I’m Darren Samuelsohn, and welcome to The love, journalism Show. Today’s episode features a conversation with press freedom/security expert Frank Smyth about the threats journalists face in the US and worldwide.
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We’re taking on a serious topic in the latest edition of The love, journalism Show: The threats journalists face in the US and around the world when trying to do their jobs.
My guest is Frank Smyth, an investigative journalist, author and global authority on press freedom who runs a US-based training firm that assists media members going into hostile environments.
We taped our conversation in early March and begin with a look into why there are more journalists currently in jail than ever before. It’s a jarring fact driven home again this past week when Russian authorities detained an American reporter for the Wall Street Journal on charges of espionage.
In the interview, Smyth highlights what he says has been a slight improvement in the impunity rate for murdering journalists worldwide and he unpacks some of the heightened risks faced by correspondents covering wars in Syria and the Ukraine.
We go through the reasons it is so dangerous to be a reporter in China, Turkey, Belarus and throughout Latin America.
And in the US, we discussed the challenges and risks journalists face doing their jobs. Smyth offers advice for journalists working in the field to travel in pairs if possible and maintain situational awareness. A diverse range of opinions and perspectives can also be a healthy way to foster dialogue and maybe improve the safety of all journalists.
“Criticize me, sure,” Smyth says, “but don't throw rocks or fire guns.”
Episode 9: The threats journalists face around the world