International News Safety Institute (INSI)

Join us in making a difference for journalists worldwide! We're looking for an Editorial Assistant to assist our Director with communications, administrative, and editorial support. This individual will play a vital role in helping editors and safety managers proactively manage the safety of their media staff. Location: UK based, remote, occasional meetings in London Type: Full time, flexible hours Salary: Competitive, depending on experience The role: This individual would have applicable experience in a news media organisation or international NGO. They must possess excellent communication acumen, time management skills, and attention to detail, and will be a key link between INSI and its members. They would also be able to write clearly and practically, proofread to a high ability and be flexible in providing a range of support to the director and INSI’s wider network. Key responsibilities: 1. Provide logistic and administrative support to the Director: Be flexible in assisting the Director with a variety of daily tasks and longer-term projects, coordinating the director’s comms and scheduling with INSI members and other contacts. 2. Project work: Participate in ongoing projects monitoring press safety and journalist casualties; help compile reports and resources. 3. Website maintenance: Add and edit articles, upload resources, and manage the secure members’ area. 4. Writing, research, and proofreading: Create advanced notes and minutes from meetings, write and edit advisories and briefings, transcribe, and conduct research into developing news stories and high-risk hotspots. 5. Manage comms and collaborations: Handle mass comms such as email campaigns, contact lists, events, calendars, queries, social media, organising meetings, distributing information, and dealing with security providers. The successful candidate will have: 1. Critical thinking and problem-solving skills and a desire to build organisational processes. 2. Attention to detail: High standards in all internal and external communications. 3. Adaptability and independence: Ability to work effectively independently. 4. Collaboration skills: Eager to work closely with the Director on many tasks. 5. Writing skills: High-quality, succinct writing with clarity, and proofreading. 6. Passion for journalism: A thorough, demonstrable knowledge of international news and current affairs. 7. Experience: Background in news media or international NGOs. 8. Discretion: A thorough understanding of confidentiality needs and how to handle sensitive information. 9. Compliance and cybersecurity: Knowledge of best practices in these areas. 10. Technical and social media fluency: Competency across tech and social media platforms. Please submit your CV and cover letter detailing your relevant experience (no more than one page) to info@newssafety.org with the subject line ‘Editorial Assistant Application’. Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis until the position is filled.

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Join us in making a difference for journalists worldwide! We're looking for an Editorial Assistant to assist our Director with communications, administrative, and editorial support. This individual will play a vital role in helping editors and safety managers proactively manage the safety of their media staff. Location: UK based, remote, occasional meetings in London  Type: Full time, flexible hours Salary: Competitive, depending on experience The role: This individual would have applicable experience in a news media organisation or international NGO. They must possess excellent communication acumen, time management skills, and attention to detail, and will be a key link between INSI and its members. They would also be able to write clearly and practically, proofread to a high ability and be flexible in providing a range of support to the director and INSI’s wider network. Key responsibilities: 1. Provide logistic and administrative support to the Director: Be flexible in assisting the Director with a variety of daily tasks and longer-term projects, coordinating the director’s comms and scheduling with INSI members and other contacts. 2. Project work: Participate in ongoing projects monitoring press safety and journalist casualties; help compile reports and resources. 3. Website maintenance: Add and edit articles, upload resources, and manage the secure members’ area. 4. Writing, research, and proofreading: Create advanced notes and minutes from meetings, write and edit advisories and briefings, transcribe, and conduct research into developing news stories and high-risk hotspots. 5. Manage comms and collaborations: Handle mass comms such as email campaigns, contact lists, events, calendars, queries, social media, organising meetings, distributing information, and dealing with security providers. The successful candidate will have: 1. Critical thinking and problem-solving skills and a desire to build organisational processes. 2. Attention to detail: High standards in all internal and external communications. 3. Adaptability and independence: Ability to work effectively independently. 4. Collaboration skills: Eager to work closely with the Director on many tasks. 5. Writing skills: High-quality, succinct writing with clarity, and proofreading. 6. Passion for journalism: A thorough, demonstrable knowledge of international news and current affairs. 7. Experience: Background in news media or international NGOs. 8. Discretion: A thorough understanding of confidentiality needs and how to handle sensitive information. 9. Compliance and cybersecurity: Knowledge of best practices in these areas. 10. Technical and social media fluency: Competency across tech and social media platforms. Please submit your CV and cover letter detailing your relevant experience (no more than one page) to info@newssafety.org with the subject line ‘Editorial Assistant Application’. Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis until the position is filled. 

Proud to support with International News Safety Institute (INSI) this sacrosanct initiative by Jon Williams and the Rory Peck Trust. Time for UK leaders to keep their promises and defend journalism. Threatened and persecuted journalists need fast emergency visas so they can not only survive but also continue their vital work. The world needs them!

This week, political leaders are unveiling their manifestos for the UK General Election on July 4th. By law, non-profits like the Rory Peck Trust must remain impartial. It is not our place to pick sides. However, we are allowed to continue to campaign for the causes we believe in. Today, Rory Peck and the Committee to Protect Journalists, along with Reporters Without Borders (RSF), Index on Censorship and International News Safety Institute (INSI) are calling on the next UK Government to provide safe refuge for journalists forced to flee their home countries in fear their lives. The UN says there are more armed conflicts around the world today than at any time since the end of the Second World War. Media, including freelanders, are often victims of these conflicts as they try to report without fear of favour. We want the UK to reserve a small number of emergency visas that can be issued at short notice to journalists who escape, fearing death or imprisonment because of their work. It is a proposal which was made in Britain, the recommendation of a High-Level Panel of Legal Experts convened by the UK as the original co-chair of the Media Freedom Coalition of 51 countries committed to improving the safety of journalists. But while countries including Canada, Germany, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania have adopted the plan, the UK has not. As we write in our letter to the party leaders which you can read below, journalism and journalists are an indispensable pillar of democracy. But too often it can cost the truthtellers, many of them freelancers, their lives or their livelihoods. So, as British democracy takes centre-stage, we ask that whichever party forms the next government, they heed the words of the legal experts commissioned by the UK four years ago: “states that believe protecting journalists and championing their work constitutes a vital pillar of a free and democratic society, need to act.” I couldn’t put it better myself.

This #WorldPressFreedomDay is a day for action, not words, writes INSI Director Elena Cosentino. Not being able to enter Gaza for reporting purposes has now been normalised. Outside journalists are effectively expected to resign themselves, as if it were inevitable, that this war is “off-limits” for them. Make no mistake. There’s nothing normal about it. Read this article on #WPFD2024 https://lnkd.in/erSFDhJ4

Big speeches about the importance of journalism will be made today by the very political leaders who are not delivering on the commitments they made on #WorldPressFreedomDay a year ago. It’s time to call their bluff, starting from Gaza, writes INSI Director Elena Cosentino. https://lnkd.in/erSFDhJ4 #WPFD2024 #PracticeWhatYouPreach

Frontline journalism has never been so fraught with danger. Will taking a high-risk advisor along always make your news teams safer? And how do you pick the right one for each assignment? Find out in INSI’s guide to Working with High-Risk Advisors in the Field, where the world’s top news organisations share their experience, insights and expectations of this increasingly needed media support role. https://lnkd.in/dsGfi3Cg

As a long time admirer of Francesca Unsworth’s work and leadership, I couldn’t be happier about this appointment. I look forward to working closely with our new inspiring Chair. Welcome to INSI Fran!

We are pleased to announce that Francesca Unsworth has been appointed as the new chair of INSI. Fran has worked in the media for over 40 years, having previously been Director of News and Current Affairs at the BBC. Fran succeeds Robin Elias, who has crucially supported the organisation through the challenging years of COVID and the war in Ukraine. Fran said, on her appointment as INSI chair, “I am delighted to be taking over as chair of INSI, at a time when the work of the organisation is as needed as ever, in enabling journalists to report on the current wars and instability faced by people across the world.” INSI Director Elena Cosentino said, “I am thrilled at Fran’s appointment as our new chair. I have long admired Fran’s unwavering commitment to courageous journalism and I know she will bring new energy and ambition to our organisation.” https://lnkd.in/e2aMXCjD