Janet Harris, ex- BBC Freelance Documentary film maker, writes about her experience in working with fixers and why we can’t overlook the role they play
Many people have not come across the term ‘fixer’ before. The Cambridge Dictionary states that a fixer is ‘someone who is skilled at arranging for things to happen’. In journalism this is very apt. If a journalist or media worker wants to go to another country, especially a conflict zone where there are dangers only a local would know, they often hire a ‘fixer’ from that country who can arrange hotels, transport, contributors, find stories, translate, advise on security. The term encompasses many roles, they often act as producers, researchers and journalists.
I have been lucky enough to be sent to Iraq to make documentaries for the BBC during the invasion, 2003, and for the BBC and Middle East Broadcasting during the occupation 2003, 2004 & 2013. Since then, the media world is transforming, war is changing and the safety of journalists has deteriorated. This is not just because of the changing nature of war, but also the changes in media and journalism. Back in 2011 Richard Sambrook, wrote: “International news reporting is undergoing a profound transformation. Western newspapers and broadcasters have steadily cut back on foreign correspondents and reporting over the last 20 years in the face of economic pressures”.
According to the Press Gazette there were around 4,000 journalism job cuts made in the UK and US in 2024, and this was after at least 8,000 journalism job cuts in the UK & north America in 2023 (Tobitt 2025). As well as the shrinking of the Western media, it is becoming increasingly difficult for international correspondents to access some areas of conflict. International journalists experienced difficulties getting into parts of Syria, the Ukraine and more recently have not been allowed into Gaza. This means news organisations are relying more on freelancers, local journalists and fixers to find stories and to enable foreign journalists to access stories. In an article for Index on Censorship, Caroline Lees (2016: 10) writes ‘Fixers in conflict zones considered too dangerous for foreign reporters are increasingly being hired to write and file stories directly to international news desks.’ Balock & Andresen (2020:39) write that the role of the fixer has evolved from translators to investigators, mediators, and embedded journalist. However, even if their role is becoming more important, their position is often not getting the recognition or consideration that is afforded to international media workers. Authors such as Murrell (2016), Balock & Andresen (2020) state that the fixers’ rights and interests are not protected by media organizations or governments.
At the end of 2003 I made a documentary for a series on what life had been like in Iraq under Saddam Hussein for Middle East Broadcasting and ITV. The main fixer had been a Brigadier General in the Iraq Army, but after working for other international media organisations had to leave Baghdad for his and his family’s safety and went to Canada. His cousin, my fixer, also had to leave Baghdad and went to Syria. I don’t know what happened to him after Syria exploded. Another fixer on the series also had to leave Iraq, going to Jordan. I tried to keep in touch with them, but lost contact a few years later. I went back to Basra at the end of 2012 to make a BBC documentary for the 10th anniversary of the invasion of Iraq, taking the father of a British RAF reservist who had been killed to ask the question ‘Did my son die in vain?’ The first fixer we hired received threats saying he would be killed if he continued to work with the BBC, so for his and his family’s safety, we had to find another. The second was a local journalist who said he thought he had enough contacts and networks to protect him and was more accustomed to this level of intimidation.
None of the programmes we made could have been done without the fixers. Not only the basic ‘fixing’ of the administration such as finding a taxi and safe routes so we could go ‘grey’ and travel around Baghdad without security in 2003, or getting access to sources who had been in hiding under Saddam, but also access to those who worked with him. ‘The General’ was my unofficial Exec. Producer, warning me if he thought my source would lie (as he knew their background), who to second source if there were suspicions, and suggestions of where to go to find alternative voices – the essential skills of a journalist. Likewise, in Basra in 2013, the fixer as a freelance journalist knew the gossip about the Basrawi politicians, who their militia affiliations were with and thus who we should tread carefully with, where not to go, and who else we could speak to, when for example, the Jaish el Mahdi refused to talk to me on camera as I was from the BBC.
When we arrived in Iraq in 2012 as per BBC safety requirements, we had to have an armoured escort who accompanied us at all times. However, when we left to fly back to the safety of the UK, the fixer was on his own. He is still working in Basra, but like the earlier amazing fixers in Baghdad, many fixers and journalists in other part of the middle East have not been so lucky. Organisations like the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ), Reporters without Border (RSF) and the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) have called for better support and recognition for fixers.
The CPJ reports that between January and June 2024, it provided financial support to 158 journalists; 64% of whom had fled their home countries or were in the process of fleeing (Westcott 2024). They do not state how many of these were ‘fixers’, but as argued above, the definitions are fluid. What is important is that if we want to continue receiving information and stories from countries which are becoming increasingly difficult to access at a time when there are less journalists to cover these places, we should join the Rory Peck Trust directors (2024) in calling for more support for the ‘Global Pledge’ signed by the Media Freedom Coalition to work to improve the media freedom environment and safety of journalists.
Bibliography
Baloch. K & Andresen. K. (2020) Reporting in conflict Zones in Pakistan: Risks and Challenges for Fixers. Media and Communication 8(1) pp 37-46. https://www.cogitatiopress.com/mediaandcommunication/article/view/2514
Lees, C. (2016). Under the wires: Local “fixers”, who help foreign correspondents on the ground, can face death threats and accusations of being spies after working for international media. Index on Censorship, 45(3), 8-11. https://doi-org.abc.cardiff.ac.uk/10.1177/0306422016670328a
Murrell. C. (2015) Foreign correspondents and international newsgathering: The role of fixers. Routledge. New York, Oxon.
Rory Peck Trust (2024). RPT calls for next UK Government to save journalists forced to flee for their lives. June 2. https://rorypecktrust.org/news/rpt-emergency-visas/
Sambrook, R. J. (2011). Are foreign correspondents redundant? The changing face of international news. Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism. https://reutersinstitute.politics.ox.ac.uk/ sites/default/files/2017-12/Are%20Foreign%20Correspondents%20Redundant%20The%20 changing%20face%20of%20international%20news.pdf
Tobitt, C. (2025) Around 4,000 journalism job cuts made in Uk and Us in 2024. Press Gazette: Future of Media Jan 6.
Westcott. L (2024) Forced to flee: Exiled journalists face unsafe passage and transnational repression. CPJ. https://cpj.org/reports/2024/06/forced-to-flee-exiled-journalists-face-unsafe-passage-and-transnational-repression/