New edition of Safety Guide for Journalists out

ON the occasion of February 5, 2016 conference tagged ‘News Organizations Standing Up for the Safety of Media Professionals’ at UNESCO Headquarters in Paris, Reporters Without Borders and UNESCO launched the latest edition of the Safety Guide for Journalists: A Handbook for Reporters in High-risk Environments.

The 130-page guide offers essential information and practical advice for journalists to assist them before, during and after an assignment in dangerous areas. The publication comes in a context of developing threats against media professionals, with more than 700 journalists killed in the past decade for reporting the news. In 2015, more than 105 journalists were killed, while many more were threatened, imprisoned or kidnapped for simply doing their work of bringing news and information to the public.

The Safety Guide for Journalists contains a wide range of essential information to enhance the safety of journalists. It stresses the importance of well-prepared planning before taking assignments in dangerous missions and gives essential tools for journalists. The guide is useful for all those who work in news and information and who report from hostile environments, such as conflict zones, violent demonstrations, riots and terrorist attacks.

The first edition of the Safety Guide for Journalists was produced in 1992. Since then, it has been updated and translated into several languages and widely distributed. The new version, available in Arabic, English French and Spanish, addresses new threats and challenges to an increasingly dangerous profession.