Live News - A Survival Guide - International Federation of Journalists

Live News — A Survival Guide for Journalistsworkers can do for themselves and for each other to increase safetyand reduce risk. Journalists on hazardous assignments can look outfor each other, even if they work for ‘rival’ news organisations.Journalists also need to understand how inflammatory journalismand poor standards of reporting can have consequences for all journalistsby souring relations with local groups and institutions.People who target the media with violence do not distinguishbetween ‘good’ or ‘bad’ journalists; they hit out at those they canreach. All journalists have a physical stake in high standards andobjective reporting, even if this alone will not guarantee safety.The importance of safetySafety is a positive quality, part of getting the job done well andquickly; an asset, not a liability. A good journalist cultivates safetyawareness, just as he or she develops interviewing and investigationskills. Safety means thinking ahead, being prepared, observingwhat is happening and reflecting on its meaning. A good driverreads the road; a fast driver reads the speedometer.The job of the journalist is to tell the story, not to become thestory. A journalist who puts him or herself needlessly at risk isbehaving in an unprofessional manner; one that could ultimatelyprevent the story being told or the picture being seen. Some correspondents,photographers and camera operators in war zonesembrace a macho culture and a competitive urge for danger. Butgood journalism is about delivering reliably, not about getting anadrenaline high. In any case, journalists who adopt an attitude of‘death or glory’ usually focus on the glory rather than on death,and hardly think about the serious injury that could end theircareers. In the meantime, reckless journalists put at risk the livesof the fixers, drivers and interpreters who make it possible for themto work. And sometimes the risks can be for nothing. Getting closerto the action does not always make for better reporting or morecompelling film.Is any story or picture worth dying for? Even the best stories andpictures only have value when they are read or seen. Moreover, ajournalist who is killed or injured cannot file a story or process apicture. A live journalist is infinitely more effective than a deadone. And while nobody can remove all the danger from the profession,journalists can do much to anticipate dangers, reduce risksand come through hazardous assignments safely. Journalists havean individual responsibility to anticipate and reduce dangers, and3