The Assault on Journalism

People who exercise their right to freedom of expression through journalism should be able to practice their work without restrictions. They are, nonetheless, the constant targets of violence and threats. In an era of globalization and digitization, no single party can alone carry the responsibility for protection of journalism and freedom of expression. Instead, this responsibility must be assumed jointly by the state, the courts, media companies and journalist organizations, as well as by NGOs and civil society – on national as well as global levels.To support joint efforts to protect journalism, there is a growing need for research- based knowledge. Acknowledging this need, the aim of this publication is to highlight and fuel journalist safety as a field of research, to encourage worldwide participation, as well as to inspire further dialogues and new research initiatives. The contributions represent diverse perspectives on both empirical and theoretical research and offer many quantitatively and qualitatively informed insights. The articles demonstrate that a new important interdisciplinary research field is in fact emerging, and that the fundamental issue remains identical: Violence and threats against journalists constitute an attack on freedom of expression.