Online harassment has become an increasingly common threat for journalists. A 2024 report from the International Women’s Media Foundation found that nearly one-third of respondents reported facing or being threatened with digital violence while working as a journalist in the lead up to the 2024 U.S. election. When a journalist is harassed online, they often not only fear for their safety, but they can also self-censor, creating an alarming chilling effect. Constantly worrying about safety can lead to burnout and strain mental health. And online abuse can even push some journalists to leave the field entirely. This is particularly troubling for journalists with marginalized identities, who are disproportionately attacked online and already underrepresented in the wider news industry.
News organizations of all sizes, even those with limited resources, can take tangible steps to protect their staff and freelancers from online abuse and other occupational hazards. Shifting the culture around safety in a newsroom starts with raising awareness, clarifying expectations, and establishing a few foundational systems that will help journalists feel supported when risks arise. If your newsroom is just beginning to think seriously about safety, here are three essential steps to get you started:
- Raise Awareness and Shift Culture
- Develop Policies and Protocols
- Bolster Digital Security
For more detailed guidance on protecting journalists online and off, check out the Newsroom Best Practices Guide, a collaboration among leading journalism safety organizations and newsrooms spearheaded by PEN America and the Coalition Against Online Violence.
Raise Awareness and Shift Culture
Why should newsrooms raise awareness and shift culture around online abuse and digital safety?
When journalists navigate harassment, threats, and other intimidation tactics in silence, they can feel isolated and unsupported, which can ultimately impact their ability to do their work. Research shows that social support and peer connection, which lets journalists know that they are not alone and that the abuse isn’t their fault, can reduce harm and build resilience. It is crucial for leadership to create an environment where staff and freelancers who experience online abuse and other occupational hazards feel safe and supported enough to share their experiences and ask for help. It’s important to acknowledge that women, people of color, LGBTQ+ individuals, people with disabilities, and members of religious and ethnic minorities are disproportionately targeted not only for their work but also for their identities, and may need additional support.
How can newsrooms raise awareness and shift culture?
- Start by communicating your commitment to journalist safety clearly and often. Leadership can reinforce this message in all-staff meetings, team meetings, one-on-one check-ins, and internal communication channels like email or Slack. Even short, consistent reminders that safety matters and that online harassment is taken seriously can help change newsroom culture over time.
- Check out the IWMF’s Raising Awareness of Online Violence in the Newsroom (pp. 8-12) and Women’s Media Center’s report, What Online Harassment tells us about our newsrooms: From individuals to institutions, for more.
- Back those words up with action. Demonstrate your commitment by developing policies and protocols that address online abuse and digital threats, and by consistently providing sensitive, practical support when staff or freelancers are targeted (see below for more on developing effective policies and protocols).
- When online attacks happen, prioritize the experiences and needs of the person being targeted rather than debating whether what happened “counts” as abuse.
Develop Policies and Protocols
Why should newsrooms develop safety policies and protocols?
Clear protocols and policies on safety, including online harassment, ensure that the newsroom is prepared before an incident occurs and demonstrate that leadership takes safety seriously. A policy lays out a news organization’s strategy for addressing online abuse and other safety challenges impacting staff and freelancers. This includes mapping out available resources and services, digital security requirements, expectations for professional social media conduct, and clearly defined roles and responsibilities for handling incidents. A protocol details concrete steps staff and freelancers can take to prepare for and respond to online abuse and other safety challenges, specifying whom to approach for help and the procedures to follow. These documents can differ in length, detail, and complexity; they do not have to be comprehensive at the outset and can evolve over time.
How can newsrooms develop safety policies and protocols?
- Draft a safety policy that lays out how your organization thinks about safety, including laying out: safety resources and services, digital security requirements, expectations for professional social media conduct, and clearly defined roles and responsibilities for handling safety incidents.
- Draft a safety protocol that details concrete steps staff and freelancers can take to prepare for and respond to online abuse and other safety challenges, specifying whom to approach for help and which procedures to follow.
- Ensure that all policies and protocols are sensitive to race, gender, sexuality, and disability, given that online abuse disproportionately impacts people of color, women, LGBTQ+ individuals, disabled people, and members of religious and ethnic minorities.
- Collect all safety resources in a centralized, accessible place, potentially within an organizational intranet or staff handbook. Where possible, consider offering subsidized training, tipsheets and guides, peer support, and digital security tools. For more information, check out the “Provide Training and Build Capacity for Staff & Freelancers,” and “Bolster Digital Security” sections of the Newsroom Best Practices Guide.
- Distribute safety policies to staff and freelancers digitally and physically, integrate them into onboarding documents, and post them on channels such as Slack. Enlist managers, HR, IT, and audience engagement teams to reinforce these policies and protocols.
- Ensure that safety policies and protocols are living documents that are regularly updated (ideally with time stamps) and referenced by leadership.
- Check out the following resources and examples of newsroom safety policies and protocols:
- IWMF’s templates for Online Violence Guide for the Newsroom and Reporting and Escalation Policy
- IPI’s Protocol for Newsrooms to Support Journalists Targeted with Online Harassment
- The Seattle Times’ Online Abuse Guidelines and article about creating guidelines
- Australian Broadcasting Corporation’s guidelines on preparing for exposure to larger audiences
- The New York Times’ social media guidelines
- Defector Media’s digital harassment policy. (Please note: paywalled article)
- PEN America’s Protocol for Online Abuse (published in Slate) and Best Practices for Employers
Bolster Digital Security
Why should newsrooms bolster digital security?
Bolstering both organizational and individual digital security empowers staff and freelancers, mitigates online abuse, and reduces harm from doxing, hacking, phishing, impersonation, and other online attacks. It also helps mitigate surveillance and intimidation by state and corporate actors and proactively reduces your newsroom’s risk levels.
How can a newsroom bolster digital security?
- First, start with the basics. Provide organization-wide access to a password manager and require all staff and freelancers to use a password manager and two-factor authentication on their professional accounts. Encourage them to do the same for their personal accounts. Subsidize a data scrubber service and organizational VPN. Offer hands-on digital safety training.
- If your organization has IT or tech support staff or consultants, ensure that they are involved.
- Check out the following resources on bolstering digital security and consider sharing them with your staff and freelancers:
- CyberPeace Builders’ pro bono digital security support for nonprofits
- IWMF’s Checklist for Protecting Staff Data
- PEN America, Online News Association, and IWMF’s Digital Safety Snacks
- PEN America’s guidance on Protecting Accounts and Devices from Hacking and Managing Your Online Footprint and Protecting from Doxing
- FPF’s Training Program and Online Account Security guide
- CPJ’s Digital Safety Kit
- OpenNews’s Field Guide to Security Training in the Newsroom
- Consumer Reports’ Security Planner
- Ford Foundation’s Cybersecurity Assessment Tool
Written by Kayla Masterman and Amanda Wells based on Best Practices for News Organizations: How to Protect and Support Journalists Harassed Online, a guide developed by leading journalism safety organizations and newsrooms spearheaded by PEN America and the Coalition Against Online Violence.
