Resources

The The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) has posted a page of resources for journalists covering conflict in Israel and Gaza Strip, along with insights from reporters familiar with the area including Bethan McKernan of the Guardian, freelance reporter and producer Haya Abushkhaidem, Nicolas Rouger of La Croix and Noam Shalev of Highlight Films. Read more here.

The The International Women’s Media Foundation (IWMF) included links to resources in its statement calling for protection of journalists in the conflict, including IWMF’s Emergency Fund, the Journalists in Distress Network and Free Press Unlimited.

The Arab Reporters for Investigative Journalism (ARIJ) has released an Arabic translation of its Fundraising Guide. The Guide provides a list of emergency funding and crisis resources that may be of use to journalists operating in the area. This section has also been translated into Arabic and was also shared with journalists in Sudan over the summer.

The CPJ has also updated its page of resources dedicated to covering climate change. CPJ recommends completing a risk assessment ahead of the assignment, and outlines digital safety tips for arrest and detention, protecting confidential sources, adversarial sources and covering the Amazon basin. The resource page also includes coverage of extreme weather, psychological safety and more. Explore the resource page here.

TRAINING AND GUIDELINES
 
The James W. Foley Legacy Foundation has posted journalism safety modules for use in undergraduate programs. The modules are available to view in downloadable PDF or flip-book formats, and include 16 different curricular ranging from best newsroom practices to digital security and disaster coverage. Explore the modules here.
 
Dart Centre Europe has posted a resource page with guidelines for reporting on and interviewing survivors of sexual violence that occur in conflict. The page includes key questions journalists should ask themselves before starting, assessing safety of sources, evaluating ethical pitfalls, and how best to approach an interview to mitigate harm and work compassionately. Explore the resource page here.
 
OPC Vice President Azmat Khan, an investigative reporter with The New York Times and The New York Times Magazine, and a professor at Columbia Journalism School, posted a tipsheet for investigative journalism that she uses as a reference for students.
 
The A Culture of Safety (ACOS) Alliance has posted a list of legal assistance resources with links to organizations that provide advice, support and legal assistance to freelance journalists globally. ACOS also offers a discount on insurance for journalists and other members of the media. It covers journalists travelling to any country in the world and includes conflict zones, embeds and travel in a military vehicle or helicopter.
 
The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) released a guide for journalists covering natural disasters and extreme weather in connection with wildfires in California. The guide includes advice on risk assessment, how to minimize dangers, checking insurance, and other best practices, as well as a list of contents for an emergency kit. Read more here.
 
IJNet publishes an email newsletter that includes articles, grant and training opportunities and resources. Read more and subscribe here.
 
Russell Midori, the OPC Foundation’s Nathan S. Bienstock Memorial Scholarship in 2016, wrote an extensive piece for the OPC on best practices for covering civil unrest.
 
The GroundTruth Project published an interview with photojournalists about their best practices while covering the pandemic. OPC member Max Becherer, photo editor at The Times-Picayune and The New Orleans Advocate, talked about working with subjects and maintaining transparency to prevent risks, like asking if elderly people live in a home he might shoot.
 
 
DATABASES
 
Columbia University’s Brown Institute for Media Innovation has compiled a large repository of documents on COVID-19 via FOIA requests. Explore the database here.
 
The Tow Center has been compiling a database on US newsroom cutbacks that have occurred during the COVID-19 pandemic. Researchers have aggregated sources including news reports, press releases and Twitter announcements. Browse the tracker here.

Helpful Organizations