STORYSHELLING
2025 was one of the deadliest years for war journalists. Nevertheless, they continue to travel to crisis and conflict zones to document the suffering caused by war. Who are these journalists? Why do they put their lives at risk?
Content warning: This project contains explicit descriptions and images of war, including graphic injury and death. Viewer discretion advised.
Journalists got killed in 2025.
Still, many journalists continue to go to dangerous war zones every year
WHO ARE THESE JOURNALISTS?
Thomas Seifert
Thomas Seifert is an Austrian-based, independent journalist.
He has traveled to crisis areas such as Afghanistan, Syria, Lebanon and Iraq.
Since 2014, he has been visiting Ukraine to report on the Russian-Ukrainian war.
Armin Arbeiter
© Armin Arbeiter
© Armin Arbeiter
Armin Arbeiter is from Tyrol, Austria. He was a reserve officer in the Austrian Armed Forces and served in missions in the Golan Heights and Mali.
He currently works as an editor for foreign and security policy at the daily newspaper KURIER.
Till Mayer
© Till Mayer
Till Mayer is a german war photographer and journalist and has received numerous awards for his work in warzones.
The war in Ukraine has been the focus of his work for many years, and since 2022, he has been travelling to war zones on a monthly basis.
Sulaiman Tadmory
© Sulaiman Tadmory
Sulaiman Tadmory is from Syria and studied film in Lebanon with the goal of making feature films.
When the syrian revolution began in 2011, he documented protests and found himself in the middle of the war, where he worked as a journalist until 2015 before fleeing to Germany.
Today he is an investigative journalist and award-winning documentary filmmaker.
Stas Kozliuk
© Stas Kozliuk
© Stas Kozliuk
© Stas Kozliuk
© Stas Kozliuk
© Stas Kozliuk
Stas Kozliuk is a Ukrainian photojournalist and reporter who has worked as a fixer for many international media outlets.
For his work during the Russian-Ukrainian war, he received the Pulitzer Price together with the team of The New York Times.
I wanted to become a radio host, sit on a morning show and tell jokes. But somehow, life turned out differently.
The war in Ukraine has been unfolding since 2022, and its consequences have been enormous - not only for the civilians living through it, but also for the journalists reporting from inside it.
The numbers from Ukraine are devastating, but they don’t exist in isolation.
Around the world, war zones remain active, and the list of dangerous places for journalists keeps growing.
From the Middle East to Africa to parts of Asia and Latin America, conflict continues to reshape lives and borders. At the same time, press freedom is shrinking in many parts of the world, and violence against journalists is rising.
According to the World Press Freedom Index, conditions for journalists around the world are getting harder. In 2025, more than half of the 180 countries evaluated were rated as having press freedom conditions that are “difficult” or “very serious”, meaning that reporting can be dangerous or nearly impossible.
And still, people keep choosing this work.
So why continue to go back?
© Armin Arbeiter
© Armin Arbeiter
Stress Among War Journalists
© Till Mayer
According to psychiatrist Dr. Anthony Feinstein, journalists who keep returning to war zones often share the similar inner wiring. They are curious, pulled toward what is new, urgent, and unfolding in real time.
And they have an ability to keep functioning in dangerous situations without losing their head. Also when fear and immediate threat is present.
© Stas Kozliuk
But that ability comes at a cost. Feinstein points out that journalists exposed to war over long periods carry a lifetime risk of PTSD close to that of frontline soldiers. And while PTSD is more common among journalists than in the general population, he argues it is not always the most common psychological consequence. More often, the damage shows up as depression and anxiety.
© Sulaiman Tadmory
A journalists job is not to kill people but to tell the story. They arrive in a warzone, hoping they will be viewed as neutral.
Dr.Anthony Feinstein
Preconceived podcast (Ep. 303, 2026)
But what i have seen over the years is that that has changed now. Journalists started to become the target.
Dr. Anthony Feinstein
Preconceived podcast (Ep. 303, 2026)
Fritz Hausjell
Fritz Hausjell is a communication scientist and media historian from Austria and is president of Reporters Without Borders in Austria.
Hausjell emphasizes that time spent in conflict zones is very stressful for war journalists. They travel a lot and are under pressure to produce stories. In addition to the physical strain, there is also the psychological strain.
The psychological strain of war reporting is obvious, and it has long been reflected in higher alcohol and drug use among war correspondents.
Fritz Hausjell
If media outlets are clearly identified as press, the military must do everything possible to ensure that nothing happens to them. However, we have the impression that this identification is almost like a target - a serious accusation, and I would not make it so generally, but too many people have been killed or seriously injured there.
Fritz Hausjell,
referring to the war in Gaza.
But where there is war, there is a need for journalists
We reached out to women working as war journalists because their perspective is essential to this topic, but we couldn't schedule interviews due to limited time.
Their voices are an important part of this story, especially as the number of male and female war journalists today is almost equal.
About us
By: Zoriana Katola
Zoriana Katola - Ukraine
Renja Natalia Prechtl - Austria
Solomiia Stanovych - Ukraine
Signe Nielsen - Denmark
Christoph Bosnjak - Austria
All images used with permission from Till Mayer, Armin Arbeiter, Solaiman Tadmory and Stas Kozluik.
Sources:
https://rsf.org/en/175-journalists-victims-abuse-ukraine
https://www.rog.at/rsf-pressefreiheit-index-2025-wirtschaftliche-unsicherheit/
https://rsf.org/en/2025-deadly-year-journalists-where-hate-and-impunity-lead