Journalists are bracing for the outcome of the 2024 U.S. presidential election. A CPJ special report ahead of the November vote finds that the hostile media climate fostered during Donald Trump’s presidency has continued to fester, with members of the press confronting challenges that could shape the global media environment for decades.
“It is concerning that in an increasingly polarized environment, threats to the media have become routine in the U.S.,” said Katherine Jacobsen, CPJ’s U.S., Canada, and Caribbean program coordinator and author of the report. “The scapegoating of journalists not only has consequences for them personally, but also poses grave risks to the public’s right to be informed, a core element of any democracy.”
Threats to journalists include police assaults, violence, and online harassment, with work-related attacks in the first nine of months of 2024 increasing by more than 50% compared to 2023. Media outlets are also facing a draining onslaught of lawsuits that could endanger reporters’ First Amendment rights and ability to protect confidential sources.
Outside the U.S., journalists told CPJ they fear that a second Trump term could again embolden foreign leaders to restrict their own media.
The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) today announced the Climate Crisis Journalist Protection Initiative, which will ensure that journalists reporting on climate issues are able to do so freely and safely. The initiative will provide climate journalists with assistance, safety training, and other forms of support.
CPJ has raised nearly one-third of the funds needed for the $1 million initiative, which CPJ CEO Jodie Ginsberg unveiled Monday at the 2024 Clinton Global Initiative meeting. The annual meeting is a venue for civil society groups to publicly commit to action on global problems.
“Climate change is the issue of our time and one that requires journalists to be able to report freely and safely. This initiative will help ensure that,” Ginsberg said at the meeting.
We defend the right of journalists to report the news safely and without fear of reprisal.
Ryan Evans
Reuters, Ukraine
Hero Bahadin
Chatr Multimedia Production Company,Sterk TV, Iraq
Gulistan Tara
Chatr Multimedia Production Company, Iraq
Win Htut Oo
Democratic Voice of Burma, Myanmar
Htet Myat Thu
Freelance, Myanmar
Hamza Murtaja
Record Media, Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territory