Safety and Awareness
Reporting Civil Unrest: Risk and Safety Basics
This session, led by Christopher Post and Bryan Woolston, equips journalists to cover protests and civil unrest with a strong emphasis on personal safety and effective news gathering in volatile environments. Participants will learn to recognize common indicators of escalation, understand law-enforcement crowd-control tactics, and navigate the complex dynamics among protesters, counter-protesters, and the press. The course introduces a practical risk-assessment framework, core situational awareness principles, and an overview of personal protective equipment—what it protects against, its limitations, and how to build an assignment-appropriate safety kit. Throughout, the focus remains on minimizing risk while preserving the ability to report responsibly and independently.
Speakers
Chris Post
International Media Support Group
Chris Post is an Emmy Award-winning photojournalist, media safety educator, and security advocate with over two decades of experience in the emergency services sector. His distinguished career spans roles such as Captain of the fire department at
McMurdo Station in Antarctica, regional EMT, and disaster emergency responder with FEMA.
In 2009, Chris transitioned to journalism, rekindling his passion for photography, which he first developed through analog techniques in the 1980s. His dedication to journalist safety earned him the National Press Photographers Association’s second-highest honor in 2020, recognizing his efforts to advance safety and security initiatives within the industry. Chris was awarded a 2021 Emmy Award for his work on the US Elections. Chris’s recent contributions include developing and delivering a Domestic Hostile Environment first aid course tailored for journalists, guest lecturing at universities on media safety, chairing a national committee on press safety and security, and participating in panel discussions on domestic news-gathering challenges in the United States. In recent years, Chris has been actively conducting workshops across the Middle East, sharing his expertise in safety, security, and media practices.
As a photojournalist, Chris has covered high-profile events such as U.S. presidential inaugurations, political conventions, the Papal visit of 2010, and major disasters, including earthquakes in Puerto Rico, and the politically charged protests of 2020.
Chris’s unique blend of expertise in public safety and journalism positions him as a trusted authority in assessing, planning, and managing risks for news-gathering assignments. Whether conducting pre-event safety training or embedding with teams for
high-risk coverage, he enhances the safety, security, and operational efficiency of news organizations. His expertise also extends to serving as a safety adviser for major motion picture and television network productions.
@ChrisMPost
Bryan Woolston
Crisis Ready Media
Bryan Woolston is an award-winning photojournalist and the Executive Director of Crisis Ready Media, A Nonprofit Center For Journalist Safety. A veteran with 20 years of U.S. Army experience, he has spent the past decade working as a photojournalist, producing coverage for The Associated Press, Reuters, and Getty Images. Woolston brings a holistic perspective to safety education, helping journalists strengthen physical security practices, improve digital resilience, and operate with a safety-first mindset on hazardous assignments.