Media Safety News and Views
March 1, 2013 Leave a comment
By Helena Williams
The International News Safety Institute called for greater support for freelancers this week, days after freelance photographer Olivier Voisin was killed by shrapnel in Syria.
February 15, 2013 Leave a comment
By INSI
A scenario on a HET course for freelancers (Photo: INSI)
INSI’s colleagues at Remote Trauma still have places left on their Hostile Environment and Trauma Training course for freelancers, at a drastically reduced price.
February 12, 2013 Leave a comment
By Helena Williams
Protesters gather during a demonstration in Tunis Saturday Feb. 9, 2013. Several thousand supporters of Tunisia’s ruling moderate Islamist party rallied in the capital in a pro-government demonstration Saturday, a day after the funeral of an assassinated opposition politician. (AP Photo/Hassene Dridi)
The International News Safety Institute has issued a safety advisory for journalists and news crews covering the unrest in Tunisia following the assassination of liberal politician Chokri Belaid on Friday 8 February.
INSI provides a check list to consider before heading out to a demonstration, what to do while on the ground and what to do if trouble erupts.
December 20, 2012 Leave a comment
By Helena Williams
An ambulance believed to be carrying the bodies of two western journalists, Marie Colvin and Remi Ochlik, arriving at Alassad University Hospital in Damascus, Syria. The American journalist Mary Colvin and French photographer Remi Ochlik were killed on February 22 during an intense bombardment of the Baba Amro district of Homs. (AP Photo/APTN)
Journalists killed while covering the the violence in Syria made up the majority of news media casualties in 2012 in one of the bloodiest years on record.
Preliminary findings by the International News Safety Institute show that at least 156 journalists and other media staff were killed because of their work. The global death toll is the third worst on record since INSI began in 2003.
The 33 casualties in Syria were almost double those of the second most dangerous country for journalists, Somalia, where 18 media workers were killed.
December 7, 2012 Leave a comment
By Rodney Pinder
Protesters shout slogans during a rally at Quezon city, the Philippines, in 2006, to protest spate of killings of left-wing activists and journalists in the country. (AP Photo/Bullit Marquez)
One thousand two hundred and seventy-three – that’s the number of journalists and support staff who have died trying to cover the story since we set up INSI in 2003.
That’s the number that was foremost in mind when I retired last month after a decade as Director, and one of the founders, of the International News Safety Institute.
December 5, 2012 1 Comment
By Helena Williams
Peter Ter Horst moderates the ‘No Woman’s Land’ panel debate in The Hague with Katya Alder (BBC) and Minka Nijhuis (Trouw, Vrij Nederland, Radio 1) (Photo: INSI)
The International News Safety Institute’s ground-breaking publication, ‘No Woman’s Land – On the Frontlines with Female Reporters’, was presented to the mayor of The Hague this week, marking the launch of the book in the Netherlands.
INSI’s Director Hannah Storm gave the copy to Jozais van Aartsen at the third international launch of the book, which details the experiences of 40 women journalists in conflict zones.
November 23, 2012 2 Comments
By Hannah Storm
A Filipino activist place candles on top of mock coffins during a rally on the second International Day to End Impunity to denounce killings of journalists in suburban Manila, Philippines. (AP Photo/Aaron Favila)
Today, November 23rd, marks the International Day to End Impunity.
It was a word with which I wasn’t familiar before joining the International News Safety Institute, but today it is one of the biggest threats to journalism safety.
We hear a lot about the famous international journalists who are killed or die doing their jobs. But for each one of them, there are many more journalists whose deaths go largely unrecorded.
October 31, 2012 Leave a comment
Sign reads ‘security training for journalists’. Brazil is one of the world’s most dangerous countries for the news media has been the focus of INSI safety work. (INSI)
By INSI
• The International News Safety Institute has counted six casualties this month, three of whom were from Somalia – a sign of the rapidly deteriorating situation there. Somalia is now the second most dangerous country in the world for journalists this year, only surpassed by Syria. As of the end of October, the figure for news media casualties since the start of the year is 107, suggesting that 2012 will be one of the darkest years for journalist safety in recent history.
• Across the globe, another one of the world’s most dangerous countries for the news media has been the focus of INSI safety work. Brazil has consistently been in the top 10 most deadly nations for our profession in the past decade, and seven have been killed there this year, with many more attacked and threatened. INSI is currently training 12 journalists so they can in turn provide safety training to their colleagues. Funded by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, via the British Embassy in Brasilia, we are partnering with Abraji, the Brazilian Association of Investigative Journalism and the following unions: Sindicato dos Jornalistas do Município do Rio de Janeiro, Sindicato das Empresas de Radiodifusão, Sindicato das Empresas de Jornais e Revistas. To keep up to date with INSI’s training projects click here.
September 28, 2012 Leave a comment
By INSI
Friends and relatives carry the coffin of Abdisatar Dahir Sabriye, a journalist who died in Thursday’s suicide bomb attack, during his funeral in Mogadishu, Somalia Sept. 21, 2012. (AP Photo/Mohamed Sheikh Nor)
It has been a black September for journalists covering dangerous stories around the world.
We count this month at least 13 casualties, in Somalia, Syria, Cambodia, Iraq and Tanzania with two more suspected killed because of their work. That’s one death almost every two days in September.
On INSI’s 10th anniversary, thank you for your support
May 3, 2013 Leave a comment
By Hannah Storm
Today marks the 10th anniversary of the International News Safety Institute and I would like to take this opportunity to thank you for your commitment to us and your support over the past decade.
We were established in 2003, dedicated to safeguarding the lives of all journalists everywhere. Born of a unique coalition of media organisations, press freedom groups and human rights campaigners, since then INSI has been providing safety advice and training to our friends and colleagues who work in dangerous and difficult conditions to bring home the story.
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Filed under Comment, INSI Blog Tagged with Hannah Storm, impunity, journalist safety, No Woman's Land, safety training, World Press Freedom Day