Practices of Exiled Journalists in Germany

Comparative Study

Amid escalating global conflicts, journalism has become one of the most perilous professions, as press freedom continues to erode worldwide. This leads to many journalists leaving their home countries in pursuit of security. Germany is considered a destination for exiled journalists. The country offers a relatively safe environment and robust legal protection for freedom of speech and the press. Various organizations and programs in Germany provide support and assistance to journalists who have been forced to flee their home countries due to persecution, threats, or violence. Despite the global rise of exile journalism, there is limited empirical research on the diverse experiences of exiled journalists living in different regions of Germany. Focusing on exiled journalists from the Arab region, the broader Middle East and Eastern Europe, this project centers on interviewing journalists from different communities to analyze the differences and similarities in their trajectories and their agency.

Studying exiled journalists holds great societal and political importance, given the critical role journalism plays as a watchdog in safeguarding democracy and accountability.

Hanan Badr

Empirical data is gathered through interviews with exiled journalists to compare the dynamics and patterns among different groups of exiled journalists. The project partners examine the opportunity structures that Germany as a host country offers, such as the provision of and access to different information and communication ecologies, specific freedoms, and safe spaces. They also identify challenges that journalists in exile face when working abroad and losing their professional networks.

By comparing various communities, the research aims to shed light on how effectively exiled journalists are able to assert their agency and the role models and self-perceptions they cultivate in the process.

Carola Richter

In Partnership with relevant civil society organizations and exile media plattforms transdisciplinary activities with media professionals are organized. Thus, the project also seeks to offer policy recommendations for German stakeholders. The research findings are directly applied through the seamless integration of the topic of „exiled journalism“ into the course curriculum of the project partners. Two courses are taught to students of Communication Studies at the Paris Lodron University of Salzburg (PLUS) and Freie Universität Berlin (FUB). The latter course is taught in cooperation with Dr. Anna Litvinenko, an expert for exile journalism from Russia and Belarus.