Tag: Journalism

Pope Francis thanks journalists for uncovering the Church sexual abuse scandals

On By Marlene TurreyIn Journalism, News MediaLeave a comment
Image via Reuters

At a ceremony to honor two veteran correspondents, Pope Francis thanked journalists for helping uncover the sexual abuse scandals of the Roman Catholic Church.

Francis said it was vital for reporters to get out of their newsrooms and discover what was happening in the outside world to counter misinformation often found online.

“(I) thank you for what you tell us about what is wrong in the Church, for helping us not to sweep it under the carpet, and for the voice you have given to the abuse victims.”

Pope Francis

The sexual abuse scandals of the Roman Catholic Church first hit headlines in 2002, when U.S. daily The Boston Globe wrote a series of articles exposing a pattern of abuse of minors by clerics and a widespread culture of concealment within the Church.

Since then, investigations revealed more and more examples of sexual abuse in the Church in different countries, most recently France where a major investigation found that clerics had abused more than 200000 children over the past 70 years.

Although the church has faced heavy criticism and record numbers of church departures, for example in Germany, critics still accused the Church of responding too slowly to the scandals. Therefore, Pope Francis’s public statement is an important signal for Christians.

https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/pope-thanks-journalists-helping-expose-church-sex-scandals-2021-11-13/

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Pandemic-led changes to newsrooms look to be permanent and global

On By Marlene TurreyIn Journalism, News MediaLeave a comment
Image via PressGazette

The Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism released The Changing Newsroom 2021 report. The report is based on a survey of 132 senior industry leaders from 42 countries, as well as a series of in-depth interviews.

These are the key findings:

  • ‘Hybrid working’ will soon be the norm for the vast majority of journalists. Respondents say their companies are now mostly (79%) on board with the shift to hybrid working and even more (89%) say they themselves are committed
  • Most respondents say their news organization is doing a good job with gender diversity (78%), but fewer say the same about ethnic diversity (38%) and attracting those from less advantaged backgrounds (37%) or with diverse political views (33%). In the light of the Black Lives Matter movement and greater awareness of historic injustices, ethnic diversity remains the biggest priority for media companies – identified by 35% as the single most important priority in terms of improving newsroom diversity, followed by gender diversity (26%) and greater diversity from less advantaged groups (17%).
  • While participants believe that efficiency (70%) and Employee well being (61%) gains from hybrid working, they also think collaboration (45%), creativity (48%), and communication (42%) suffer from it.
  • Participants said they still struggle to attract and retain technology and data skills which are in great demand elsewhere. However, most respondents remain broadly confident (63%) about keeping newsroom staff. Around half of the respondents (47%) felt that the pandemic has made recruitment and retention of media staff harder, with less than a fifth (17%) saying that it was easier.

The pandemic has affected some rapid changes in working spaces in the last two years. It is interesting to see how people experience these adjustments and how they would like to continue working.

More than a third of female journalists feel unsafe doing their jobs

On By Marlene TurreyIn Journalism, Social Issue(s)Leave a comment
Image via PressGazette

A UK government survey about abuse and harassment reveals that one in three female journalists feel unsafe doing their jobs ins the UK. 80% of the 360 female and male participants said they had experienced threats, abuse, or violence in their jobs as journalists.

However, one in five journalists said they had chosen not to report threats or abuse because they saw it as part of their jobs, and 10% of the survey’s participants said they worried, a reveal could affect their career prospects.

The survey was published by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media, and Sport, which also put out an action plan on journalists’ safety this year.

The survey confirms that it needs more protection for journalists, to support individuals, but also to enable freedom of speech and freedom of the press. According to the survey, journalists nowadays have low confidence in the current arrangements of police and platforms to deal with incidents. Therefore, the responses confirmed the significant impact this has on their journalistic output.

Media Minister Julia Lopez stated: “The free press is a staunch protector of the public interest and an irreplaceable outlet for ideas and opinions which help to improve society. High-quality journalism should be accessible to as many people as possible, and journalists must feel safe to carry out their vital work in every corner of the country. […] It’s clear there is more to do so we will act on these findings and work with people from a range of disciplines and industries to address the issues raised.”