Women in the Firing Line: Keeping gender hate out of Journalism, FJA Webinar on 22 January
The FJA hosts a major webinar on 22 January on the scourge of online abuse of women journalists. The webinar brings together some major thought leaders, academics and journalists to discuss how to combat the growing trend of targeting of women journalists. Studies show how online vitriol directed at women themselves, and not just their journalism, has become a global phenomenon, putting women journalists at risk around the world.
Among the speakers will be Dr. Julie Posetti, Professor of Journalism, City St George’s University of London; Shada Islam, Brussels-based Journalist and Global Affairs Analyst; Maja Sever, President, European Federation of Journalists and Anna Del Freo, a leading Italian journalist and union leader. Nadia Azhgikhina, with her own insights as a global campaigner will speak on behalf of the FJA Steering Committee
Join this discussion to learn what more must be done to support women journalists. Do we need viable legal recourse for specific aggravated threats online? What internal systems can be put in place? How do we create viable support mechanisms? What other actions are needed to raise awareness and create an environment that will keep the trolls out of journalism?
Register for the webinar via this link: https://us02web.zoom.us/.../WN_fXyoZqS_Q4Sh_1fSWvZ-og...
Reports and Reading Materials
Free speech under pressure and more killings of journalists
Reports from the United Nations and journalism campaigners last month point to a serious decline in freedom of expression and safety of journalists around the world. The UN cultural agency UNESCO says there has been a 10 percent fall in free speech rights, with more self-censorship and more attacks on journalists over the past ten years.
At the end of the year, media support group the International Federation of Journalists reported that 128 journalists and media workers had died in 2025, almost half of them Palestinian journalists killed in the Gaza conflict. According to a similar report from Reporters Without Borders, Mexico is the second most dangerous country with nine journalists killed. The trend has spread with Latin America accounting for around one quarter of the world’s murdered journalists.
Report predicts gloom for journalism in 2026
2026 will be another year of dramatic change in the news industry. According to a report from Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism on trends for the coming year, released on 12 January, journalism is being hit by another big technology shift with the use of generative artificial intelligence. Away from AI, there’s also a move towards personality-led news at the expense of traditional news media. People turning away from news media combined with low trust means many politicians, businessmen, and celebrities think they can bypass the media entirely, giving interviews instead to sympathetic podcasters or YouTubers. It all makes for sober reading. https://reutersinstitute.politics.ox.ac.uk/journalism-media-and-technology-trends-and-predictions-2026
But it’s not all bad news
The Nieman Lab based at Harvard University has more than 200 predictions for 2026. Those with the stamina, and patience, to sift through this assortment of opinions from experts, academics and journalists will find there are many hopeful messages. Journalism is changed and changing, but it is not dead. Far from it. Many of these thoughts are from a younger perspective and illustrate how journalism can and will survive the onslaught of technology, malign politics and industry crisis. https://www.niemanlab.org/2026/01/whats-coming-for-news-in-2026-these-predictions-offer-a-clue/
From the Global South – trust in journalism
Pamella Sittoni, the Public Editor of the Nation Media Group, based in Nairobi, Kenya, gave her own take on the prospects for the coming year with a positive message for readers and media professionals that will resonate across newsrooms, both north and south. She provides ten tips for editors and newsroom leaders to take the edge off the sense of crisis that threatens to overwhelm the industry. Chief among her suggestions are be positive and stick to your values. https://nation.africa/kenya/blogs-opinion/opinion/2026-ten-things-public-expects-from-nmg-journalism-5314046
Voices of journalism in China
The China Media Project provides insights and stories that reveal the nuanced and complex realities behind Chinese journalism. There are projections for 2026, of course, but also a range of thoughtful stories about the continuing realities of how journalism navigates the tricky and perilous task of truth-telling in a world of political threats. There are also reminders about how, even in the most difficult of circumstances, good journalism and courageous reporting can emerge. https://chinamediaproject.org/