They span the globe from Afghanistan to Guatemala, Somalia to Georgia, an insidious response from those who feel threatened by the work done by our colleagues shining a light in dark places. With 49 deaths from January to June, the Killing The Messenger list is not as long as it was at this time last year when it stood at 60, but that isn’t a cause for celebration and doesn’t mean the situation is improving for journalists around the world. Far from it. One reason for this slight decline in media casualties is likely to be a decrease in the number of journalists reporting from bloody conflicts like Syria where in the past dozens have died – 28 were lost in 2012 for example. Certain countries have become no-go zones, particularly for international media outlets, leaving bloggers and citizen journalists to bravely monitor and publicise the abuses of groups like ISIS and the Taliban, often with fatal consequences. INSI has a new chair We’re delighted to announce that Sue Inglish will be joining INSI in September at chair. She’s replacing Richard Sambrook who’s stepping down after 10 years. Sue is a former head of political programmes at the BBC and a former deputy editor and foreign editor of Channel 4 News in the UK. We look forward to working with her. “It's a great privilege to lead INSI in its mission to protect journalists working in dangerous places. Courageous, honest journalism is needed more than ever in today's world and the risks faced by journalists are all too real.” "Je suis citizen journalist" INSI's Rodney Pinder says citizen journalists are on the death lists of the bloodiest regimes and terror organisations, all for taking on the job of telling the world what's happening in areas too dangerous for many professional journalists to enter. What newsrooms should do when a journalist is kidnapped The kidnapping of journalists isn’t a new thing. We saw it in Lebanon in the 80s and 90s with the kidnapping of Terry Anderson from the AP, David Hirst of the Guardian, Charles Glass of ABC. But a sharp rise in the numbers of journalists kidnapped, the trading of journalists between different groups and the manner in which they have been treated has made it a significant phenomenon in parts of the Middle East in recent years. INSI’s director Hannah Storm advises news managers on dealing with the kidnapping of a staff member. Also watch our interview with Hannah. Image by AFP