Hostility Toward the Press: A Synthesis of Terms, Research, and Future Directions in Examining Harassment of Journalists

Abstract

While there is an upsurge of research examining hostility toward the press from those external to the newsroom, there continues to be a lack of critical and robust theoretical foundation and agenda for such inquiry in countries considered to have a democratically free press. Therefore, the objective of this article is to synthesize literature in the study of abuse and harassment of journalists, set forth clear definitions of terms, situate that literature within a larger theoretical context, and ultimately establish future lines of inquiry for research examining harassment of journalists. The primary argument of this article in theorizing hostility toward the press is examining the identity of a journalist as a place of oppression that intersects with other identities of oppression resulting in unique context-based experiences. The principal objective is to unify work in this growing field to help not only answer important questions about a topic gaining increasing attention, but to also do so with a critical foundation in how hostility toward the press is theorized.