Our Journalist Impact Survey 2022

“If i didn’t have Media Defence’s support, I would have been condemned .”
– Journalist supported by Media Defence in 2022.

In 2022, we carried out our sixth annual Journalist Impact Survey to look at the longer-term impact of our support to journalists. We designed our Journalist Impact Survey to understand the quality of our legal and financial support to journalists. In addition, the survey enables us to gain a greater appreciation of the role of legal defence in ensuring journalists can continue to report. Finally, the survey allows us to test our theory of change: access to legal defence enables journalists to continue reporting and holding governments and authorities to account for the public. As a result, these findings inform our future casework.

The Results

In 2022, we received 22 responses from journalists whose cases – ending in 2022 – we have supported. The journalists come from all of the regions in which we work, and we are pleased with the representation of our geographic reach. We are also pleased with the strong feedback about our communications and legal support.

Key findings include:

• 64% of respondents reported feeling satisfied with the outcome of their case;
• 100% of respondents would recommend our support to other journalists facing legal action; and
• 95% of respondents reported feeling satisfied or extremely satisfied with the lawyer who handled their case.

The survey found that our support and that of our partners was incredibly effective. For 95% of respondents, this support enabled them to continue reporting on public interest issues.

Read the full report here: Journalist Impact Survey 2022