The Shalom Hartman Institute of Jerusalem is launching a major study focused on Jewish media journalists outside of Israel and North America.

The purpose of the new research project is to identify the challenges that Jewish media professionals from Europe, Asia, Latin America, Africa, and Australia face when reporting on local communities, Jewish issues worldwide, and Israel. The project’s goal is to increase awareness of the unique issues facing Jewish media in the Diaspora in order to strengthen and assist them in conducting their important work.

This new study comes three years after the Hartman Institute published the groundbreaking report, ‘Reporting Jewish: Do Journalists Have the Tools to Succeed.’ This first-ever study of journalists working for Jewish media in North America identified the skills, challenges, and attitudes of hundreds of media professionals.

“In crafting this new research project, the Institute wants it to be developed in conjunction with the participating journalists in order to succeed in accurately portraying the issues, challenges, and successes they have,” said Alan D. Abbey, Hartman Institute Media Director, who is leading the research team. “Journalists are encouraged to participate, provide early-stage input, and feedback.”

Questions under study include whether journalists for Jewish media have the security, safety, tools, resources, freedom, support, and independence they need to succeed in their profession.

The core element of the research is an online, confidential, questionnaire now available on the Shalom Hartman Institute website. They intend to publish and publicize their results later next year.

Volunteers are being sought to translate the research survey questions from English into French, Spanish, Russian, German, or other languages.

For more information and to offer input into the survey, email Alan D. Abbey (Alan.Abbey@shi.org.il), Media Director, Shalom Hartman Institute.