Staying Safe

Many people who are thinking about becoming journalists are concerned about their personal safety, particularly as journalists often write negative stories about violent people. But most journalists go through their career without being the victims of violence.

Taking my own career as an example, I was once spoken to threateningly by an ultimate fighter, found myself in the middle of a mass brawl at a boxing match, and was made to feel a bit nervous by a few people who came into reception. But that’s about it. When you consider that the areas I covered included Brixton, that’s not too bad.

By the law of averages, you can expect to be threatened a couple of times during a career in local journalism but you would be unlucky to actually be a victim of violence. But it is always worth making sure you take simple precautions to make sure you stay safe.

Not Taking Risks

The most obvious piece of advice is to not take risks. This is easier said than done as sometimes journalists are willing to act recklessly because they are single-mindedly pursuing a story. But always remind yourself that no matter how good a story might be, it will be quickly forgotten and it really is not worth putting yourself in danger for. 

Think about your safety as you go about your job. Make sure that if you’re going somewhere unusual, you let someone know where you’re going to be. Remember that only you have responsibility to decide what’s safe and what’s not.

Some newsdesks are excessively concerned about health and safety, and there are reports that Trinity Mirror Southern sent its journalists home for safety reasons following the bombings on the London Tube in 2005, which was the biggest story in London for many years.

But some news editors find it easy to be brave from behind the newsdesk. I was once doing a story about a criminal gang in Brixton that was taking clamps off cars in exchange for cash and then using a stolen credit card to pay the fine.

The newsdesk told me to go to Brixton and confront the gangs, accusing them of breaking the law. Even though I was inexperienced, the idea of confronting a criminal gang in an area with a gun problem seemed foolhardy. But I got the bus to Brixton to confront the gang because I thought the newsdesk knew better than me.

On the bus I got a call from the police, who advised me in the strongest possible terms that I was putting myself in danger. I called the newsdesk and they agreed that we should not go through with confronting the gang.

If your news editor tells you to do something you don’t want to do then you should pretend that whoever it is did not answer the door. It’s not worth putting yourself at risk. You might not like lying, but if you refuse outright then it can damage your standing in the office.