"Lives on the line: how to help protect freelancers in dangerous places", 26 Feb 2015

Since its 12 February launch, 39 news organizations and journalist advocacy groups – including the Associated Press, Reuters, the Committee to Protect Journalists, Mashable and the Guardian – have signed the Global Safety Principles and Practices, a new code of conduct aimed at better protecting freelancers on dangerous assignments...[A]n increasing proportion of journalists killed...are freelancers: 27% in 2010-2014, compared to 14% in 2000-2004...My main concern [with this new code]...is [the] weak language that enables companies to sign on without doing anything new...Even more disconcerting...is that there is no process...for holding those who sign...to account...[T]he next step should be to articulate current best practices..., which would help...put more meat on the bones...of this initial draft...[J]ournalism isn't alone: it can benefit from the...lessons learned from other coalitions of stakeholders that have rallied around life-or-death problems...[also refers to Google, Microsoft, Yahoo!]