Emerging Media in Peril

Professionalism Under Threat of Violence

“…We utilized Kim and Hama-Saeed's (2008) list of items to develop a modified version of that questionnaire that they used to study journalists in a war zone. The questionnaire used in this study was piloted with six journalists.…”

“…However, other studies largely focus on foreign journalists' perceptions of reporting in zones of conflict, rather than domestic journalists. Though foreign correspondents are certainly at risk, their level of safety is greater than journalists who must live and work in the country in crisis, which, whether in the Middle East or Latin America, can lead to a working environment that is more professionally and ethically challenging (Kim 2010;Kim and Hama-Saeed 2008;Rodelo 2009). This study also falls in line with Brooten's (2006) argument about journalists in Burma; that they are not always on the outside of political conflict.…”

“…Few would dispute that journalism training is critical in zones of conflict (Relly and González de Bustamante 2014;Carter and Kodrich 2013;Fahmy and Johnson 2005;Kim 2010;Kim and Hama-Saeed 2008), though the literature is mixed on the importance of a formal journalism education as it relates to levels of professionalism (Adam 2001;Dates 2006). Though the first school of journalism in Mexico, Carlos Septién, was opened in 1949 and two years later a bachelor's program in journalism was founded at the National Autonomous University followed by the University of Veracruz's journalism school three years later, there was a movement by the 1960s to change the curricula to degrees in more heterogeneous areas, such as communication studies (Hernández Ramírez and Schwarz 2008).…”

Democratic Norms and Forces of Gatekeeping

“…Shoemaker and Vos 20 noted, news media "control the diffusion of information to millions of people, a fact that gives them extraordinary political and social power." Though some research has shown that journalists in their gatekeeping role can be critical in initiating or maintaining democratic institutions in a nation, 21 little academic research has examined the forces that influence journalists' attitudes as gatekeepers in postauthoritarian and conflict environments, 22 a contribution that we hope to make with this study.…”

“…Extrinsic institutions of influence have included religious and political groups, government, business, politicians, interest groups, militant groups, and individual citizens. 55 Based on this literature and the studies that demonstrate major security issues for Iraqi journalists, 56 we controlled for forces from external challenges.…”