In Afghanistan, a boost in the media – but more journalists at risk
June 22, 2012 1 Comment
The dramatic increase in media outlets has provided Afghans the opportunity to become journalists, but many are in danger because they lack basic reporting skills.
By Ilias Alami
Shabnah, a 12-year-old Afghan girl, votes for her favorite photo in the Farah Women’s Photography Club in Farah, Afghanistan. The number of Media organisations in Afghanistan has increased dramatically in the past ten years. (Flickr/Tracy DeMarco)
After the US intervention in Afghanistan, the number of media organisations there has increased dramatically.
According to an International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) report from 2011, Afghanistan has more than 70 television stations, 175 radio stations and hundreds of newspapers. If we compare Afghanistan’s development in the past ten years, to what it was like 35 years ago – when watching TV, publishing newspapers and criticising the government in public was banned – we witness a big difference. Now the sudden boost in the media has provided a number of Afghans the opportunity to work in this field.
Of course, with this boost came consequences. Professional training in journalism, including the ethics of journalism, were some of the factors these new media workers lacked. This knowledge gap made Afghan journalists vulnerable to threats, harassment and beatings from the government, insurgents and other groups. According to a coordinator of the Journalists Committee in the Northern Province of Kunduz, most of the reporters in that area lack basic skills required in journalism.
“Don’t just report on journalists – help us!”
July 16, 2012 1 Comment
Journalists in Afghanistan face intimidation, threats and harassment on a daily basis. Media support organisations need to do more to help journalists stay safe.
By Malik Faisal Moonzajer
“Journalists in Afghanistan encounter a number of threats … Media support organisations should be more proactive” (www.schmidtaps.com)
How can news organisations truly protect their staff?
Many media support organisations hope that reporting threats and attacks [on journalists] will help the journalists stay safe. Sometimes this is not enough. Although employees in these outfits work hard, I have spoken to some journalists who are not satisfied with organisations who only look for statistics to post on their websites.
Journalists in Afghanistan encounter a number of threats.
Some report on sensitive issues, particularly those involving tradition and specific cultural values, with the hope that they will ‘get famous’. This idea is ingrained in society. But reporting on sensitive issues can lead to threatening phone calls, being followed and other forms of harassment. Even the journalists who want to report on corruption to bring change rather than fame are at risk.
A number of journalists are not professionally accredited and may not have completed academic journalism courses. This too can lead to threats, if they do not know about journalism ethics or how to write a balanced story. When they face serious problems, some unions can not do anything to protect them. When a journalist is killed, some organisations just shout out in the media and publish a few newsletters, and then the case is forgotten. I know of cases of journalists killed in Afghanistan which are still unsolved.
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Filed under Comment, Guest Posts, INSI Blog Tagged with Afghan Journalists' Committee, Afghan Journalists' Safety Committee, Afghanistan, IMS, local journalists, safety training, security