To our knowledge, there have been no cases of online harassment involving journalists. Furthermore, the editors and journalists we interviewed, as well as the president of the Portuguese Journalists’ Union confirmed they do not have notice of such situations. Nothing is previewed in the journalists’ labour contracts on this particular issue, but it is not difficult to forecast that both the media company and the union would guarantee legal help and protection if necessary.
The only situations of some kind of harassment against journalists have occurred in the coverage of football games or activities. In some cases, directors of a certain club try to prevent a journalist from accessing its facilities, with the argument that they are biased and unfriendly. In other cases, similar attitudes are taken by organised groups of fans, threatening the free presence of journalists in the area and trying to condition their professional work. When this eventually happened, both the outlet they work for and the Journalists’ Union gave public and juridical support, and no serious consequences came from the incidents.
