Avi Asher-Schapiro/CPJ North America Research Associate and Lucy Westcott/CPJ James W. Foley Fellow

News crews set up inside in the Air Force One Pavilion in 2016 to report of the passing of former First Lady Nancy Reagan. Female journalists working for local broadcasters across the U.S. have spoken of the threats and unwanted attention they have to deal with. (Getty Images/AFP/David McNew)

For local female journalists in US, rape threats, stalkers, harassment can come with the beat

January 17, 2019 4:33 PM EST

In 2016, the FBI told a local TV journalist that she wasn’t safe sleeping in her own home. Her TV station, which covers a major American city, hired an off-duty police officer to guard the parking lot when she arrived at work. Even for a journalist covering organized crime, such measures may seem extreme–but her…