Tomorrow is World Press Freedom Day
Tomorrow, Wednesday, May 3, will mark the 30th anniversary of World Press Freedom Day, a celebration of free expression and our collective right to be informed. A generous donor has pledged to match any gift until we reach our goal of $50,000.
This year’s UNESCO-led press freedom web conference for World Press Freedom Day will be held at the United Nations Headquarters in New York City. To explore a series of events related to the conference, you can click here.
Among those events, CPJ is hosting “Criminal Minded: Countering Legal Attacks on the Free Press.” Check out CPJ’s social media accounts to follow other events you may find interesting, and be sure to celebrate with us for the 30th anniversary!
ICYMI: CPJ panel to #FreeEvanGershkovich
CPJ President Jodie Ginsberg recently participated in a panel at the International Journalism Festival in Perugia, Italy, alongside Wall Street Journal Editor-in-Chief Emma Tucker and other colleagues of Evan’s at the Journal.
The panel examined the broader context and implications of Gershkovich’s detainment, as well as the growing trend of nations such as Russia and Iran using high-profile American detainees for diplomatic leverage.
To watch or share the panel discussion, you can visit this link. CPJ participated in a number of other panels, as well including “Lawfare: Weaponisation of the law against journalists, and fighting back” and “Declining trust in media: A journalist safety issue.”
Must-reads
CPJ released a special report, “Fragile Progress: The struggle for press freedom in the European Union.” The report finds that despite progress in protecting press freedom, combating threats to journalists in Europe requires sustained action from EU policymakers. The “media have been gagged, spied upon, harassed online, overwhelmed with disinformation, subjected to vexatious lawsuits, charged with revealing state secrets, beaten while covering street protests, banned from public meetings, or publicly criticized by politicians.”
CPJ spoke with Javeria Siddique, the wife of prominent Pakistani journalist Arshad Sharif, who authorities said was shot by police in Kenya on October 23, 2022. Siddique, a freelance journalist who has endured online smear campaigns, is fighting for justice in Sharif’s case and calling on the international community to demand answers in what she says is a “targeted killing.” “He is gone, but I am dying every day because of the delay in justice, the hate campaigns, the harassment.”
CPJ spoke with six Afghan journalists in exile in Pakistan who fled following the Taliban takeover of the country in 2021. The government in Pakistan recently announced new restrictions that limit movement and raise worries for journalists without valid documents that they could be forced to return to Afghanistan. “People are worried about being identified and arrested if they go out to try to renew their visas. The risk of deportation is putting everyone under pressure,” Samiullah Jahesh told CPJ.
CPJ in the news
“The covert mission to solve a Mexican journalist’s murder,” The New Yorker
“Peru jails ex-intelligence chief over 1988 journalist murder,” VOA
“More and more journalists are dying for democracy,” Chatham House
“It’s dangerous being a female journalist in Somalia. But, one year on, we are still shining our light,” The Guardian
“Oklahoma governor calls for resignations as officials discuss killing journalists,” VOA
“NPR quits Twitter after being falsely labeled as ‘state-affiliated media,’” NPR
“A record number of journalists were detained worldwide prior to Evan Gershkovich’s arrest,” The Wall Street Journal
“U.S. allies in Middle East target dissidents on American soil, report says,” The Washington Post
“More than 30 news organizations demand release of Wall Street Journal reporter,” CNN