About
INTRO
About Christopher Malo
I am Christopher Malo. I am a journalist and educator who builds practical safety systems for reporting.
I help teaching newsrooms, student media, and small local outlets to protect reporters in the field, online, and after the assignment ends.
That includes practical de-escalation skills, clear disengagement thresholds, and editor support routines for high-friction moments.
Before Journalist Safety Support, I built a comprehensive safety framework for Temple University Journalism and its capstone newsroom, PhiladelphiaNeighborhoods.com. That framework is now used across the department.
What I built at Temple
At Temple University, Klein College of Media and Communication, I designed the core safety system for student reporting.
In my role overseeing PhiladelphiaNeighborhoods.com, I led the development of
- A student safety guide for field reporting, digital risk, source boundaries, and mental health support
- Faculty and editor protocols for assignment planning, approvals, and incident response
- Common Sense Safety When Reporting in the Field training modules instructors can run each semester
- A clear escalation and contact chain so students and faculty know who to call and what to do
This was not a document that sat on a shelf. It became the standard for how reporting was taught and managed across neighborhoods in Philadelphia.
How it was adopted
I worked with Temple Legal Counsel so the language and process matched university obligations. I worked with Risk Management to align fieldwork guidance, emergency procedures, and incident reporting with institutional standards.
I revised the system based on feedback so it held up inside real policy and liability constraints.
After review, the Journalism Department adopted the guide and protocols as the standard for student field reporting across courses.
What I do now
I help other programs and local outlets build the same kind of safety system, sized to their capacity.
I work with
- Journalism schools and teaching newsrooms
- Student and campus media
- Local outlets and small teams
- Journalism support organizations
- Assignment editors and line editors without dedicated safety staff
My work covers four connected areas
- Field safety
- Digital and online safety
- Privacy and policy
- Mental health and resilience
What you can expect
- A safety audit and roadmap
- A plain language safety guide for students or reporters
- Editor or faculty protocols tied to your workflows
- Short training modules that fit into class time or onboarding
- Incident escalation and contact chains
- De-escalation scripts and drills that fit into onboarding, class time, and assignment planning
- Optional ongoing advisory as you implement and adjust
I can also help you select and integrate best practice resources from CPJ, RSF, IWMF, the James W Foley safety modules, and the Online Violence Response Hub so you get a usable safety system, not a list of links.
Why this matters
Student reporters, freelancers, and small newsroom staff face risk every day. Too often they are told to be careful and figure it out. I believe:
- No story, grade, or clip is worth more than a reporter’s safety
- Safety should not depend on which instructor or editor you get
- Small programs can build a workable duty of care system with the right support
Journalist Safety Support
Safety policies, training, and support for teaching newsrooms, assignment desks, and local outlets