Governments vs Journalism

UNITED STATES, February 12 — Women journalists have entered 2019 already at a disadvantage.

Last year, 2018 was singled out as the worst year for journalists around the world. More than half a dozen women journalists were killed, and hundreds detained.Journalists already have quite a number of problems to tackle in the field, and many governments are either continuing to — or beginning to — make matters worse. President Donald J. Trump has been known to trivialize the work of journalists, but his special focus on women has been lost to no one.

From telling one woman journalist that she needed a facelift to simply resorting to calling others names — there isn’t much left to the imagination. We urge his government to urgently review the manner in which it treats women journalists.

His most recent tweet targeted Fox News journalist Gillian H. Turner, which he had originally sent out while mistakenly tagging a teenager. Under Trump’s government, even conservative media — which typically supported Republicans — does not seem to be safe from backlash.Julie Banderas was quick to note why this was problematic.

Trump has also labeled journalists enemies:Trump’s tussle with the media can be exemplified through his regular skirmishes with Maggie Haberman. The President has gone to war against The New York Times, calling it total fiction, because of its White House Correspondent. However much he pushes against her, Haberman returns like a fresh wave. While Haberman is able to withstand the onslaught, who is to say all journalists will be able to.

Presidents going after journalists is an imagery that we normally do not associate with the Global North. Countries such as the US were never at the forefront of such news.And yet, we find such instances increasingly visible in the Global North.

The Coalition For Women In Journalism finds this both disheartening and alarming.Where authorities should be part of the solution, they have instead opted to attack, malign, detain, and in some cases even murder journalists.

We urge all governments to soften their stances and allow journalists to do their jobs.

However, more so than governments, it is the responsibility of any and all information disseminating platforms to step up and take ownership of the problems their performance creates.

We urge social media platforms such as Twitter and Facebook along with other similar websites and applications to take responsibility, and make efforts on their part to address this issue.

Finding ways to counter and diminish hateful content that has been allowed on each of these platforms is one of the first key steps that the Coalition For Women In Journalism would suggest.

We also urge them to immediately stop collaborating with governments that request user data and push for censorship.

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The Coalition For Women In Journalism is a global organization of support for women journalists. The CFWIJ pioneered mentorship for mid-career women journalists across several countries around the world, and is the first organization to focus on the status of free press for women journalists. We thoroughly document cases of any form of abuse against women in any part of the globe. Our system of individuals and organizations brings together the experience and mentorship necessary to help female career journalists navigate the industry. Our goal is to help develop a strong mechanism where women journalists can work safely and thrive.

Follow us on Instagram @womeninjournalism and Twitter @CFWIJ.

Our website is WomenInJournalism.org and we can be reached at press@womeninjournalism.org