Dangerous conversations: interviewing criminals and people with a history of violence

Dangerous conversations: how to keep yourself and your sources safe when interviewing criminals, paramilitaries and others with a history of violence.

With the recent rise in authoritarianism, the proliferation of everyday hate speech and closer links between officials and crime figures, this moment in time poses increased risks for an ever wider circle of reporters. But what should journalists bear in mind when talking to potentially dangerous people?

This session, hosted by the Dart Centre, will examine the basic safety approaches and then dig deeper into the conversational etiquette journalists should deploy when talking to sources with a track-record of intimidation and violence. The panelists, who have expertise in covering extremism, paramilitary violence and organised crime, will also give their take on how to avoid being manipulated and why better understanding perpetrators’ own past experiences of trauma is a key part of the safety jigsaw.

Organised in association with the Dart Center.