Paul Steiger

New York, July 18, 2011--Five distinguished leaders of new and traditional media worldwide have joined the board of directors of the Committee to Protect Journalists. The new members--John Carroll, Arianna Huffington, Jonathan Klein, Mhamed Krichen, and Jacob Weisberg--join a roster of remarkable journalists and news executives playing a vital role in CPJ's fight for press freedom.

After months of planning and preparation, our CPJ team had assembled in Islamabad with an ambitious plan. On May 3, we had a meeting scheduled with President Asif Ali Zardari to discuss the country's failure to investigate the killings of journalists. We also had positive indications that our delegation would be able to meet with military officials and possibly even representatives from the Inter Services Intelligence, or ISI, the country's all-powerful spy agency.

Yesterday was a good one for press freedom. “The United States joins the international community in celebrating World Press Freedom Day,” said Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in a statement. “Wherever independent media are under threat, accountable governance and human freedom are undermined.” She went on to defend harassed or jailed bloggers in nations from Cuba to Burma. Clinton further noted that 71 journalists, citing CPJ figures, were killed last year, many murdered with impunity.