Resisting the Individualization of Risk: Strategies of Engagement and Caution in Journalists’ Responses to Online Mobs in the United States and Germany

Abstract

Increasing levels of toxicity, harassment, trolling, and doxxing targeting journalists are a global problem that adversely affects journalism and democratic life. This study offers a comparative analysis of journalistic responses to online violence in the United States and Germany, based on 87 interviews and multiple newsroom observations. U.S. journalists typically discussed the problem in individualized terms, with the onus largely perceived to be placed on journalists to protect themselves while maintaining visibility and accessibility. In Germany, journalists typically discussed the problem as a systemic one, with the onus largely perceived to be placed on media organizations to protect staffers. Journalists in Germany thus considered legitimate a variety of obfuscation and avoidance strategies online and offline, while U.S. journalists felt a greater personal responsibility to advocate for the profession. These findings show the contribution of comparative perspectives in studying the global challenge of anti-press violence. They also demonstrate the complexity of defining and measuring journalistic autonomy, posing theoretical questions that illuminate some of the intrinsic tensions and tradeoffs of autonomy.