CPJ marks World Press Freedom Day

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CPJ rang the opening bell at the Nasdaq MarketSite in Times Square in recognition of the 30th anniversary of World Press Freedom Day. The bell ringing ceremony included a speech by CPJ President Jodie Ginsberg, in which she called for the immediate release of Evan Gershkovich, the Wall Street Journal reporter wrongfully detained in Russia, and underscored the urgent need to stand with journalists whose reporting will not be silenced even if they are behind bars.

CPJ also participated in and hosted several events and activities this week. In case you missed them live, watch recordings and read through CPJ’s live coverage below:

• UNESCO 30th Anniversary of World Press Freedom Day Global Conference — Recording and CPJ’s live coverage
• World Press Freedom Index launch event — Recording and CPJ’s coverage
• CPJ’s event, “Criminal Minded: Countering Legal Attacks on the Free Press” —?Recording and CPJ’s live coverage
• UNESCO side event “Secret Surveillance: Countering spyware’s threats to freedom of the press and expression” — Recording
• AMA with CPJ’s Jodie Ginsberg and Wall Street Journal about Evan Gershkovich —?Read the Q&A on Reddit
• Celebrating World Press Freedom Day with the New York Times —?CPJ’s live coverage
• CPJ’s event, “Imprisoned in Hong Kong: Jimmy Lai and the fight for democracy” — CPJ’s live coverage
• “Periodismo investigative: Una conversación con Ricardo Calderón, periodista colombiano” — Recording

“Record numbers of journalists [are] in prison as the United Nations marks…its special day for media freedom,” wrote CPJ’s Robert Mahoney. Growing authoritarianism has shrunk the political optimism and blossoming of independent media during the 1990s, and journalism, which needs democracy and the rule of law to thrive, “is now losing both.”

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Global press freedom updates

• Radio journalist Dumesky Kersaint shot and killed in Haiti
• In the United States: man fires shot at Memphis television station; CPJ joins call urging authorities to drop charges against Asheville Blade reporters
• Producer Bohdan Bitik killed, reporter Corrado Zunino injured by sniper fire covering Ukraine war
• Belarusian journalist Raman Pratasevich sentenced to 8 years in prison
• Journalists detained, allegedly beaten in custody, and formally arrested ahead of Turkish elections
• RSF and CPJ call on UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres to act for the release of Evan Gershkovich in Russia
• CPJ, 14 organizations call on Kenyan authorities to expedite investigations into killing of journalist Arshad Sharif
• CPJ, 47 rights organizations call on Ethiopia to end internet shutdowns
• CPJ joins call for Bangladesh authorities to end crackdown against journalists and online critics
• CPJ joins call for Indian government to withdraw latest amendment to Information Technology Rules
• Pakistani journalist Gohar Wazir abducted, allegedly electrocuted
• Iranian journalist Hasan Abbasi detained in undisclosed location

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Spotlight

On Tuesday, CPJ will release “Deadly Pattern,” a report on the killings of journalists by the Israeli military over the past 22 years. Ahead of the first anniversary of Al-Jazeera Arabic correspondent Shireen Abu Akleh’s killing while reporting on an Israeli military raid in the West Bank, CPJ revisited 20 cases of journalists killed by the Israel Defense Forces and found a pattern of Israeli response that appears designed to evade responsibility.

CPJ’s report documents the scope of Israeli military killings of journalists and how the country’s seeming refusal to pursue justice for slain reporters undermines the freedom of the press. The report includes CPJ’s recommendations to protect journalists, end impunity in the cases of killed journalists, and prevent future killings.

CPJ will host a press conference about the report in Tel Aviv on May 9, at 10 a.m. IDT / 3 a.m. EDT.

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What we are reading

• Here’s why we need a free press to be a free people — Paul Tash, Tampa Bay Times
• The limits of Joe Biden’s calls for press freedom — Joel Simon, The New Yorker
• Despite abuse and sexism, women journalists in Somalia are fighting back to do their job — Maurice Oniang'o, Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism

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A closer look | CPJ’s most-read features in April

• ‘I am dying every day:’ Wife of killed Pakistani journalist Arshad Sharif calls for justice —?CPJ Asia Program Staff
• ‘Living in fear’: Exiled Afghan journalists face arrest, hunger in Pakistan —?CPJ Asia Program Coordinator Beh Lih Yi and Asia researcher Waliullah Rahmani
• Covering the West Bank: Security insights and tips for journalists —?HP Risk Management for CPJ

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So far in 2023…

At least six journalists have been killed in relation to their work. Explore our database of attacks on the press and apply filters to examine trends.

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