Journalists run for cover in Irpin, near the Ukrainian capital Kyiv after heavy shelling on the only escape route used by locals, while Russian troops advance towards the capital on March 6, 2022. (Carlos Barria/Reuters)
The Torch

“The Russian media is dead”

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Russian authorities passed new restrictive legislation and blocked local and international media outlets and social media platforms in order to censor information about the war. The move plunges Russia into “an information dark age,” said CPJ Executive Director Robert Mahoney. A local journalist told Mahoney, “The Russian media is dead.” Watch Brian Stelter’s interview with Mahoney on CNN’s Reliable Sources show here.

CPJ spoke to journalists covering the war about the situation in both Ukraine and Russia. Sevgil Musaieva, chief editor of independent Ukrainian news site Ukrayinska Pravda, spoke to CPJ about the risks she and her team in Ukraine face covering the invasion; Dozhd TV editor Tikhon Dzyadko shared why he fled Russia and shut his broadcaster down; and Russian journalist Irina Borogan spoke to CPJ from exile about Moscow’s censorship of the Ukraine invasion. At least 150 Russian journalists are believed to have left the country in the face of Moscow’s crackdown on independent Russian media.

Other press freedom news from the Russia-Ukraine war:

  • Russian forces in Ukraine detain and harass journalists; authorities clamp down on Russian media
  • Reporters shot, shelled, robbed while covering Russian invasion of Ukraine
  • CPJ urges countries to give refuge to Russian journalists after Georgia refuses entry to Dozhd TV’s Mikhail Fishman
  • CPJ calls on Ukraine to exempt journalists from compulsory military service
  • Poland charges Spanish freelance reporter with spying for Russia
  • Kyrgyzstan authorities raid broadcaster Next TV, detain director over Ukraine war posts
  • Russia’s silencing of Ekho Moskvy forces a sad end to a brave broadcaster

Find the latest updates on the Russia-Ukraine war here. To receive daily updates on press freedom and the war in your inbox, subscribe to CPJ’s Europe and Central Asia email alerts here.

Global press freedom updates

  • Peru legislators propose law criminalizing reporting based on leaked information
  • Mexican journalist Juan Carlos Muñiz shot dead in Zacatecas state
  • Turkish court sentences four former Taraf journalists to prison for exposing state secrets
  • Indian authorities arrest journalist Nilesh Sharma, re-arrest Fahad Shah
  • Sri Lankan police harass, question journalists Selvakumar Nilanthan, Punniyamoorthy Sasikaran
  • Pakistani journalist Asad Ali Toor targeted in criminal investigation of protest
  • CPJ calls on European Parliament to take global lead on ending spyware abuse
  • CPJ joins call for Bangladesh authorities to withdraw proposed internet regulations

Spotlight

The One Free Press Coalition, a project led by CPJ, the International Women’s Media Foundation, Forbes, and over two dozen media outlets, highlights journalists under threat around the world each month.

To mark International Women’s Day this week, CPJ published a new video highlighting the courageous work of female journalists. CPJ also highlighted individual cases, such as Ukrainian journalist Olga Rudenko, editor of the Kyiv Independent, who, alongside other brave Ukrainian female journalists, has been covering Russia’s invasion of the country.

The One Free Press list this month focused on cases of female journalists under threat globally. Read their stories here.

This year, the International Journalism Festival in Perugia, Italy, will offer free safety clinics for independent journalists on April 7 and 8. The clinics, which are organized by ACOS Alliance signatory organizations including CPJ, provide a unique opportunity for journalists to receive one-on-one safety advice from industry-leading experts. RSVP here.

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