Abstract
Research on journalists working in contexts of risk has examined either war correspondents on temporary assignments or the psychological effects of covering traumatic events, usually after the events have ended. Although these studies are important, they fail to account for the growing importance of ongoing violence in insecure democracies and its possible consequences for national journalistic practice. We address these issues by examining journalists' risk-reduction practices in Mexico, including self-censorship, following company censorship policies, curtailing street reporting, and concealing sensitive information. Using logistic regressions, we tested occupational, organizational, normative, and contextual conditions as predictors of engagement in these practices. Findings reveal the pervasiveness of risk-reduction practices in Mexico and the complexity of conditions prompting their use, including conditions related to antipress violence, dangerous newsbeats, and the economic insecurity of media firms but also voicing greater support for assertive professional norms. The research sets a baseline for future comparative research that includes greater attention to subnational conditions, dangerous newsbeats, and how violence and uneven state capacity may undermine the economic conditions of media firms.
| Original language | English (US) |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 499-521 |
| Number of pages | 23 |
| Journal | International Journal of Communication |
| Volume | 11 |
| State | Published - Jan 1 2017 |
Fingerprint
Keywords
- Insecure democracies
- Journalism practice
- Mexico
- Risk
- Violence
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Communication
Cite this
Examining the practices that Mexican journalists employ to reduce risk in a context of violence. / Hughes, Sallie; Márquez-Ramírez, Mireya.
In: International Journal of Communication, Vol. 11, 01.01.2017, p. 499-521.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article
}
TY - JOUR
T1 - Examining the practices that Mexican journalists employ to reduce risk in a context of violence
AU - Hughes, Sallie
AU - Márquez-Ramírez, Mireya
PY - 2017/1/1
Y1 - 2017/1/1
N2 - Research on journalists working in contexts of risk has examined either war correspondents on temporary assignments or the psychological effects of covering traumatic events, usually after the events have ended. Although these studies are important, they fail to account for the growing importance of ongoing violence in insecure democracies and its possible consequences for national journalistic practice. We address these issues by examining journalists' risk-reduction practices in Mexico, including self-censorship, following company censorship policies, curtailing street reporting, and concealing sensitive information. Using logistic regressions, we tested occupational, organizational, normative, and contextual conditions as predictors of engagement in these practices. Findings reveal the pervasiveness of risk-reduction practices in Mexico and the complexity of conditions prompting their use, including conditions related to antipress violence, dangerous newsbeats, and the economic insecurity of media firms but also voicing greater support for assertive professional norms. The research sets a baseline for future comparative research that includes greater attention to subnational conditions, dangerous newsbeats, and how violence and uneven state capacity may undermine the economic conditions of media firms.
AB - Research on journalists working in contexts of risk has examined either war correspondents on temporary assignments or the psychological effects of covering traumatic events, usually after the events have ended. Although these studies are important, they fail to account for the growing importance of ongoing violence in insecure democracies and its possible consequences for national journalistic practice. We address these issues by examining journalists' risk-reduction practices in Mexico, including self-censorship, following company censorship policies, curtailing street reporting, and concealing sensitive information. Using logistic regressions, we tested occupational, organizational, normative, and contextual conditions as predictors of engagement in these practices. Findings reveal the pervasiveness of risk-reduction practices in Mexico and the complexity of conditions prompting their use, including conditions related to antipress violence, dangerous newsbeats, and the economic insecurity of media firms but also voicing greater support for assertive professional norms. The research sets a baseline for future comparative research that includes greater attention to subnational conditions, dangerous newsbeats, and how violence and uneven state capacity may undermine the economic conditions of media firms.
KW - Insecure democracies
KW - Journalism practice
KW - Mexico
KW - Risk
KW - Violence
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85045869010&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=85045869010&partnerID=8YFLogxK
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85045869010
VL - 11
SP - 499
EP - 521
JO - International Journal of Communication
JF - International Journal of Communication
SN - 1932-8036
ER -