US withdrawal from UNESCO is blow for press freedom
The U.S. government’s decision to withdraw from the United Nations Education, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), which has a mandate to promote “the free flow of ideas by word and image [and] to foster free, independent, and pluralistic media in print, broadcast and online,” will make the world less safe for journalists, a joint statement…
CPJ meeting with Gianforte is disappointingly brief
When Montana Congressman Greg Gianforte agreed to donate $50,000 to CPJ as part of his settlement with Guardian journalist Ben Jacobs, whom he body slammed during a congressional race in May, I reached out to set up a meeting to see if Gianforte was serious about his hope that “some good can come of [the]…
CPJ urges Congressman Greg Gianforte to champion the protection of journalists in the U.S. and around the world
The Committee to Protect Journalists writes to U.S. Congressman Greg Gianforte (R-MT) urging him to champion the protection of journalists and press freedom in the U.S. and around the world.
Ecuador’s Moreno opens new era in relations with media
Less than a month after taking office, Ecuadoran President Lenín Moreno engineered a ceasefire in the decade-long battle between the government and the nation’s independent news media by inviting a group of radio, TV, and newspaper editors to the Carondelet presidential palace in Quito.
Local photographer abducted from home in central Mexico
New York, October 5, 2017–Armed men dressed as police officers this morning abducted local photographer Edgar Daniel Esqueda Castro from his home in the central Mexican state of San Luis Potosí, according to media reports. The state’s general prosecutor said in a statement that the prosecutor’s office is investigating, and denied that the state police…
US Treasury Department decision risks future of two Panama newspapers
La Estrella de Panamá has kept Panama’s citizens informed since 1849. Now, as the country prepares for elections next year, the existence of the major newspaper, along with that of its sister title, El Siglo, may depend on the U.S. Treasury Department.
Venezuelan security forces detain Dutch freelancer
Venezuelan security forces on September 21, 2017, detained Dutch freelance journalist Bram Ebus for 18 hours while he was on a reporting trip in the country’s southern mining district in Bolívar state, according to Carlos Correa, the director of Caracas free speech organization Espacio Público.
Canada’s proposed reform of access to information is inadequate
The Committee to Protect Journalists, along with a coalition of more than 30 international and Canadian civil society organizations, sent a letter on September 28 to Canadian Member of Parliament Scott Brison, the president of the Treasury Board of Canada, calling for proposed access to information legislation to be replaced with a more robust reform.
From power cuts to powerful threats, Venezuela’s indigenous journalists face a series of challenges in their reporting
Three twentysomethings huddle over a desk in a small room in Tucupita, a low-slung city of about 90,000 people that spills across the Orinoco river delta region in northeastern Venezuela. Far from the tear gas and street conflicts roiling cities including Caracas and Valencia, these journalists are focused on reporting the latest story from the…