By Gabriel Princewill-
The National Union of Journalists (NUJ)has announced a collaboration with Google to launch an online training course designed to help journalists stay safe.
Storysmart is a suite of free-to-use online training modules developed by the NUJ with the support of the Google News Initiative, and aims to inform and empower journalists to feel safe and courageous in the course of their job.
The four modules cover working in hostile environments, psychological trauma and well-being, cyber risks and dealing with injury, and include advice from trainers, cyber-security experts and experienced journalists.
Journalists often face risks and threats in the course of their work, and the psychological toll it takes can be quite daunting for some, especially investigative journalism.
A survey conducted by the government in November revealed that 0ne in three females did not feel safe operating as a journalist in the Uk and many victims of threats and abuse saw it as part of their work and did not bother reporting it to the police.
Half of female respondents reported experiencing sexism in their job, and a third of ethnic respondents said they ahd experienced racism, according to the findings of the survey.
The National Union Of Journalists is keen to help journalists feel supported in the face of all the challenges many feel.
Michelle Stanistreet, the highly regarded NUJ general secretary, said: “Journalism has always been dangerous, but hostile environments now extend to the streets of our own cities and cyber attacks can be mounted on the devices in all of our pockets.
“Storysmart is designed to raise journalists’ awareness of the challenges they face and provide tested methods to minimise risk and protect sources, however and wherever they are carrying out their work.”
Matt Cooke, head of Google News Lab added: “The Google News Initiative works side-by-side with associations, publishers and journalists to build a more sustainable, diverse and innovative news ecosystem.
“This new training destination, designed by the NUJ, aims to raise awareness of practical steps and digital safety techniques. It has never been more important to protect and support journalists, and we’re grateful to the NUJ and all of the expert practitioners from across the news industry who have contributed to this project.”