A third of UK journalists have changed how or what they report over fears for safety, study finds

Investigators found a widespread belief that abuse linked to reporting had increased, especially online. Composite: PA Images/Guardian Design / Alamy View image in fullscreen Investigators found a widespread belief that abuse linked to reporting had increased, especially online. Composite: PA Images/Guardian Design / Alamy A third of UK journalists have changed how or what they report over fears for safety, study finds Government-backed investigation finds risks are normalised amid ‘a narrowing of the public conversation’ Journalists are self-censoring their reporting on rightwing protests, Donald Trump’s administration and trans issues because of growing concerns about their personal safety, with newsrooms accused of “normalising” the risks they face. Hundreds of journalists from across the UK have anonymously disclosed increasing nervousness over their security. Some have reported avoiding or altering coverage on certain topics due to intimidation, leading to self-censorship and “a narrowing of the public conversation”. The findings are revealed in a government-backed investigation into the safety of journalists, ordered amid growing hostility to traditional media across the west. “There have definitely been times where there’s been a story that’s maybe in the public interest, maybe worth reporting on, where we have had frank discussions about whether it’s ‘worth it’,” said one journalist. Another said: “I was definitely looking over my shoulder and making sure I wasn’t being followed and making sure that people weren’t going to start shouting things at me.” Investigators found a widespread belief that abuse linked to reporting has increased, especially online. They also reported newsroom cultures that treated the increase as inevitable given the polarised political environment – with journalists expected to be “thick-skinned”. Female journalists faced the brunt of abuse, describing gendered and sexualised harassment, explicit threats, inappropriate messages and online comments focused on appearance. Common topics raised by journalists as causing safety concerns were rightwing anti-immigration protests, the Trump administration, including protests against US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), as well as trans issues. “Anti-immigration protests were most widely referenced by journalists, both regarding the in-person risks of attending the marches and the backlash to any subsequent reporting,” the investigation found. Similar findings have been recorded in the US, where the International Women’s Media Foundation found journalists were working in heightened political polarisation , declining public trust in the media and increasing exposure to physical and psychological risks. We can’t talk about press freedom without talking about misogyny Read more There are numerous accounts of journalists in Northern Ireland facing intimidation from masked men while covering anti-immigration riots , disclosed to the UK’s National Union of Journalists.