You are warmly invited to our first event of the academic year 2023/24 on 27 September at 5pm UK time.

This event is jointly organised by the Hub for the Study of Hybrid Communication in Peacebuilding (HCPB) and the Centre for Freedom of the Media (CFOM) which are cooperating in the area of ‘Journalism in Exile’.

We are very much looking forward to two presentations:

The first one is given by Dr Ilya Yablokov on ‘Broadcasting through the (new) Iron Curtain: legacies, challenges, and practices of Russia’s independent media in exile’

Abstract: With the start of the war in Ukraine and the military censorship imposed by the Kremlin in the early March 2022 no reporting from Russia became possible. Within several days all Russian institutionalised journalism ended up in exile. Sources of funding, access to informants and on-ground reporting have been lost. Russian journalists became totally dependent on donor’s money – to continue their operations – and on new technologies – to reach their core audiences who stayed inside Russia to keep them informed and engaged. Based on over 50 interviews conducted with editors-in-chief, senior correspondents and individual journalists-bloggers, this paper argues that the new circumstances have highlighted the existing problems of the Russian media as well as the emerging problems caused by the war. The media in exile have failed to promote cooperation within the professional community mostly focusing on pursuing their own professional goals and survival of their outlets. The work in immigration has also had an impact on their practices in finding new audiences and new angles to tell the stories. As opposed to the Moscow-centric agenda of most of the Russian independent media prior to the war, the exiled Russian media have refocused their efforts on finding stories from the provincial parts of Russia. The interviews also showed the imperfections of the foreign funding provided to reporters via international donors.

The second presentation will be given by Professor Jackie Harrison on ‘Journalism Safety and the surprising exclusion of journalists/ism in exile’.

Abstract: Journalism Safety has long been a policy priority for international policy-makers (EU, UNESCO, European Council and NGOs) with the UNESCO Plan of Action on the Safety of Journalists and the Issue of Impunity launched in 2012 representing one of the main global initiatives. What is conspicuously absent from the journalism safety agenda are references to and concerns for journalists in exile and correspondingly, any measures to protect both journalists and journalism in exile. We argue that this a significant oversight which ultimately risks international policy-makers being (un-)intentionally compliant in the silencing of journalists and enabling impunity by national governments across borders. This presentation defines exile, draws attention to the challenges faced by journalists in exile and calls for a more systematic approach by policy makers to include the issue of exile into safety considerations.

N.B.: This presentation is co-authored with Dr Stef Pukallus but will be presented by Jackie.

Both presenters are from the School of Journalism, Media and Communication at the University of Sheffield (UK).

If you’d like to join please email: HubCommPb@gmail.com 

Please circulate this event info to anyone you think might be interested in joining – the more the merrier!

Looking forward
HCPB and CFOM