Violence

against
Journalists
 Preview
To work in a media institution is very challenging and
require very hard work and patience.
No doubt it is a glamorous job but at the same time it
may be very risky.
The media job is becoming increasingly risky
compared to what it was a few decades ago.
The threat on the life of a media person is also
increasing day by day.
People are frightened to do media work in certain
areas.
But there are also some brave people who risk their
lives to fight against injustice and serve the nation.
 Reasons for violence against journalists
1) Bad Message Content
2) Bad Reporting Skill
3) Lack of Fairness and Objectivity
4) Violation of Privacy
5) Behaviour and Attitude
6) Poor Communication Skill
7) Attack on Culture and Tradition
8) Bad Language
9) Lack of Patience
10)Lack of Knowledge
11)Yellow Journalism
12)Increased Political Corruption
13)Investigative Reporting
14)Crime Reporting
 Bad Message Content
This is the most common cause of violence and
people do not tolerate bad or wrong message
contents.
People do not like media messages that are
harmful for the society.
False or fabricated messages always create
dissent.
Scurrilous messages are the root causes of most
of the defamation cases filed against media
persons.
 Bad Reporting Skill
Lack of skill affects the news collection by a
reporter.
Any reporter asking unnecessary or rude
questions is likely to face violence.
Forceful collection of news in forbidden premises
without proper permission may result in violence
particularly when the reporter clashes with the
security persons.
 Lack of Fairness and Objectivity
Reported items lacking fairness and objectivity
may invite displeasure of the public which can
develop into violent behaviour.
 Violation of Privacy
Media persons attacking the private lives of
celebrities or influential persons in authority face
violent retaliation.
‘The Father of Indian Journalism’ James Augustus
Hicky had to pay a heavy price for writing on the
personal affairs of the then Governor General
Warren Hastings.
 Lack of Good Behaviour and Attitude
Reporters not showing good behaviour and
attitude while collecting news materials are likely
to invite violence.
 Poor Communication Skill
Lack of good oral or writing communication skills
may cause distrust or anger which can lead to
violence against the media person.
Poor communication skill may lead to slip of
tongue which can initiate violent behaviour in the
audience.
 Attack on Culture and Tradition
Writings or visuals which goes against the deep
rooted tradition or culture of any society or group
of people are not tolerated and may lead to
violence.
 Bad language
Media persons using derogatory language are
likely to incur public wrath.
 Lack of Patience
While reporting sensitive events involving brutal
behaviours or accidents, lack of patience shown by
the reporter will incite anger leading to violence.
 Lack of Knowledge
Lack of knowledge regarding the social norms,
traditions, values and culture of any particular
group of the society may land the reporter in
troubled water which may become dangerous to
his life.
 Yellow Journalism
Media persons adopting yellow journalism to
increase publicity or revenue are likely to face
public anger.
 Increasing Political Corruption
Journalists writing against the corrupt activities
of high profile political leaders often face physical
violence from the supporters of those politicians.
 Investigative Reporting
The media persons writing investigative reports
showing the hidden activities of big leaders or
celebrities or doing sting operations are
vulnerable targets of violence.
 Crime Reporting
The crime reporters unearthing the antisocial
activities of big mafia dons or writing serial
stories on any particular criminal are prone to
attack from those persons or their associates.
 Remedies to prevent violence
The remedies to solve the problem of violence
against journalist may be as follows :
1) The journalist should be very careful about the
content of reported message which should not be
harmful to any person or the society.
2) The journalist should be trained and skilled enough
to know the do’s and don’ts of reporting and should
avoid journalistic activities in forbidden premises
without permission of the concerned authority.
3) The reporter should include viewpoints of all the
involved persons in his report so as to maintain
fairness and objectivity.
 Contd…
4) The media person should not encroach upon the
permitted privacy of any person to avoid possible
violent reactions.
5) While interacting with people for collection of
news information the media person should show
good manners and positive attitude.
6) The journalist should have good communication
skill to avoid any chance of violence.
7) While on duty, the media person should never
challenge or speak against the established culture
or tradition of the group of people with whom he
or she interacts.
 Contd…
8) The journalist should always use decent language
of communication to prevent occurrence of any
violent response.
9) The media person should be a good listener and
should have a good patience leveI.
10)Before reporting about any person or a group of
people, the journalist should have a sound
knowledge about his audience, their customs,
traditions and values.
11)All media persons should try their best to avoid the
practice of yellow journalism used to increase
popularity or revenue.
12)The journalist must ensure security while
unearthing the corrupt practice of high profile
political persons.
13)The media person engaged in investigative
reporting must be brave and courageous and must
ensure maximum safety and protection while
collecting information.
14)The journalist should be very careful while
reporting for crime stories or serials particularly
about the activities of dangerous criminals and the
best possible way to avoid violence is to remain
anonymous as far as practicable.
The
End