Search results

Metadebates concerning how the news media deal with extremism have intensified in the digital media landscape. This article analyzes metajournalistic discourse following a controversial studio interview with the spokesperson of a Norwegian Salafi-jihadist group. To illuminate how boundaries of appropriate public debate are negotiated, the article analyzes how this journalistic performance was debated among journalists and commentators, news sources, and readers in online comments sections. The study demonstrates how editorial legacy media invite a broad metadebate but control and define the debate by positioning themselves as defenders against extremism, evoking normative ideals of the role of journalism in democracy and foregrounding the preventive, clarifying, and cohesive effects of including extremist voices. News sources and online commenters are notably more critical, emphasizing the negative consequences of inclusion and warning that inclusion may serve to consolidate extremist views, amplify threats and prejudice, and make extremists the symbolic representatives of Muslims in general. Theoretically, the article contributes to the literature on media and extremism, media criticism, and mediated negotiations of the boundaries of public debate.

This book explores the relationship between the safety of journalists and self-censorship practices around the world, including local case studies and regional and international perspectives. Bringing together scholars and practitioners from around the globe, Journalist Safety and Self-Censorship provides new and updated insights into patterns of self-censorship and free speech, focusing on a variety of factors that affect these issues, including surveillance, legislation, threats, violent conflict, gender-related stereotypes, digitisation and social media. The contributions examine topics such as trauma, risk and self-censorship among journalists in different regions of the world, including Central America, Estonia, Turkey, Uganda and Pakistan. The book also provides conceptual clarity to the notion of journalist self-censorship, and explores the question of how self-censorship may be studied empirically. Combining both theoretical and practical knowledge, this collection serves as a much-needed resource for any academic, student of journalism, practicing journalist, or NGO working on issues of journalism, safety, free speech and censorship.