Today marks the 30th anniversary of World Press Freedom Day.
May 3 acts as a reminder to governments of the need to respect their commitment to press freedom. It is also a day of reflection among media professionals about issues of press freedom and professional ethics. It is an opportunity to:
United Nations
- celebrate the fundamental principles of press freedom;
- assess the state of press freedom throughout the world;
- defend the media from attacks on their independence;
- and pay tribute to journalists who have lost their lives in the line of duty
The number of journalists killed in 2022 was 50% higher than during the previous year. UNESCO’s data record the deaths of 86 journalists during 2022, “amounting to one every four days, up from 55 killings in 2021.”
It used to be that journalists were most likely to face harm or be killed while working in a war zone or some scene of conflict.
No more.
Guilherme Canela De Souza Godoi, who heads the Freedom of Expression and Safety of Journalists section at the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) told CBS News during a briefing on the eve of the 30-year-old event.
Now, he said “90% of the journalists killed are journalists or local journalists covering local issues, human rights violation, corruption, illegal mining, environmental problems… and the perpetrators of this violence are not only state actors, they are organized crime, drug lords, environmental criminals.”
CBS News
The now defunct Newsuem housed an exhibit on fallen journalists and the threats they continue to face.
With the Newseum no longer in existence, efforts were made to create a new permanent memorial. This week, a new site on the National Mall was approved with opening scheduled for 2028.
Today, President Biden spoke about his concerns for two American journalists, Austin Tice and Evan Gershkovich:
“Evan Gershkovich and Austin Tice weigh heavy on my mind today,” he added. “No family should have to endure the pain I’ve seen their families bear. But in far too many places around the world, autocrats and their enablers continue to repress a free and independent media—through censorship, retribution, threats, lawsuits, harassment, disinformation, detention, and physical attacks.”
“Today—and every day—we must all stand with journalists around the world,” Biden said. “We must all speak out against those who wish to silence them.”
“And we must all continue to support a free press that is essential to our democracy and democracies everywhere,” he added.
President Joseph Biden
For more on this topic…
US Press Freedom Tracker (database of press freedom incidents)
Freedom of the Press Foundation
Why a Free Press Matters by Dan Rather and Elliot Kirschner
