Abstract
From the British Journalism Review of 10 years ago (vol. 25, issue no 4, 2014)
‘There are men and women freelancing in the world’s danger spots who feel a moral obligation to report the world, former soldiers who miss adventure, local stringers looking to earn a living. There are romantics looking for adventure, young people hoping to make a start in journalism, older reporters who once had staff job. They take great risks in a good, even noble cause.’ ‘There is more to come about other newspapers’ involvement in phone and computer hacking and payment of cops and others, but fatigue has set in.’ ‘At a press conference in August, President Obama was quizzed about his decision to release the Senate’s report [into the CIA’s detention and interrogation practises since 2001]. He told journalists: "We tortured folks. We did some things that were contrary to our values." His remarks went viral, but it wasn’t the first time that he had referred to the CIA’s ‘The assaults, threats and lawsuits are often against individual journalists, but also serve as a warning to us all. It is as if the assailants say: do not mess with us, look how this will end. Testimonies we heard in the forum [World Press Freedom Day] made it clear how dangerous and ^ fragile the situation is for the media. Journalists feel alone and exposed.’