How Islamic State uses killings to try to spread fear among media
The militant group Islamic State may be trying to push Syria back into the dark ages, but it is fighting a very modern war. From slick propaganda videos to online surveillance and wide restrictions on Internet use, the Islamic State is trying to control media output and stamp down on dissent.
CPJ welcomes U.S. government’s new hostage policy
New York, June 24, 2015–The Committee to Protect Journalists welcomes the new U.S. policy announced today which states that families of American hostages seeking to negotiate with or pay ransom to the abductors will not be threatened with criminal prosecution. The White House will also create an office to work with the families of the…
Lack of media coverage compounds violence in Libya
Near the end of August 2014, Egypt and the United Arab Emirates launched airstrikes against what were characterized as Islamist-allied militias fighting near Tripoli, Libya. Or maybe they didn’t. The New York Times broke the story on August 25, 2014; Egypt denied it, the UAE didn’t comment, and U.S. officials made seemingly conflicting statements.
Freelancers at Risk: Photojournalism and the Call for Global Safety Standards
In light of the increasing brutality against journalists overseas, the Investigative Reporting Workshop, the National Press Club Journalism Institute and the Committee to Protect Journalists will present a frank conversation titled “Freelancers at Risk: Photojournalism and the Call for Global Safety Standards.” Panelists from journalism organizations in London, New York, Boston and Washington will discuss…
Syria anniversary shows need for more news outlets to step up
It started as a street protest against President Bashar al-Assad. Ordinary citizens took out their smart phones to record the demonstrations that quickly spread. Four years and 220,000 dead later, the Syrian civil war is still raging, although the numbers of ‘citizen’ and professional journalists on hand to document it is woefully small.
News from the Committee to Protect Journalists, February 2015
First step toward better safety for freelancers News agencies, press freedom organizations, and advocacy groups came together this month to address mounting concerns over the hiring and safety of freelance journalists. While dangers to freelancers have always been present, last year international journalists made up nearly a quarter of journalists killed, about double the proportion…
New standards aim to protect freelancers at risk
Press freedom groups, journalists, and news organizations codify global guidelines New York, February 12, 2015–A global network of freelance journalists, news media companies, advocacy organizations, and journalist safety groups today released a set of guidelines for freelance journalists working dangerous assignments and news organizations making such assignments. The guidelines represent unprecedented collaboration aimed at protecting…
The News We Could Lose: New Threats to Journalism and Press Freedom
In conflict and crisis, journalists put themselves in peril to bring news to the world. With journalists being killed and imprisoned in record numbers, the Newseum presents a special program examining these threats and the rise of new strategies by terrorists and governments to suppress information.
CPJ calls on Japan to explore all options for journalist held in Syria
New York, January 22, 2015–The Committee to Protect Journalists is deeply concerned by a video released on Tuesday by the Islamic State militant group in which the group said it would kill Japanese freelance journalist Kenji Goto and another Japanese citizen, Haruna Yukawa, if it did not receive a US$200 million ransom within three days.