International nonprofit organisation Internews has published in April 2020 a safety guide for journalists covering the Covid-19 pandemic.
While journalists face clear and visible dangers when reporting on natural disasters like hurricanes, they might be less aware of how to protect themselves and others when covering the Covid-19 pandemic. Non profit organisation Inter News has published on 13th April, 2020, a safety guide for Covid-19 reporting that details the following topics:
- Grey areas to be aware of: Media personnel should make essential decisions, whether it is to operate on skeleton staff, work from home or move around with accreditation.
- Personal protective equipment: Journalists should follow the evolving best-practice advice from credible sources about the use of protective equipment.
- Innovation in the news-gathering process: Journalists should try to take advantage of social distancing as an opportunity to harness the best of social media, ask their editors for support to invest in a stable internet, and partner with other journalists.
- Specific digital safety advice: Journalists should secure their (new) remote office, communicate more securely and guard against the many phishing attempts.
- Specific physical safety tips: As general insecurity is heightened, journalists should remain vigilant and take extra care with their physical safety.
- Information reliability: Journalists should only consult and share health news from credible, reliable and official sources.
- Mental health issues: If necessary, journalists should look for local support, take breaks and connect with loved ones.
Internews, an international nonprofit organisation, aims at empowering people worldwide with the trustworthy, high quality news and information they need to make informed decisions, participate in their communities, and hold power to account.
