US-based CPJ launches safety kit for journalists

A US-based media watchdog along with the Mumbai Press Club and other journalists' bodies in Maharashtra on Friday launched a safety kit for media personnel.

The US-based Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) said the safety kit, in the form of a booklet, has been developed by its security experts keeping in mind increasing threats faced by journalists across the globe.

The booklet touches on aspects of digital, physical and psychological safety and provides solutions to mitigate issues faced by journalists while at work.

The safety kit, compiled by CPJ's Emergency Response Team (ERT), elaborates on aspects like basic preparedness, how to identify bots, how to stop online harassment and trolling, what to do during an attack, how to report safely during rallies and protests, as well as how to store and secure content.

Kunal Majumdar, the India correspondent of the New York headquartered CPJ, said being a political correspondent has become more risky than being a war correspondent.

Majumdar said 54 journalists were killed and 251 were jailed in 2018 worldwide, of which five murders and one jail term happened in India.

"Around 88 per cent journalists who are targeted worldwide are local journalists. They are most vulnerable," he said.