Risk, Victimization and Coping Strategies of Journalists in Mexico and Brazil

Abstract

EN. There is a growing recognition that journalists are exposed to dangerous or hazardous working conditions in many places worldwide. These conditions are suggested to be linked to greater macro-related structural risks, including changes to the political economy of news that increase labor precarity, cultural and identity-based risks from oppressive normative systems, aggressive partisans and extremists, and risks originating from weak or changing enforcement of the rule of law that increases journalists' vulnerability to corrupt officials, security forces and criminal groups. While previous research has linked these structural risks to acts of workplace victimization of journalists, it has not considered how structural risks are connected to the subjective experience of victimization, which includes emotional upheaval and varying coping strategies. Anchoring this study in the sociology of risk literature with general strain theory, this study considers how greater, macro-level structures are tied to journalist’s victimization, emotions and coping using open and closed survey response data from 21 Mexican and 33 Brazilian journalists. Survey data was collected through matched subnational context designs and snowball sampling strategies. Findings show that journalists recalled victimization experiences that were linked to labor market and workplace risks, risks associated with the rule of law, culturally based risks, and identity-based risks. As a result, journalists engaged in short and long-term coping strategies. Coping strategies were also either individualistic or collectivist in nature, with coping strategies ultimately being influenced by country and regional contexts. *** FR. Il est de plus en plus reconnu que les journalistes sont exposés à des conditions de travail risquées ou dangereuses dans de nombreux endroits du monde. On admet par ailleurs que ces conditions sont liées à des risques structurels macroéconomiques plus importants, notamment les changements dans l'économie politique de l'information qui augmentent la précarité de la main-d'œuvre, les risques culturels et identitaires liés à des systèmes normatifs oppressifs, à des partisans et des extrémistes agressifs, et les risques découlant d'une application faible ou mouvante de l'état de droit qui accroît la vulnérabilité des journalistes face aux fonctionnaires corrompus, aux forces de sécurité et aux groupes criminels. Si des recherches antérieures ont établi un lien entre ces risques structurels et les actes de victimisation des journalistes sur leur lieu de travail, elles n'ont pas examiné comment les risques structurels sont liés à l'expérience subjective de la victimisation, qui comprend un bouleversement émotionnel et diverses stratégies d'adaptation. Ancrant cette étude dans la sociologie du risque et la littérature autour de la théorie de la tension générale (general strain theory), cette étude examine comment les structures plus importantes, au niveau macro, sont liées à la victimisation, aux émotions et à l'adaptation des journalistes en utilisant les résultats à une enquête par questions ouvertes et fermées de 21 journalistes mexicains et 33 brésiliens. Les données de l'enquête ont été recueillies dans des contextes subnationaux similaires et grâce à des stratégies d'échantillonnage en boule de neige. Les résultats montrent que les journalistes témoignent d'expériences de victimisation liées aux risques associés au marché et au lieu de travail, à l'État de droit, aux risques culturels et aux risques liés à l'identité. Par conséquent, les journalistes ont adopté des stratégies d'adaptation à court et à long terme. Les stratégies d'adaptation peuvent relever d’une nature individualiste ou collective et elles sont influencées par les contextes nationaux et régionaux. *** PT. Há um reconhecimento crescente de que os jornalistas estão expostos a condições de trabalho arriscadas ou perigosas em muitos lugares do mundo. Sugere-se que essas condições estejam ligadas a maiores riscos estruturais macro-relacionados, incluindo mudanças na economia política de notícias que aumentam a precariedade do trabalho, riscos culturais e de identidade de sistemas normativos opressores, partidários agressivos e extremistas e riscos originados de uma aplicação fraca ou de alterações legais que aumentam a vulnerabilidade dos jornalistas a funcionários corruptos, forças de segurança e grupos criminosos. Embora pesquisas anteriores tenham vinculado esses riscos estruturais a atos de vitimização de jornalistas no local de trabalho, não se considerou como os riscos estruturais estão ligados à experiência subjetiva de vitimização, que inclui distúrbios emocionais e várias estratégias de enfrentamento. Ancorado na sociologia da literatura de risco com a teoria geral da tensão (general strain theory), este estudo considera como estruturas maiores de nível macro estão ligadas à vitimização, emoções e enfrentamento do jornalista usando dados de resposta de pesquisa aberta e fechada de 21 jornalistas mexicanos e 33 brasileiros. Os dados da pesquisa foram coletados por meio de projetos de contexto subnacional correspondentes e estratégias de amostragem por bola de neve. As descobertas mostram que os jornalistas relembraram experiências de vitimização que estavam relacionadas aos riscos do mercado de trabalho e do local de trabalho, riscos associados ao Estado de direito, riscos de base cultural e riscos de identidade. Como resultado, os jornalistas se engajaram em estratégias de enfrentamento de curto e longo prazo. As estratégias de enfrentamento também eram de natureza individualista ou coletivista, com as estratégias de enfrentamento sendo, em última análise, influenciadas pelos contextos nacionais e regionais. ***

Conceptualizing Journalists' Safety around the Globe

“…The documentation of threats to the journalistic profession other than violence is infrequent, the exposition of journalists' coping mechanisms to deal with work-related stress is somewhat incomplete Iesue et al 2021;Monteiro, Marques Pinto, and Roberto 2016;Monteiro and Marques, 2017; Relly and Gonz alez de Bustamante 2017), and the explication of risk factors that beget threats remains fragmented. Safety research does not often distinguish between causes and symptoms, state and non-state actors, and structural and individual factors; and it is rarely sensitive to issues of gender, race, ethnicity, and sexual orientation and to intersectionality in general.…”