A regional publisher has launched a new initiative aimed at tackling the abuse and harassment of its journalists.

Archant has announced a set of new set of safety guidelines that have been devised by working group of its editorial staff.

The guidelines look at both online and ‘real life’ situations and also reflect the fact that journalists are spending more time working remotely as a result of the coronavirus pandemic.

They include a new reporting structure, a specific database to record incidents and new responsibilities for editors and line managers so that the safety of our journalists is embedded in working practices, while new staff training modules will also form part of the initiative.

Archant chief content officer Jeremy Clifford, pictured, said: “This is an issue I am passionate about.

“The safety of our staff is paramount and I believe these new guidelines and policies demonstrate Archant’s commitment to tackling a problem which – even at a low level – has a detrimental impact on the health and wellbeing of victims”.

“It also provides a framework and process to enable us to apply pressure to legislators and the police to make sure perpetrators are dealt with robustly and that the spotlight is focused on social media companies as our industry tries to tackle abuse at source.”

The initiative comes after of the Government launched the UK’s first national action plan to protect journalists in March.

Managing editor Tim Williams, who led the working party that drew up the guidelines, said: “The group was drawn from across our titles and was made up of frontline journalists doing a range of different jobs.

“It was determined to come up with practical ideas that would support staff and provide training.

“We know this is an issue Archant takes extremely seriously and we hope these guidelines will instill confidence in our newsrooms that we won’t tolerate abuse of our journalists and that, when there are issues, they will be dealt with firmly and promptly.”