reporting or to just get the news out. Isis and oppressive regimes know this. That is partly why their propaganda feeds contain such a high volume of traumatic imagery. It has a bludgeoning effect. And that also highlights what a remarkably impressive job many local journalists are doing. They are continuing, despite this pressure. Gavin Rees, executive director, Dart Centre Europe, @DartCenter, London, UK
The United Nations is failing to live up to its rhetoric
The biggest obstacle we face as an advocacy organisation working for social justice internationally is the tight grip on information held by the United Nations. The UN should be the gold standard, defending a free and transparent flow of information to and from the public. It calls on governments to establish freedom of information laws and policies, to ensure that the media have access to the information, and to protect the rights of journalists who report that information. Yet the UN itself is governed by no freedom of information regulations or policies.
The UN’s information arms, from the secretary-general’s official spokespersons right throughout the system, regularly withhold information from the media and the public with impunity. The UN asserts its right to selectively inform and withhold, and there are no official channels for “we, the peoples” to demand disclosure of information from the UN. When staff within the UN reveal information, they are often subjected to disciplinary measures, including dismissal. If the UN is to be the global standard-bearer of press freedom, it must model that principle to member states through its own actions rather than obstruct the free flow of information. Paula Donovan, co-director, AIDS-Free World, @AIDS_Free_World, Boston, US
Media companies should train journalists in the developing world
Media companies that work regularly with local journalists as fixers, translators, etc should offer training, insurance, equipment and care to keep them safe, not only from physical but also psychological harm. Some already do that (and have signed on to the new freelancer guidelines). Perhaps that’s impossible if you’re only working with someone for a day, but in my experience the relationships often last over time, yet in some locals are left to fend for themselves. Emma Daly, communications director, Human Rights Watch, @emmadaly @hrw, New York, US
NGOs should look to engage local reporters
Aid agencies need to stop trampling over local media in their rush to get to CNN when there’s an emergency. And they should do all their press releases in appropriate languages, and have linguistically appropriate spokespeople. Anything else and you are actively undermining their ability to do their (crucial in emergencies) job. Imogen Wall, freelance consultant, @imogenwall, London, UK
Related: 11 ways NGOs can work with politicians
Partnering with media companies in the developing world can bring results
BBC Media Action works in 26 countries, has hundreds of media and capacity- building partnerships and reaches more than 200 million people – so the concern that we might impose on media in developing countries is obviously one we worry about. Our experience is, I think, the opposite. Working with BBC Media Action provides our partners with the capacity to be more editorially independent and have greater capacity to resist political pressures than they might if they were on their own. Our programme Open Jirga in Afghanistan, for example, is a popular and highly influential public debate programme that is produced to BBC editorial standards of balance but goes out on the state broadcaster RTA, reaching millions across the country. It wouldn’t be as balanced or respected if we weren’t involved. James Deane, director of policy and learning, BBC Media Action, @JamesMDeane, London, UK
With the state of press freedom in the UK and US, how can western organisations work effectively in the developing world?
On the subject of what we can do inside our own glass houses while we are throwing critical stones at the absences of press freedom elsewhere, it’s very much on point to consider the concluding words in last week’s Comment is Free piece by Chelsea Manning (formerly Bradley Manning). She calls for “a clear example to the rest of the world that, in a truly modern democratic republic, the suppression of the press and sources by criminal prosecutions cannot be tolerated. Then the US could no longer be used as an excuse by repressive governments around the world to say: ‘Well, they do it in America, too’.” Norman Solomon, executive director, Institute for Public Accuracy, @NormanSolomon @accuracy, Washington, DC, US
In the digital age, physical distance matters less to those who want to make a difference
Our ability to connect through the internet, through Skype and other links, means we have an unprecedented ability to reach out to help journalists everywhere. There’s nothing better than being “on the ground”, meeting face-to-face. But we can no longer say we don’t have the means to try to connect, no matter where we are. Lyse Doucet
But new technology doesn’t mean reporters are empowered
The broader platform also means that journalists are increasingly potentially exposed. This means digital reporting training needs to come not just with ethical training, but also digital security training. Jodie Ginsberg, CEO, Index on Censorship, @jodieginsberg @indexcensorship, London, UK
Training on its own won’t transform the media
Training on its own won’t work if journalists can’t put that training into effect. We learned this the hard way and have changed our strategy as a result. There is a very useful analysis of the long-term impact of training (or the lack of it) rooted in the BBC’s experience of training journalists in the 1990s here. However, if you provide training within the context of co-producing genuinely independent, strong public interest content, that really can work. James Deane
Read the full Q&A here.
Is there anything that we’ve left out? Leave your thoughts in the comments below.
Join our community of development professionals and humanitarians. Follow@GuardianGDP on Twitter.