An intersectional analysis of Aotearoa New Zealand journalists' online and offline experiences of abuse, threats and violence

Abstract

Criticism towards journalists has increased significantly since the internet created easy and anonymous communication and has turned more abusive and threatening in recent years, becoming a regular feature of journalists’ work environment, particularly for women. This article presents survey data about the amount and nature of online and offline abuse, threats and violence experienced by journalists at Aotearoa New Zealand's largest news media company, Stuff. All respondents had experienced abuse, violence and/or threats, which they widely considered to be part of the job, but women received more identity and appearance-based abuse and men experienced more in-person threats of, and actual violence. Gender plays a part in how the journalists cope with the abrasive abuse received because of their job, with many more women and particularly Māori women considering leaving the profession. In line with calls for more intersectional analysis of journalists’ workplace experiences, our study considers the complex and nuanced ways that ethnicity intersects with gender to shape Māori and Pākehā journalists’ encounters with abuse, threats and violence. For instance, our subset of Māori women journalists experienced the highest rates of offline threats and violence.