Zusammenfassung
Freedom of speech is considered as one of the basic human rights. But it can’t be practiced in different regions of the globe. There are cultural, religious, political and traditional barriers and sometimes violent factors too. When it comes to the Global South, many of the regions are considered unsafe for journalists and media professionals. In such regions, most of the media platforms, journalists and other media professionals opt for self-censorship on sensitive issues. Some dare to discuss, question, report, follow fearlessly and also face consequences. That gives rise to self restrictions among media researchers to refrain from investigating sensitive issues, events and subjects. This study aims to explore what makes media researchers avoid a particular topic despite having an interest in it and a need to enquire because of internet policies by the government. What kind of risk factors are generally expected in the Global South for media research? How do self restrictions among media researchers affect research ethics? If there are any alternative ways to overcome the risk factors for digital media enquiries? This research is focused on the Global South and specifically Pakistan as it’s considered one of the unsafe countries for journalists and media people. For that, existing practices and literature is reviewed. The paper presents a qualitative study. For data collection, 25 media researchers were interviewed as per their availability and willingness. They were analyzed through thematic analysis. The findings help to not only identify the nature of self-restrictions because of regional legal policies but background reasons, effect and possible solutions too. It fills the pertinent gap in research related to self-restriction in the Global South. Unless self restrictions among media researchers are addressed, research ethics are arguable in the Global South. As in such circumstances, the basic right to “freedom of expression” of media practitioners as well as media researchers and their safety is under threat.https://doi.org/10.26350/001200_000186
