With a journalist killed every four days globally, the dangers of investigative journalism are under sharper scrutiny than ever. At Leeds Trinity University’s Journalism & Media Week, Alistair Jackson, Investigations Editor at Channel 4 Dispatches, and fellow Channel 4 Dispatches Investigations Journalist Sarah Wilson discussed the threats journalists face and the systems in place to protect them.
In the UK, violence against journalists is more common than some might realise. Jackson said that while physical violence remains a visible danger, online harassment is a growing issue, especially for female journalists. “When you publish work, you’ll get as many critical comments as you will complimentary ones, and it’s human nature for your eyes to go to the critical comments,” he said. “Younger, female journalists often face absolutely outrageous behaviour from people they’ve never even met,”
Wilson, who received a wave of gendered abuse on Twitter following Dispatches’ Russell Brand documentary, highlighted how online attacks are often misogynistic. “I had one comment where someone called me ‘a sad, childless, middle-aged woman,’ and I thought, I’m 27!” she said. “It’s interesting that when you do get comments I’ve found that they do seem to be quite gendered, quite centred around being a ‘bitter woman’ or ‘childless’.”
On safety measures, both agreed that employer protocols have improved. Jackson said, “We have very strict compliance procedures where we would take great care of someone, for example, going undercover and there’s various thresholds to be met to justify that you’ve got enough evidence to do it… Even in my career, these measures have improved a hell of a lot over the years and employers generally are very sensible.”
Wilson also praised Channel 4’s legal support. “We have amazing in-house lawyers that work with us every step of the way when we’re doing investigations to make sure we don’t put anything out that can jeopardise us as journalists,” she said.
Despite these advancements, the toll of intense investigative work on mental health remains significant. “Hearing people’s accounts, hearing traumatic stories, actually seeing traumatic things, (seeing) awful material from police investigations, all these things can definitely take a toll,” Jackson said, recalling the impact of his coverage on the Westgate terror attack in Kenya. Wilson shared her strategy of time-blocking news consumption and taking breaks after working on heavy cases like the Russell Brand investigation. “When you’re working on really heavy stuff… it’s about putting boundaries in place to look after yourself and making sure that when there’s a lull, you do have time for yourself that you do put your phone away and go and do something nice,” she added.
The debate on whether investigative journalism is safe continues. While improved protocols offer more protection, the unpredictable nature of journalism, both online and in the field, means risks are ever-present.