Ethical Journalism Network appoints former Channel 4 News producer and freelance foreign correspondent as new chief executive

The Ethical Journalism Network has appointed International News Safety Institute director Hannah Storm as its new chief executive and director.

Storm will replace interim director Chris Elliott at the helm of the network of reporters, editors and publishers that aims to promote “high ethical standards” in journalism and strengthen the industry around the world.

Storm was a Channel 4 News producer from 2008 to 2010 and then joined the International News Safety Institute, becoming director two years later.

She has also worked as a Reuters graduate trainee and a freelance foreign correspondent for the BBC, the Times, the Financial Times and others.

Storm has co-authored publications on the safety of journalists with a particular interest in gender, including “Violence and Harassment Against Women in the News Media” and “No Woman’s Land – On the Frontlines with Female Journalists”.

She is also a media consultant specialising in gender and has advised organisations such as the United Nations on issues including gender-sensitive reporting, sexual harassment and newsroom gender balance.

Storm said: “I’ve long admired the great efforts of the Ethical Journalism Network and, having worked for many years in the field of journalism safety, I appreciate the fact that media safety and ethics often go hand in hand.

“Around the world, many of our colleagues are working in increasingly difficult environments, faced with the pressures of propaganda, undermined by officialdom and embattled by a rising tide of hate speech and misinformation.

“Journalism is facing a crisis of trust and a fight for truth and I believe there has never been a more important time to promote sound ethics in journalism.

“I feel immensely honoured to be joining the Ethical Journalism Network and to helping drive forward and expand its extremely important mission.”

Dorothy Byrne, EJN chair and head of Channel 4 News and Current Affairs, said: “Hannah will take the Ethical Journalism Network to the next stage of our development enabling us to play an even bigger role in supporting journalists around the world.”

Picture: EJN