Hosted in partnership with the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) this webinar was led by journalist safety experts Jean-François Belzil, Alison Baskerville and Colin Pereira, and highlighted strategies to help journalists stay safe while covering protests, including how to prepare for and react to threats against their physical safety. The discussion also provided guidance specifically tailored to covering protests during a pandemic, and situations that women journalists and journalists of color may encounter in the field.
United States Journalism Emergency Fund
The IWMF’s United States Journalism Emergency Fund directly supports U.S. journalists in need so they can resume work essential to our functioning democracy. Made available to U.S. based journalists regardless of gender (including male identifying), these funds will support journalists with immediate and long-term needs related to their professional work. The fund focuses on journalists targeted as a result of their reporting at events related to the highly charged political unrest and polarization in the U.S., including but not limited to elections, civil movements and other challenging environments. Journalists can apply to the fund here.
Additional Resources:
- IWMF Resources:
- Covering Injustice: Safety Tips for Reporting on Protests
- List of suggested protective equipment for reporting from the ground
- RCFP Resource: Police, Protesters, and the Press
- CPJ Resources:
- Online Safety Kit provides journalists and newsrooms with basic safety information on physical, digital, and psychological safety resources and tools, including covering civil unrest.
- Emergency Response Resource Center
- PEN America Resource: Digital Safety, Privacy, & Surveillance for Reporters covering protests
- The Tampa Bay Times: A Guide to Non-lethal and Less-lethal Weapons used in Local, National Protests
- For students covering the protests
- Education on becoming anti-racist and approaching subjects equitably
- For your mental health after any potentially traumatic situations