Reporters with borders: German journalists under duress rethinking reporting practices

Karin Assmann, “Reporters with borders: German journalists under duress rethinking reporting practices,” paper to be presented at the Future of Journalism Conference in Cardiff, Wales in September 2025.

Abstract: This study asks how German journalists adjust their reporting practices in response to physical and institutional attacks that have become routine parts of their beats. Interviews conducted with 25 local and national reporters covering right-wing movements and parties, particularly the German right-wing party AfD, contribute to literature that defines the scope of threats experienced in different contexts – both national and political (e.g., Miller, 2023) – and to scholarship that treats journalists not just as members of a professional group but as news workers whose occupation is becoming increasingly hazardous (e.g., Bélair-Gagnon et al., 2024). It investigates how these attacks affect journalistic autonomy (Löfgren Nilsson & Örnebring, 2016) and how norms and practices are adjusted on an individual and, importantly, on an institutional level. In doing so, it offers an opportunity to inform professionals about best practices, loopholes and possible backsliding both in how journalists work and in their roles in upholding democratic norms.