“Don’t Shoot the Journalists”: A Global Chorus of Press Under Fire

“Don’t Shoot the Journalists: Migrating to Stay Alive,” edited by Peter Laufer, is a searing anthology that compiles experiences, testimonies, and literary reflections from journalists who have faced threats, exile, and censorship. Launched officially in May 2025, the collection builds on the “Extra!! Refugee Journalists Become the Story” symposium held in 2024, bringing together voices displaced by conflict or repression.

Instead of presenting an academic dissection, Laufer gives the floor to those who have lived the work: war correspondents, exiled reporters, and local journalists covering risky beats under authoritarian regimes or in fraying democracies.  Their narratives span from the front lines of Gaza to underreported struggles in Latin America, and even inside supposedly secure democracies.

One essay recounts a terrifying moment in Las Vegas, where a reporter investigating a local official was ambushed outside his home—an example of violence not just reserved for war zones. Another is by Youmna El Sayed, who shares the ordeal of leaving Gaza under direct threats while ensuring her family’s safety.  Throughout the book, the contributors refuse to compare suffering in a hierarchy; instead, they underline a shared undercurrent: journalism is risk, from bullets to lawsuits, from harassment to forced exile.

Laufer frames the project with urgency. He warns that threats to journalists are no longer exceptional but systemic, even in countries where press freedom is presumed to be safe. The metaphor of the title is real: in many places, reporters are under literal or figurative fire simply for doing their job. The collection urges readers to acknowledge that silencing one journalist reverberates throughout society.

What emerges from “Don’t Shoot the Journalists” is not despair, but resilience. The contributors present evidence that journalism remains indispensable, even in the face of adversity. And they urge readers, institutions, and governments to remember: when truth-tellers are silenced, the cost is borne by entire communities.

Reference – 

https://www.quillmag.com/2025/09/29/bookshelf-peter-laufers-dont-shoot-the-journalists/