New York, December 7, 2023—The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) announced on Thursday its new vice chair of the board, Lydia Polgreen, opinion columnist for The New York Times, and the addition of four leading journalists to its board of directors: Roula Khalaf, editor of the Financial Times; Alan Murray, chief executive officer of Fortune Media; Maria Ressa, co-founder of Rappler, and Jacqueline Simmons, editorial lead of Europe, Middle East, and Africa at Bloomberg.
“CPJ is delighted to announce Lydia Polgreen as the incoming vice board chair and welcome four distinguished journalists to our board,” said CPJ Chair Jacob Weisberg. “They represent a tremendous range of knowledge and experience, and share a fundamental commitment to press freedom and safety around the world.”
“Lydia’s decades-long experience as an international correspondent and as a media executive leading a team of hundreds of journalists worldwide makes her uniquely qualified to understand the challenges journalists face to report the news globally during a period of unprecedented attacks on the press,” said Weisberg.
Weisberg added: “All four new board members are not only accomplished journalists but passionate about the role that a free press plays in the world. We look forward to working with them to keep journalists free and safe. As a correspondent in the Middle East, a foreign editor, and now editor of the Financial Times, Roula is one of the UK’s most distinguished journalists. Alan is one of America’s most admired business journalists, with a storied career at the Wall Street Journal and Fortune. Maria, the co-founder and CEO of Rappler in the Philippines and winner of the Nobel Peace Prize, is an inspiration to me and so many others in our field. Jacqueline is a leader at Bloomberg, where for more than two decades she has managed coverage from the Americas to Europe to North Africa.”
Lydia Polgreen is an opinion columnist for The New York Times. She previously served as managing director of Gimlet, a podcast studio at Spotify, and as editor-in-chief of HuffPost, leading a team of hundreds of journalists publishing 16 editions in nine languages across the globe.
Roula Khalaf is editor of the Financial Times. She was previously deputy editor from 2016 to 2020, overseeing a range of newsroom initiatives and award-winning editorial projects and leading a global network of over 100 foreign correspondents.
Alan Murray is CEO of Fortune Media, where he oversees all of the company’s operations. Prior to joining Fortune in 2015, Murray was president of the Pew Research Center and spent almost two decades at The Wall Street Journal.
Maria Ressa co-founded Rappler, the Philippines’ leading digital-only news site. As Rappler’s CEO, Ressa faced political harassment and numerous arrests during the administration of former President Rodrigo Duterte. In 2021, Ressa was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in recognition of her “efforts to safeguard freedom of expression, which is a precondition for democracy and lasting peace.”
Jacqueline Simmons has held various news reporting and managerial roles at Bloomberg in Europe and the U.S. since starting in 1996. Currently, as editorial lead, she oversees 30-plus bureaus in Europe, the Middle East, and Africa, as well as multi-platform content strategy and planning.
CPJ’s board of directors is composed of journalists, media executives, and leaders from related professions in the United States and around the world.
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About the Committee to Protect Journalists
The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) is an independent, nonprofit organization that promotes press freedom worldwide. CPJ defends the rights of journalists to report the news safely and without fear of reprisal.
More information about CPJ’s board of directors can be found here.