Safety tips for journalists under threat

Journalists should not be cowed by such threats, but they must take steps to protect themselves. The following are some tips that must always be kept in mind:

  • Journalists who receive threats must remember to write down the exact wording of the threat and the circumstances by which these threats were received—whether by phone or mail, where, how, and what date and time. Journalists need this information when reporting the incident to the police.
  • Never take threats lightly. Let others know. Inform family, peers, and superiors about these threats and report them to the police.
  • Make noise. News organizations should publicize threats journalists receive. Write an article about it in your newspaper or talk about it in your television or radio programs. Seek support from local and national press organizations. Report the threat to the Freedom Fund for Filipino Journalists, the Center for Media Freedom and Responsibility, the Kapisanan ng mga Brodkaster ng Pilipinas, and the Philippine Press Institute.
  • Write letters to the editor of various newspapers to reach a wider audience. Letting would-be killers know your intentions, and possibly their identities, might discourage them from carrying out their threat.
  • If threats are received via text or SMS, report these to the proper authorities or to anti-crime groups who can take note of the phone numbers of unknown texters. Save these text messages in your cellphone inbox as long as you can.
  • Take the necessary precautions, whether at home or in the office. In the event that the threats seem imminent, consider lying low or moving to another place to cool off.
  • If the police in your area can be trusted, ask for police protection. If you suspect the police of being untrustworthy or in cahoots with the person threatening you, also report the threat to other agencies such as the National Bureau of Investigations or to the Philippine National Police headquarters. The killer of Edgar Damalerio was an active duty police.
  • At the PNP headquarters, you may get in touch with the Community Relations Group, the Public Information office or the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group. You can also ask for protection from the local NBI or other local, regional or national offices of the PNP. Under certain circumstances, your news organization may also wish to hire the services of a private security agency.

Above text was lifted from:

Staying Alive: A safety manual for journalists. (2nd edition). (2006). Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism and Freedom Fund for Filipino Journalists.

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