Is this the Most Dangerous Time to be a Journalist?

The Inquiry

BBC

News Commentary, News

4.6 • 1.7K Ratings

🗓️ 13 December 2018

⏱️ 24 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Journalists have been subject to more killings, and increasing levels of violence and intimidation in 2018, according to monitoring groups.

This year alone more than 30 have been murdered, including Mexican veteran journalist Carlos Domínguez Rodríguez who was stabbed to death in January, 5 journalists shot dead at their office in Annapolis in the US in June, and the story that has dominated the news, the murder of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi at his consulate in Istanbul in October. The suspects range from organised criminals to state-sponsored assassins.

And it’s not just about murder – imprisonments and intimidation are also on the rise.

Why should the public care? What’s behind the surge? And how can the press and the public fight back? We talk to those journalists and activists from across the world to find out: is this the most dangerous time to be a journalist?

Contributors include:

Pavla Holcova - Czech Centre for Investigative Journalism Sothearin Yeang – former journalist, Radio Free Asia Omar Faruk Osman - Secretary General of the National Union of Somali Journalists Jan-Albert Hootsen – Mexico representative, Committee to Protect Journalists

Presenter: Victoria Uwonkunda Producer: Beth Sagar-Fenton

UPDATE: Since we recorded this programme in November three more journalists have been murdered, including a radio presenter and reporter shot dead in Syria.

(Image: Protesters hold placards during a rally against corruption and to pay tribute to murdered journalist Jan Kuciak in Bratislava, Slovakia. Photo Credit:Joe Klamar/Getty Images)

Transcript

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0:00.0	You are listening to the inquiry on the BBC World Service with me Victoria Wohunda.
0:05.1	Each week, one question, four expert witnesses and an answer. A woman clicks publish on her latest blog post. It's a Monday afternoon, autumn sunshine with blue skies.
0:22.0	She leaves her home. Autumn sunshine with blue skies.
0:25.0	She leaves her home. She walks to her car, gets in and sets off down the road.
0:30.0	Minutes later, the car explodes.
0:34.0	The woman's name is Daphne Kuruana Galzia.
0:41.0	She was one of the top investigative journalists in Malta.
0:49.2	She had been working on alleged corruption among the country's top politicians and on 16th of October last year at the age of 53 she and her work were silenced.
0:57.0	She and her work were silenced.
1:09.0	Journalists have always risked being caught up in violence when they work in war zones, but now there is a more specific threat.
1:12.0	The number of journalists murdered for their work
1:16.0	had been falling. Now it's on the rise.
1:19.2	This year alone 28 have been murdered, including Mexican veteran journalist Carlos
1:28.1	Dominguez, who was stabbed to death in January. Five journalists shot dead at their office in Annapolis in the
1:39.0	U.S. in June and the one that has dominated the news the murder of Saudi journalists Jamal Kashorji
1:46.4	at his consulate in Istanbul in October.
1:51.5	Is this the most dangerous time to be a journalist?
1:55.0	Our four witnesses will share their personal stories and experiences of what life on the news front line is like kill the story.
2:14.0	I was actually at home,
2:19.0	I was actually at home leaving to our office when editor called me and he told me I've got
2:27.7	really really bad news for you.
2:30.2	Yano was killed and Martin was in.
	...

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