Description
In 2021 – according to the Committee to Protect Journalists – 27 journalists were killed worldwide. Journalism is a dangerous profession, in which men and women face challenges and risks on a daily basis. However, some problems – and advantages – are intimately linked with gender. Just as some challenges – and benefits – are closely associated with the role one acquires as a journalist in the field; for instance, being a writer, reporter, photographer or video journalist (VJ).Reporters are asked to be multi-skilled, flexible, and somehow ‘liquid’ in their duties. It is increasingly rare to find a journalist who only writes or only takes pictures. Nowadays, journalists need to be multifaceted. The rise of video journalism is one of the consequences of journalism adapting to new times and market needs. Not long ago, it would take three or four people to produce a news story, nowadays a videojournalist does it all. What does this change mean? Does the journalist become more vulnerable?
This investigation discusses several dangers of working in the field as a videojournalist. Firstly, nobody is there to watch your back, nobody is there to help. Secondly, you are carrying expensive equipment and become a target for thieves. Of increasing concern, everyone knows you are filming – people know you are a journalist, and they might not like it. Lastly, because you are capturing moving images and interviews, you need more time in the field to get all the images necessary for your news piece.
This study features women from Europe, the Americas, Africa, and Asia Pacific working all over the world, sharing first-hand experiences of their work as video journalists. The author, who has worked as a VJ for more than ten years, uses autoethnography as a starting point to carry out more than twenty in-depth interviews. Through these interviews, the research explores the different challenges, advantages and disadvantages, dangers and vulnerabilities of women who work in the field as video journalists.
| Period | 20 Oct 2022 |
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| Held at | Aarhus University, Denmark |