Threats, intimidation: A common problem for journalists worldwide
and politicians which protect them. And journalists always tell me that that’s the most dangerous [situation] to cover.
So if you write about a drug trafficking organisation, that’s dangerous. If you write about the officials protecting them, that’s deadly.”
Mexican journalist Eduardo Garcia says many of his colleagues have been threatened.
Garcia said the outlook for Mexico’s press is not all bad.
“We have a new president,” said Garcia, referring to Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador.
“I sometimes like what I see. He has a press conference on a daily basis, which is amazing. No other leader in the world does that.”
Yet Lopez Obrador can be hostile toward the press too. And Mexico’s press must stick together to fend off threats from all corners, Garcia said.
“We see increased sophistication in harassing journalists,” Janviroj said.
As an example, he cited the Philippines, where President Rodrigo Duterte sometimes bypasses the journalists and goes after the media owners instead, raising issues like tax enforcement.
Jasmin Off, deputy editor-in-chief of the Lubecker Nachrichten in Germany, said right-wing activists in her country have barred reporters from their party conventions.
Before the last elections, they set up their own “newsroom” and were active spreading their message on Facebook.
“They are not dependent on us anymore because they can publish their information just on every other channel,” Off said.
Simon, of the Committee to Protect Journalists, said local news outlets are particularly vulnerable worldwide.
The president said his country’s strategic and economic relationship with Saudi Arabia was more important than the life of one journalist.
“What message does that send to autocratic leaders around the world?” Simon said, and supplied his own answer:
“You can get away with murder. We’re not going to hold you to account as long as there’s some strategic benefit to the US.”
Simon’s group also conducts surveillance of the jailing of journalists.
“I’m not going to put this at Trump’s feet,” Simon said, “but I will note that we’re seeing a sharp increase in journalists imprisoned around the world on ‘false news’ charges.”
Medill’s Chen was careful to note that distrust and anger towards the press has long preceded the rise of Trump.
“I am not going to jump on the bandwagon and say I think Donald Trump has destroyed the reputation of the media, because I think there are suspicions that have been happening over time,” Chen said.
Tim Franklin, head of the Medill Local News Initiative, says local journalism is a vital part of a functioning democracy.
A group of Medill students observed the seminar session, and the Medill Local News Initiative’s Franklin addressed them afterwards:
“I hope this didn’t scare you or turn you off. What I think it signifies and what we’ve heard here today is that local news is vital and central to democracy.
“And that’s why public officials are threatening journalists. That’s why folks in the community get upset with us.
“They know that the work we do is serious, and they know that it’s important, and they know it has impact.”