Killings of Journalists and the Cost for Free Speech

• In Event: Silencing Dissent

Abstract

2294 journalists were killed in the period 2000-2016 worldwide. It has been generally accepted that some risks are inherently associated with journalism as a highly sensitive profession, one that seeks to stand between power and society. These risks have their sources in the coverage of armed conflict as a matter of "collateral damage" and unintended effects. In our study, however, we found out that that the number of killed journalists, even when accounting for definitional conflicts, far exceeds the most cited numbers currently in public debate. Despite international efforts to monitor and record the circumstances of death, there are significant gaps in information for which the international community has not yet compensated. The study analyses in a systematic way available databases provided by international organisations on killings of journalist and media related professions worldwide in order to document the total cost of a free press.

Authors

• Izabela Korbiel, Uni Wien

• Katharine Sarikakis, U of Vienna