Newsrooms have a duty of care to support their journalists’ holistic safety needs – not only their physical safety on the ground, but their digital safety and mental health as well. The IWMF is a leader in providing customized safety training for newsrooms and journalism associations that are tailored to these expansive needs: since 2020, we have worked with newsrooms of all sizes to craft policies and procedures to prepare for and respond to a safety incident.

Building on the IWMF’s unique training model, our News Safety Cohort connects 16 media organizations around the world to promote a culture of safety.

Our training centers the journalist as an individual: we encourage newsrooms to consider their staff members’ identities and unique situations as they respond to a crisis. This enables newsrooms to better support their journalists of color, women journalists, and LGBTQI+ journalists, who are disproportionately impacted by online violence.

Throughout 2023, the News Safety Cohort will benefit from the following: 

• Peer learning with newsrooms worldwide and ongoing engagement opportunities to share lessons learned and best practices with the journalism community.  
• Customized safety trainings with a gender and identity lens and support with developing newsroom safety protocols.  
• Access to the latest resources and one-on-one consultations with leading safety experts. 

Ela Stapley, Digital Security Trainer

Ela Stapley is a digital safety advisor working internationally to support journalists with their digital security needs. She works with the IWMF as lead consultant on their online harassment initiative where she manages and shapes projects that focus on bolstering the security of women journalists online. Ela is the founder and director of Siskin Labs, a consulting firm that works with the media and nonprofit organizations to find practical ways to increase their digital safety. Ela has an MA in International Journalism from Cardiff University, UK.