The assassination of Salem Media’s Charlie Kirk has cast a grim light on rising threats in political broadcasting, as a new RTDNA/Syracuse University survey confirms 2024 brought escalating dangers for radio journalists navigating a volatile election year.
The survey found 2.7% of radio news directors and general managers reported attacks on newsroom employees in 2024, up 0.5% from the previous year. Major market leaders reported the highest rate of incidents at 10.2%, with non-commercial newsrooms seeing more than five times as many attacks as commercial stations.
The Northeast remained the most active region for reported threats.
Nearly nine out of ten news directors and general managers (87.2%) said the level of danger was about the same as in 2023, while 10.3% said it was more dangerous and 2.4% said it was less dangerous. Commercial stations were more likely than non-commercial outlets to say conditions worsened, and the larger the market, the more likely leaders were to describe 2024 as more dangerous.
The survey included incidents such as verbal attacks outside polling places, threats and damage to station property, and even the shooting of a home shared by a newsroom employee. Other cases included the assault of a photographer at a campus rally related to the war in Gaza.
Social media harassment continues to loom large. Fourteen percent of respondents reported attacks on platforms ranging from misogynistic, antisemitic, and racist comments to explicit warnings such as “Watch your back.” Some stations reported organized efforts to pressure advertisers to withdraw from stations based on coverage, often connected to divisive political topics.
The full 2025 Safety Report is available now via RTDNA.
Odd study from the Newhouse School. The study fails to mention that outside of major markets there are almost no radio news people. And maybe one station staffed with one or two news people in an entire city. There are only 7 all news stations in America. And many stations are served from a corporate news hub…far far away. THAT is the study to do!
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