Reflecting on what CPJ is grateful for in 2024

At the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), we are dedicated to defending journalists around the world from threats and persecution. Each day our global team encounters press freedom developments that inspire us to continue our work.

Here are our team’s reflections on what we are grateful for in 2024:

Journalists reporting from Gaza. Over a year into the Israel-Gaza war, the Palestinian press corps has been decimated under an unrelenting siege by Israeli forces, and those who remain continue to defy all odds and report the news despite censorship, persistent communications blackouts, the destruction of media outlets, and the killing of their own family members. Their tenacity and commitment exemplify the very best of journalism.

Justice in the killing of journalists. CPJ welcomed the 28-year sentence for the murder of Las Vegas Review-Journal reporter Jeff German. German, a veteran reporter who covered organized crime and local politics, was stabbed to death on September 2, 2022, outside his home in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Persistent advocacy with partners and bereaved families can bring results even years later. In the Philippines, following a joint investigation and years of advocacy by CPJ and partners, the case of Gerry Ortega, who was murdered in 2011 for reporting on corruption and the environment, is closer to justice than ever after the mastermind finally surrendered and is now on trial.

Journalists released from unjust custody. Floriane Irangabiye was released in Burundi after two years of imprisonment, following a presidential pardon and serving a 10-year prison sentence on charges of undermining Burundi's territorial integrity.

Moroccan authorities released three prominent journalists in July—Taoufik Bouachrine, Soulaiman Raissouni, and Omar Radi—as part of a mass pardon. Unfortunately, the journalists have experienced harassment after the fact.

Guatemalan journalist José Rubén Zamora was recently moved to house arrest after being sentenced in June 2023 to six years in prison on money laundering charges. However, on November 15, 2024, an appeals court ordered journalist Zamora back to prison. He remains on house arrest while his lawyers and the Attorney General’s Office have appealed the motion.?

The August release of Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich and Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) editor Alsu Kurmasheva, as part of a prisoner exchange, further highlighted the need for Russia to release other jailed journalists and cease harassing those in exile.

Capacity to scale up our support to journalists at risk with our partners. CPJ’s Emergencies Team is deeply grateful to the many partner organizations who have helped us provide support to journalists around the world. This includes supporting journalists with VPNs to continue reporting amid civil unrest in Venezuela and Senegal to co-organizing trauma workshops for journalists in Ukraine.

In 2024, we also delivered safety training to U.S.-based journalists in preparation for the 2024 U.S. election and worked with our partners to ensure journalists in Gaza have adequate food and shelter.

Legal decisions in favor of a free press. South Africa abolished criminal defamation following an over decade-old campaign to rid the continent of criminal defamation and sedition laws.

In Kenya, the High Court ruled that the 2022 killing of Pakistani journalist Arshad Sharif was unlawful, in breach of the constitution, and ordered the government to conclude investigations, hold perpetrators accountable, and to pay damages.

In Uganda, the High Court awarded two journalists damages each after finding that their rights were violated in a February 2021 incident.

Solidarity from our partners throughout the world. From working together on the documentation of press freedom violations to conducting a joint mission, our partners help us to protect journalists and advance press freedom worldwide. Our new partnerships with Condé Nast and Forbidden Stories have respectively furthered our capacity to reach new audiences and assist journalists worldwide.

Press freedom advocates. Our work is only possible because of the generosity of individuals like you. Your support can help us respond swiftly to crises, advocate for journalists in distress, and ensure that those who threaten press freedom are held to account.

If you haven’t yet had a chance to support our mission this year, we hope you’ll lend us a hand to defend press freedom.

Global press freedom updates

• CPJ calls for international probe after evidence indicates Israel targeted journalists in deadly Lebanon strike
• CPJ calls on Israel to lift government boycott of Haaretz newspaper
• Turkmen journalist Soltan Achilova forcibly hospitalized, prevented from traveling abroad
• Georgian police obstruct, detain journalists covering election protests
• Russian journalist Nika Novak sentenced to 4 years in prison
• Russia detains Crimean journalist Ediye Muslimova for 36 hours
• Haitian telecom authority suspends radio show, citing alleged ‘dissemination of propaganda’

Spotlight

We are grateful for the 2024 International Press Freedom Award honorees and their courage and perseverance as they continue reporting the news in the face of war, imprisonment, and efforts to criminalize their work.

Palestinian journalist Shrouq Al Aila, based in Gaza, assumed the role of director of Ain Media following the killing of her husband Roshdi Sarraj on October 22, 2023, by the Israeli military. “Everywhere you go, there is this smell of death, and it brings me back to the zero moment, to the moment I lost my dear husband Roshdi,” said Al Aila in a video played at the ceremony about reporting in Gaza amid the ongoing war.

Guatemalan journalist Quimy de León, who covers environmental and human rights issues facing marginalized communities in Guatemala, spoke of her longing “for a Guatemala where, sooner rather than later, all the political, economic, and social turmoil caused by an anti-democratic minority clinging to the vices of the past will allow us to celebrate our achievements without fear.”

Nigerien journalist Samira Sabou, one of the country's most prominent investigative journalists, spoke of the importance of hope following experiencing arrests, detention, and years of legal harassment in retaliation for her reporting. “We have hope that things will change in terms of freedom of the press, expression, and opinion on the digital space in Niger, where the profession of online journalism is still not recognized, but simply tolerated,” said Sabou.

U.S.-Russian journalist Alsu Kurmasheva, who has covered human rights issues affecting ethnic minority communities in Russia for Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) and was jailed by the state in 2023. “Standing here today with this award is something I never dreamed would happen. The only award I’ve ever dreamed of was the satisfaction of serving my audience to bring accurate and uncensored news to my ethnic minority—the Tatars—in our native language,” said Kurmasheva.

CPJ also posthumously honored Christophe Deloire, who served as director general of the press freedom organization Reporters Without Borders, with the Gwen Ifill Press Freedom Award. This award is given annually to an individual who has shown extraordinary and sustained achievement in the cause of press freedom.

Watch all of the awardee profile videos and tribute speeches.

What we are reading

• Revealed: Israel used US weapons in strike that killed journalists — William Christou, The Guardian
• Lebanon: US arms used in Israeli strike on journalists — Human Rights Watch
• Jimmy Lai stands up for freedom — The Wall Street Journal editorial board
• Latin American governments use state advertising to control the press, study finds — André Duchiade, LatAm Journalism Review
• U.S Senate must pass PRESS Act now — The Seattle Times editorial board