The Deadly Profession of Journalism

Seven media professionals have been killed due to their journalistic activities since the start of 2023, according to the Reporters Without Borders database. Of these, two were killed in Afghanistan, and one person per country in Albania, Cameroon, India, Ukraine and the United States. Meanwhile, 56 people were listed as having “disappeared” this year, with the highest numbers recorded in Mexico (25) and Syria (10).

The following chart shows how there has been a general decline in the number of journalists and media workers killed for their professional activities in the past decade. 2013 recorded the highest number of deaths on the chart at 142, with Iraq the most dangerous country for journalists that year, recording 11 deaths, followed by India with 9 deaths, Egypt with 6 and Brazil with 5.

2012, however, saw even higher numbers with a total of 144 media professionals killed, the highest figure since the year 2000. The bulk of these were in Syria, where 69 people lost their lives, and Somalia, where 18 were killed. Since 2000 a total of 1,795 journalists and media workers have been killed worldwide.

Figures from the U.S. based non governmental organization The Committee to Protect Journalists also offer closer detail on the journalists themselves, revealing that of the 1,473 journalists' deaths that they have reported on, the vast majority (1,303) were local reporters, while only 170 were foreign correspondents. The most deadly news beats since 1992 were Politics (733 deaths), War (611), Human Rights (330), Corruption (321) and Crime (281).