Safety guide for journalists covering LS polls launched

The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), along with The Hindu, launched a “Safety Guide for Journalists covering Indian elections 2024” at an online event on Friday.

The guide has specific advice, including editor’s safety checklist while deploying staff on a hostile story, and detailed information on digital safety. It features ways to tackle online campaigns, which particularly target women journalists in an orchestrated way, manage stress in the newsroom, and address security challenges faced by Indian journalists.

Kunal Majumder, the CPJ’s Indian representative, said the guide, which contains details on how to prepare for elections and ensure physical, digital, and psychological safety, is available in four regional languages and in English on https://cpj.org.

Journalism has become increasingly hazardous both in physical and online realms, N. Ram, Director, The Hindu Group Publishing Private Limited, said at the event. He said India was clearly more dangerous for journalists, particularly in the runup to the elections, going by global surveys on the state of media freedom in India.

Tackling challenges

Elaborating on the CPJ’s documentation of workrelated killings of journalists since 1992, Mr. Ram said the death toll had surged since 2014, and reporters from remote locations as well as experienced journalists of influential media organisations were targeted. “We need to recognise and confront such challenges and work towards safeguarding the integrity and freedom of journalists,” he said.

The necessity for workshops to train journalists on pressing concerns related to digital safety was discussed at a panel discussion. Ishani Dutta Ray, Editor, Anandabazar Patrika; Ashish Pandey, Editor, Navbharat Times; Dhanya Rajendran, EditorinChief, The News Minute; and Colin Pereira, chief strategist on journalist safety, CPJ, deliberated over the need for institutional support, strong legal teams, and emotional support for journalists facing safety threats. Pragya Tiwari, cofounder of Oijo, moderated the session.