1. Factors Influencing the International Targeting of Journalists: 1992 - 2002
Katherine King
Professor Dr. Geoffrey Wallace, Political Science Department, Rutgers University
RESULTSABSTRACT
Free media is fundamental to good governance. In recognition of its political
influence and ability to serve as a check on governments and businesses,
the free press is often referred to as “The Fourth Estate”. Yet, because of
this power, journalists often become targets of violence internationally.
While many organizations track the killing of journalists, research analyzing
this data has been scant. To facilitate such evaluation, I have collated
information from six independent sources to create a dataset tracking
journalistic killings over an eleven-year period. I proceed by examining
trends in variables such as medium, main coverage, and regime-type in
order to establish which factors increase the likelihood of violence towards
journalists. Preliminary evaluations suggest that the form of government in
a country correlates with media targeted violence, with the fewest
journalists being killed under authoritarian regimes. Thorough investigation
of this data will allow journalist to better prepare for and respond to threats
while in the field. Also, further research can guide international institutions
to selectively pressure regions and countries where journalists are most
endangered.
BACKGROUND
Because of journalists’ power to monitor the activities of governments,
business, and criminal organizations they are often subject to violence and
murder. Many organizations monitor violence against journalists, however,
there are discrepancies in their definitions of journalistic fatalities. This
leads to organizational biases and incomplete coverage of the threats that
journalists face. The purpose of this research is to create an accurate
dataset of all media killings, in order to more accurately assess the threats
that journalists endure. With this information, detailed analysis can be
preformed to understand which factors most increase the likelihood of
media fatalities. A thorough understanding of these factors and how they
interact can prepare journalist to respond to threats in the field and know
which assignments are especially dangerous.
MATERIALS AND METHODS
Data was collected from six international journalist organizations, each of
which create databases tracking the killing and deaths of journalists across
the globe. These organizations include The Committee to Protect
Journalists (CPJ), Freedom Forum (FF), The International Federation of
Journalists (IFJ), The International Press Institute (IPI), Reporters Without
Borders (RSF), and the World Association of Newspapers and News
Publishers (WAN_IFRA). By cross-referencing these databases, I ensured
that the information for each observation is as accurate and complete as
possible. Observations were collated into Microsoft Excel spreadsheets,
disaggregated by year. Further, specific information about each case was
coded based on a rubric for each variable. Variables included information
about the journalists such as gender, nationality, job, organization, and
medium. Additional variables tracked information regarding the attack such
as attacker type, attacker name, the method by which the journalist was
killed, and whether the journalist was taken captive, threatened, or tortured
prior to death. This information was then combined and analyzed over a
period from 1992 – 2002.
CONCLUSION
A few trends are apparent in the initial evaluation of this dataset. First,
print reporters were the most commonly targeted journalists. Because print
reporters require the least amount of technology to convey their message,
they are prevalent in almost all countries. It may be because of their sheer
number that print journalists are the most commonly targeted. Next,
excluding the “Other” category, journalists covering politics were targeted
most frequently during six of the years observed, and second most
frequently in two of the remaining years. This reflects that political topics are
among the most dangerous for journalists to cover. Next, reporting in a
country that is involved in war increases the likelihood of journalistic killing.
On average, 41% of countries involved in war witnessed at least one
journalist fatalities, compared to just 9% of countries at peace. Finally,
looking at the influence of regime type, authoritarian regimes experience
the least journalistic fatalities. Previous researchers proposed that minimal
violence would occur in both democracies, where media freedom is
assumed, and authoritarian regimes, where the media is restricted.
However, during three of the years covered, more democracies
experienced journalist killings than other regime types, and about the same
amount (<1% difference) of democracies experienced journalistic killings as
mixed regimes during two of the remaining years. However, authoritarian
regimes consistently experienced the least amount of media violence.
FUTURE RESEARCH
This dataset was created to enable analysis of variables that correlate with
the targeting of journalists. Future research should be conducted to closely
examine how different variables interact. For example, one might examine
how regime type correlates to attacker type in order to understand who is
responsible for these murders. This type of analysis is vital to enabling the
international community to selectively pressure governments to protect
journalists before violence occurs.
CITATIONS
Committee to Protect Journalists. "1054 Journalists Killed since 1992.” Journalists
Killed since 1992. Web. Fall 2013. <https://www.cpj.org/killed/>.
Freedom Forum. "Journalists Memorial." Journalists Memorial. Newseum, Web.
Fall 2013. http://www.newseum.org/scripts/journalist/main.htm.
International Federation of Journalists. "IFJ Reports." IFJ.org. IFJ Global, Web.
Fall 2013. http://www.publikr.com/en/pages/reports.
International Press Institute. "Death Watch." International Press Institute, Web. Fall
2013. http://ipi.freemedia.at/death-watch.html.
Reporters Sans Frontières. "Press Freedom Day By Day." Press Freedom
Barometer. Reporters Without Borders For Press Freedom, Web. Fall 2013.
<http://archives.rsf.org/coll_en.php3?id_rubrique=115&annee=2004>.
World Association of Newspapers and News Publishers. Press Freedom & Media
Development. Web. Fall 2013. <http://www.wan-press.org/pfreedom/
jkilled.php?id=3983>.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
I would like to thank Dr. Geoffrey Wallace for inviting me to work on this research
with him. This has been an invaluable learning experience, and has increased my
interest in more in-depth research endeavors. Also, I would like to thank the Aresty
Research Center for Undergraduates for providing me the opportunity to present
this research.