Practicing journalism is dangerous. Until the wars in Ukraine and Gaza broke out, Mexico continued to rank as the deadliest locale for reporters, with too many other countries close behind, including Afghanistan, Syria, India, and the Philippines. More journalists have been killed in Gaza since October 2023 than during the entirety of World War II and the numbers of journalists killed, injured, or exiled from both Russia and Ukraine since the Russian invasion in 2021 continues to grow.
The University of Oregon staged the “Extra! Extra! Refugee Journalists become the Story—Migrating to Stay Alive” conference in April 2024 with expert guest speakers: refugee journalists, academic experts, and others who specialize in exiled journalist issues and threats to journalists and free expression.
The symposium brought Mexican refugee journalists in exile to the University of Oregon campus for keynote speeches followed by workshops with other experts in the fields of freedom of expression and threats to journalists. These workshops led to student field work during the conference dates, work regarding how the crises examined during the conference impact tools used by immigrants to obtain news from their countries of origin.
The material generated during the symposium plus ancillary reportage fuels the critical stories and conclusions told in the book Don’t Shoot the Journalists.

Journalist Peter Laufer is the James Wallace Chair Professor of Journalism at the University of Oregon.

Foreword by Jason Rezaian; Preface by Juan-Carlos Molleda;  Introduction by Peter Laufer; 1 Honor the Messenger by Kim Stafford; 2 Murders Don’t Tell the Entire Story by Jan-Albert Hootsen; 3 The Unstoppable Massacre of Journalists in Mexico by Juan de Dios García Davish with Maria de Jesus Peters Pino; 4 Brave and Bold—The Press of Mexico by Katherine Corcoran; 5 Censorship that doesn’t stain hands—Uncovering stealth threats to independent journalism in Latin America by Javier Borelli; 6 Please Don’t Kill, Detain, or Bankrupt the Messenger—Tales from the Alternative Press in Latin America by Christopher Chávez; 7 The Monopoly of Violence and Oligopoly of Terror by Markos Kounalakis; 8 I used to believe that my heavy vest and helmet that injured my back and neck would be my ultimate protection against any direct attack! by Youmna El Sayed; 9 Keep the Memory of Yama Alive, Dear Ones by Baktash Siawash; 10 No Man’s Land—Put Down Roots in the Void? by Astrid Vehstedt; 11 Visitors at the Gate by Farai Gonzo; 12 The Sound of Exile and Resistance— A Selective Exiles Playlist by Tim DuRoche; 13 Flight and Fight—Supporting Exiled Media to Survive and Sustain by Isabelle Schläpfer and Rosie Parklyn; 14 No Fear and Reporting in Las Vegas by Paul Szydelko; 15 In (Racial) Exile— Editor Beatrice Morrow Cannady and the Portland, Oregon, Advocate by Kimberley Mangun; 16 American Witness by Jeff Kamen; 17 Who’s Reading What in Exile? by Charlie Deitz; 18 Reporting from Chilestine by Zach Jones Neuray; 19 The Classical Origins and Modern Expressions of “Don’t Shoot the Messenger” by David Frank;  Postscript and Acknowledgements: Education Looking Forward Toward Peace by Eleanor Vandegrift; Epilogue by Peter Laufer;  About the Authors (in order of appearance); Index