CPJ is honored to present its 2025 International Press Freedom Award to Ecuadorian journalists Elvira del Pilar Nole and Juan Carlos Tito.
For more than two decades, Ecuadorian journalists Elvira del Pilar Nole and Juan Carlos Tito operated Radio Selva from the small highland town of Baeza — its only radio station, providing vital, independent community news. But their investigations into drug gangs led to death threats, and forced the family to flee, first to Colombia and then to Canada, from where they continue to broadcast.
The couple’s experience highlights the immense challenges facing journalists in Ecuador, where authorities and criminal groups are increasingly targeting reporters. They have joined a growing exodus of journalists — nearly 20 in the past two years — who have left the increasingly violent country for their safety. The police, who have been accused of collaborating with the gangs, offered Nole and Tito little protection from the death threats.
It is too dangerous to return home. Yet instead of abandoning journalism, the couple continue to work the phones, pump their sources, and provide community news to Baeza — thousands of miles away — via two daily news programs. Despite everything that has happened, Nole and Tito maintain a strong connection to their community and continue to provide it with news.