Page 48 Journalism Education Volume 6 number 2 Journalists not spies. The importance of the legal distinction for the protection of journalists during armed conlicts Mariateresa Garrido Villareal, University for Peace Abstract International Humanitarian Law (IHL) has long-claimed that recognition as a civilian is critical to a journalist’s safety during war, but the new US Manual blurs that line and says journalists must better understand the distinc- tion between civilians and combatants. Given the fact that journalists might not be familiar with these legal concepts, this article proposes the use of critical peda- gogy to engage them in the consideration of those issues (Freire, 2000). To start the conversation, and following a legal methodology, the article analyzes protections es- tablished under IHL, provides legal deinitions for com- batants, spies, and civilians and explains how each should be treated. Then to promote the inclusion on this topic in academic curriculums, it present teaching experiences and recommendations to engage media personnel in the study of this topic. Articles