International journalists confront a wide array of threats and risks across the world. Statistics published by the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) throughout the last 12 years, suggest that about 1200 journalists and media workers were deceased while performing their professional duties. Some of these risks and hazards are accidental, especially in war zones.

However, an increasing number of death cases among international journalist are designed by official and non-official actors who aim at intimidating the media. The hazards of international journalism and media are also sometimes caused by a different set of reasons such as the lack of professionalism of some media workers themselves, and their bias that interfere with and affect their reporting. Such hazards do not only endanger the lives and the functioning of media workers, but have serious and wide implications on international and regional and national politics. They interfere with our perception of events, impact our understanding of world developments and shape our reactions towards them.

To have a better grasp of these hazards and the ways to deal with them, the IFCL is organizing a meeting with Mr. Terry Anderson, a well known international correspondent and professor of journalism at the University of Kentucky. In this forthcoming meeting a variety of pertinent issues maybe addressed: What are the hazards of practicing journalism? How does an international correspondent combine the truth of reporting and protecting oneself? To what extent do prevalent ideas in the journalist’s country influence his/her reporting of events in another country? To what extent are the goals of the journalist’s country reflected in his/her reporting? Does fear play any role in reporting?