Free Press Under Pressure? Experiences and Consequences of Hateful Harassment on Journalists in Germany
Autor(a) principal: | |
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Data de Publicação: | 2023 |
Tipo de documento: | Artigo |
Idioma: | eng |
Título da fonte: | Repositório Científico de Acesso Aberto de Portugal (Repositórios Cientìficos) |
Texto Completo: | https://doi.org/10.17645/mac.v11i4.7179 |
Resumo: | The rise of populist movements all over the world and various global crises in recent years have led to a sharp increase in distrust in news and the media. Although this development is tangible globally, it seems pertinent to take a look at a Western liberal democracy with a comparatively good journalistic infrastructure such as Germany, where hateful harassment and attacks on journalists are on the rise. These issues have been widely discussed publicly in Germany. However, it would be useful to take into account the perspective of those affected by these phenomena. To contribute to the discourses on hate against journalists, the current contribution presents data from a survey of active journalists in Germany (n = 322). The questionnaire comprised both standardized and open-ended questions, focusing specifically on hateful harassment and attacks experienced by journalists, including the ways through which they are transported and whether hate can be politically localized. The results reveal that hate and attacks are mainly attributed to right-wing individuals and groups. In addition to verbal hate, various responding journalists reported having been physically attacked or having received death threats. Given the frequency of experienced hateful harassment, most respondents fear that the freedom of press in Germany is in jeopardy (62%), and about half have considered self-censorship to avoid being the target of hate. The severity of experienced hate is illustrated by open-ended questions in the form of personal accounts that are analyzed using qualitative content analysis. The results are discussed in light of the role of a free press in modern democracies, as well as recent research on devaluing attitudes towards the free press in Germany. |
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Free Press Under Pressure? Experiences and Consequences of Hateful Harassment on Journalists in Germanyfar-right; Germany; hateful harassment; journalism; qualitative analysisThe rise of populist movements all over the world and various global crises in recent years have led to a sharp increase in distrust in news and the media. Although this development is tangible globally, it seems pertinent to take a look at a Western liberal democracy with a comparatively good journalistic infrastructure such as Germany, where hateful harassment and attacks on journalists are on the rise. These issues have been widely discussed publicly in Germany. However, it would be useful to take into account the perspective of those affected by these phenomena. To contribute to the discourses on hate against journalists, the current contribution presents data from a survey of active journalists in Germany (n = 322). The questionnaire comprised both standardized and open-ended questions, focusing specifically on hateful harassment and attacks experienced by journalists, including the ways through which they are transported and whether hate can be politically localized. The results reveal that hate and attacks are mainly attributed to right-wing individuals and groups. In addition to verbal hate, various responding journalists reported having been physically attacked or having received death threats. Given the frequency of experienced hateful harassment, most respondents fear that the freedom of press in Germany is in jeopardy (62%), and about half have considered self-censorship to avoid being the target of hate. The severity of experienced hate is illustrated by open-ended questions in the form of personal accounts that are analyzed using qualitative content analysis. The results are discussed in light of the role of a free press in modern democracies, as well as recent research on devaluing attitudes towards the free press in Germany.Cogitatio Press2023-12-07info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersioninfo:eu-repo/semantics/articleapplication/pdfhttps://doi.org/10.17645/mac.v11i4.7179https://doi.org/10.17645/mac.v11i4.7179Media and Communication; Vol 11, No 4 (2023): Trust, Social Cohesion, and Information Quality in Digital Journalism; 367-3792183-243910.17645/mac.i366reponame:Repositório Científico de Acesso Aberto de Portugal (Repositórios Cientìficos)instname:Agência para a Sociedade do Conhecimento (UMIC) - FCT - Sociedade da Informaçãoinstacron:RCAAPenghttps://www.cogitatiopress.com/mediaandcommunication/article/view/7179https://www.cogitatiopress.com/mediaandcommunication/article/view/7179/3410Copyright (c) 2023 Yann P. M. Reesinfo:eu-repo/semantics/openAccessRees, Yann P. M.2023-12-07T17:45:33Zoai:ojs.cogitatiopress.com:article/7179Portal AgregadorONGhttps://www.rcaap.pt/oai/openaireopendoar:71602024-03-20T00:41:31.276574Repositório Científico de Acesso Aberto de Portugal (Repositórios Cientìficos) - Agência para a Sociedade do Conhecimento (UMIC) - FCT - Sociedade da Informaçãofalse |
dc.title.none.fl_str_mv |
Free Press Under Pressure? Experiences and Consequences of Hateful Harassment on Journalists in Germany |
title |
Free Press Under Pressure? Experiences and Consequences of Hateful Harassment on Journalists in Germany |
spellingShingle |
Free Press Under Pressure? Experiences and Consequences of Hateful Harassment on Journalists in Germany Rees, Yann P. M. far-right; Germany; hateful harassment; journalism; qualitative analysis |
title_short |
Free Press Under Pressure? Experiences and Consequences of Hateful Harassment on Journalists in Germany |
title_full |
Free Press Under Pressure? Experiences and Consequences of Hateful Harassment on Journalists in Germany |
title_fullStr |
Free Press Under Pressure? Experiences and Consequences of Hateful Harassment on Journalists in Germany |
title_full_unstemmed |
Free Press Under Pressure? Experiences and Consequences of Hateful Harassment on Journalists in Germany |
title_sort |
Free Press Under Pressure? Experiences and Consequences of Hateful Harassment on Journalists in Germany |
author |
Rees, Yann P. M. |
author_facet |
Rees, Yann P. M. |
author_role |
author |
dc.contributor.author.fl_str_mv |
Rees, Yann P. M. |
dc.subject.por.fl_str_mv |
far-right; Germany; hateful harassment; journalism; qualitative analysis |
topic |
far-right; Germany; hateful harassment; journalism; qualitative analysis |
description |
The rise of populist movements all over the world and various global crises in recent years have led to a sharp increase in distrust in news and the media. Although this development is tangible globally, it seems pertinent to take a look at a Western liberal democracy with a comparatively good journalistic infrastructure such as Germany, where hateful harassment and attacks on journalists are on the rise. These issues have been widely discussed publicly in Germany. However, it would be useful to take into account the perspective of those affected by these phenomena. To contribute to the discourses on hate against journalists, the current contribution presents data from a survey of active journalists in Germany (n = 322). The questionnaire comprised both standardized and open-ended questions, focusing specifically on hateful harassment and attacks experienced by journalists, including the ways through which they are transported and whether hate can be politically localized. The results reveal that hate and attacks are mainly attributed to right-wing individuals and groups. In addition to verbal hate, various responding journalists reported having been physically attacked or having received death threats. Given the frequency of experienced hateful harassment, most respondents fear that the freedom of press in Germany is in jeopardy (62%), and about half have considered self-censorship to avoid being the target of hate. The severity of experienced hate is illustrated by open-ended questions in the form of personal accounts that are analyzed using qualitative content analysis. The results are discussed in light of the role of a free press in modern democracies, as well as recent research on devaluing attitudes towards the free press in Germany. |
publishDate |
2023 |
dc.date.none.fl_str_mv |
2023-12-07 |
dc.type.status.fl_str_mv |
info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion |
dc.type.driver.fl_str_mv |
info:eu-repo/semantics/article |
format |
article |
status_str |
publishedVersion |
dc.identifier.uri.fl_str_mv |
https://doi.org/10.17645/mac.v11i4.7179 https://doi.org/10.17645/mac.v11i4.7179 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.17645/mac.v11i4.7179 |
dc.language.iso.fl_str_mv |
eng |
language |
eng |
dc.relation.none.fl_str_mv |
https://www.cogitatiopress.com/mediaandcommunication/article/view/7179 https://www.cogitatiopress.com/mediaandcommunication/article/view/7179/3410 |
dc.rights.driver.fl_str_mv |
Copyright (c) 2023 Yann P. M. Rees info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess |
rights_invalid_str_mv |
Copyright (c) 2023 Yann P. M. Rees |
eu_rights_str_mv |
openAccess |
dc.format.none.fl_str_mv |
application/pdf |
dc.publisher.none.fl_str_mv |
Cogitatio Press |
publisher.none.fl_str_mv |
Cogitatio Press |
dc.source.none.fl_str_mv |
Media and Communication; Vol 11, No 4 (2023): Trust, Social Cohesion, and Information Quality in Digital Journalism; 367-379 2183-2439 10.17645/mac.i366 reponame:Repositório Científico de Acesso Aberto de Portugal (Repositórios Cientìficos) instname:Agência para a Sociedade do Conhecimento (UMIC) - FCT - Sociedade da Informação instacron:RCAAP |
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Agência para a Sociedade do Conhecimento (UMIC) - FCT - Sociedade da Informação |
instacron_str |
RCAAP |
institution |
RCAAP |
reponame_str |
Repositório Científico de Acesso Aberto de Portugal (Repositórios Cientìficos) |
collection |
Repositório Científico de Acesso Aberto de Portugal (Repositórios Cientìficos) |
repository.name.fl_str_mv |
Repositório Científico de Acesso Aberto de Portugal (Repositórios Cientìficos) - Agência para a Sociedade do Conhecimento (UMIC) - FCT - Sociedade da Informação |
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