IFJ 'Live News:' Survival Guide for Journalists

our Initiates file download‘Live News: A Survival Guide for Journalists’ publication - a comprehensive safety guide for journalists working in the field - is available for you to read in a number of languages.

The book is a practical guide to be read by journalists who live and work in hazardous conditions and by those who may be assigned to risky areas. It is divided into four parts:

Part 1 - covers preparing for dangerous assignments, physically, psychologically, emotionally and intellectually. What do you need to know, what do you need to take with you, and how can you equip yourself for this experience

Part 2 - analyses risks and shows how to reduce dangers in war zones and conflict areas. This includes information about weapons and advice on how journalists and camera operators can avoid being mistaken for combatants. One chapter analyses why riots are especially dangerous. Another looks at the risks of becoming a kidnap victim and what to do if this happens.

Part 3 - focuses on medical attention in conditions where there is no easy access to hospitals, clinics or doctors. Journalists need to learn how to keep themselves healthy on assignment, and what they can do to keep a dangerously ill or severely injured person alive until medical help is available. These skills must be practised and this book may help journalists’ organisations to set up training courses.

Part 4 - looks at the role of local and international organisations in arranging safety courses and in campaigning for safety.

The book does not attempt to lay down law about what is safe and unsafe. The aim is to provide journalists with additional information and skills so that they can use their own judgement in a more informed way.

The key message is for journalists to think about safety in the same way as they think about camera angles or how to obtain an interview. Whatever else is going on, part of their consciousness should be monitoring their safety and reading the danger signs.

This publication is also available in a number of other languages. Click on the languages below to find the version you want to read:

Initiates file downloadEnglishInitiates file downloadFrenchInitiates file downloadSpanishInitiates file downloadArabicInitiates file downloadItalianInitiates file downloadRussian, and for Sri Lankan (Initiates file downloadSinhala orInitiates file download Tamil)

Or visit the Press Freedom page of the IFJ website to find out more.