Dangerous Journalism - Who's at risk?

This editorial provides a framework around the papers published in this issue of fusion journal and all those presented at a 2015 "Dangerous Journalism" conference of journalism educators and researchers on which the fusion issue is based. The discussion notes the various ways in which researchers have interpreted the notion of "Dangerous Journalism." The paper then positions these interpretations within the challenges facing journalism and journalists today. It notes recent instances of repression of journalism & free speech by regimes, ethical issues facing contemporary journalists, the use of journalism by terrorist groups, the collapsing industry models of journalism resulting from digital disruption, occupational health and safety issues for journalists in a stressful and sometimes dangerous occupation and lastly, but not least, the dangers journalism can pose for those who are the subjects of journalists' stories. This discussion and interpretation reveals new knowledge about the role of journalism today and ramifications for future practice.