The figure was announced at World Service Presents, a three-day series of events highlighting the courageous work of journalists around the world, and the state of media freedom globally

WEBWIRE – Thursday, May 2, 2024

Ahead of World Press Freedom Day on Friday 3 May, the BBC is announcing for the first time that over 300 World Service journalists – around 15% – are working in exile.

Recent crackdowns on press freedom in Russia, Afghanistan and Ethiopia have pushed more BBC teams to relocate for their own safety, many leaving family and friends behind.

This new figure was announced at World Service Presents, a three-day series of events highlighting the courageous work of journalists around the world, and the state of media freedom globally.

Journalists are facing increasing pressure, including state interference, harassment, and criminal charges, which are consistently used to attempt to undermine their work. Staff at BBC News Persian have been working in exile for over a decade and continue to face harassment and persecution. Last month, the BBC World Service filed an urgent appeal to the UN over abuse of national security and counter-terrorism laws against BBC News Persian journalists.

Following the invasion of Ukraine, BBC News Russian journalists and their families were moved out of Moscow to the Latvian capital of Riga. Now, 39 BBC staff remain in Riga, continuing the work of reporting independent and impartial news to audiences around the world in Russian. They also play an active part in countering disinformation about the war.

On 12 April, BBC Russian correspondent Ilya Barabanov was labelled as a foreign agent by the Russian justice ministry. Barabanov has written extensively about Russias war in Ukraine. The foreign agent label has been used by the government to marginalise journalists and critics of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Ilya and the BBC reject the decision, which they are disputing in court.

Ilya Barabanov, says: The most difficult part about exile is the lack of direct contact with people. We lost the opportunity to talk to our contributors. The inability to travel around Russia, report from the field, talk to real people thats the hardest part about being a journalist in exile.

In early April, the Russian authorities designated me a foreign agent. This affected my status and ability to talk to people. I now must warn my contributors about this new, unpleasant status.

Liliane Landor, Director, BBC World Service says: Press freedom is under increasingly intense pressure at a time when millions, voting in elections around the world, need to be well-informed of the choices ahead of them. The BBCs news services are blocked or difficult to access in many countries including China, Russia and Afghanistan.

Our journalists face ongoing harassment and persecution from countries such as Iran and Russia to name but two. World Press Freedom Day is a stark reminder of the gravity of the situation underscoring the urgent need for journalists everywhere to be able to do their job unhindered.

About BBC World Service Presents

BBC World Service Presents showcases the breadth of journalism provided by the BBC World Service to 318m people weekly around the globe across 42 language services including English. For three days from Monday 29 April, screenings, live programme recordings, speeches and panel discussions will examine the key issues facing journalism and highlight the BBCs unique position as the worlds most trusted international news broadcaster.

Explorer and palaeoanthropologist, Ella Al-Shamahi, and investigative journalist and broadcaster, Datshiane Navanayagam, front the new line up

WEBWIRE – Tuesday, April 2, 2024

The Conversation has grown a trusted reputation for bringing listeners the voices of inspiring women doing extraordinary things in different parts of the world. The series continues with this fantastic presenting duo, we are so pleased to have Ella and Datshiane on board.

Gwenan Roberts, BBC World Service Commissioning Editor

Ella Al-Shamahi and Datshiane Navanayagam are the new hosts of The Conversation, the BBC World Service English programme dedicated to highlighting and discussing incredible women and their experiences.

The Conversation hears from women in different counties across the globe as they share first-hand their personal experiences and some of their most intimate insights, from what its like to be a woman in the music industry, to promoting womens rights through sport, or working with local communities to fight climate change.

In the upcoming series of The Conversation, Ella meets two women taking part in the legendary Dakar race, a gruelling off-road endurance rally, which since its inception in 1978 only one woman has won. Meanwhile, Datshiane speaks to two women from East Timor and Finland who are fighting to eradicate homelessness.

Ella Al-Shamahi is an explorer, palaeoanthropologist, evolutionary biologist and stand-up comic who has fronted science and archaeology programmes on the BBC and beyond, including BBC Twos Neanderthals: Meet Your Ancestors, Horizon: Body Clock – What Makes Your Body Tick, and Waterhole: Africas Animal Oasis. Ella has also been announced to present Human, a 5-part BBC Studios and PBS series airing in 2025, which tells the story of how modern humans came into being. Her debut book The Handshake: A Gripping History is a Times and Sunday Times Book of the Year and covers the history and anthropology of the handshake.

Datshiane Navanayagam is an award-winning investigative journalist and broadcaster, who reports for BBC Ones Countryfile and has fronted investigations for BBC Panorama, ITVs Tonight, and Channel 4s Dispatches and Unreported World. Datshiane is also no stranger to radio broadcasting, regularly reporting for Radio 4s File on 4, and guest-presenting Weekend Breakfast on BBC Radio 5 Live, and BBC Radio 4s The Media Show. She has also presented Outlook on the BBC World Service, as well as CrowdScience, a programme that takes listener questions about life, Earth and the universe to scholars at the forefront of the research.

Datshiane Navanayagam, says: Its a delight and a privilege to present The Conversation. Every woman has a story to tell and The Conversation is a real gem on the World Service, celebrating the experiences, achievements and wisdom of women. Where else do you have the space for women, from around the world, to talk intimately and candidly to one another about the hurdles and barriers that many of us face in all their nuances?

While the world is still a hostile and volatile place for many women and girls, The Conversation champions womens stories, proving that no woman has an ordinary life and that all of us have something to learn from each other.

Ella Al-Shamahi, says: Every week on this show the listeners get to meet two exceptional women, often strangers, but who share an expertise from malaria specialists, to race car drivers and everything in between and we get to listen in on them having a conversation.

To be asked to host and facilitate these conversations is incredible and to be around so many amazing women – what a dream. For over 20 years Ive been fascinated with this interview style and now, to be doing The Conversation with the one and only BBC World Service – pinch me.

Gwenan Roberts, BBC World Service Commissioning Editor, says: “The Conversation has grown a trusted reputation for bringing listeners the voices of inspiring women doing extraordinary things in different parts of the world. The series continues with this fantastic presenting duo, we are so pleased to have Ella and Datshiane on board.

The Conversation airs every Monday and is available on BBC World Service radio, online, and on BBC Sounds or wherever you get your BBC podcasts.