Defending press freedom
When CPJ was founded in 1981, it was to defend the rights of journalists all over the world. Today, we are recognized as a leader in the global fight to protect press freedom.
CPJ advocacy helped free at least 130 imprisoned journalists in 2022 and helped secure convictions in the murders of 12 journalists. We also provided assistance to more than 520 journalists in at least 49 countries. Amid the war in Ukraine, CPJ distributed hundreds of individual first aid kits to Ukrainian journalists—lifesaving supplies to those covering the war. We disseminated at least a dozen crucial safety resources for journalists and newsrooms, and worked with partner organizations to prepare legal guides to help journalists navigate complex laws within their countries. In the photo above, journalists walk through a destroyed warehouse for storing food, after an attack from Russia in Brovary, on the outskirts of Kyiv, Ukraine, Tuesday, March 29, 2022. (AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd)
CPJ Insider: May 2023 edition
Tomorrow is World Press Freedom Day Tomorrow, Wednesday, May 3, will mark the 30th anniversary of World Press Freedom Day, a celebration of free expression and our collective right to be informed. A generous donor has pledged to match any gift until we reach our goal of $50,000.This year’s UNESCO-led press freedom web conference for…
CPJ Insider: April 2023 edition
French journalist Olivier Dubois released after nearly 2 years of captivity in Mali Olivier Dubois, a French freelancer, went missing on April 8, 2021, in the Malian region of Gao while seeking an interview with the local leader of the Al-Qaeda affiliated group Jamaa Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin. His abduction was made public in a video…
CPJ Insider: March 2023 edition
Covering the Russia-Ukraine war one year on: A Q&A with Europe and Central Asia Researcher Anna Brakha In the year since it started, Russia’s brutal, full-scale invasion of Ukraine has taken a painful toll on the press. At least 13 journalists have been killed covering the war and CPJ is investigating whether the deaths of…
CPJ Insider: February 2023 edition
Maria Ressa acquitted on spurious charges: A Q&A with Senior Southeast Asia Representative Shawn W. Crispin A Philippine Court of Tax Appeals in January acquitted Nobel laureate and CPJ’s 2018 Gwen Ifill Award winner Maria Ressa of tax evasion in four of seven cases brought by the government against her and the news organization she…
CPJ Insider: Year-end 2022 edition
Your support this year helped sustain CPJ’s work and mission at a time when journalists across the globe face threats while doing their jobs. Thank you for being a friend and partner throughout 2022 in defending our right to be informed. For this edition of Insider, we’re including just a few of the highlights from…
CPJ Insider: December 2022 edition
CPJ honors courageous journalists at 2022 awards ceremony On Thursday, November 17, CPJ honored courageous journalists from Cuba, Iraqi Kurdistan, Ukraine, and Vietnam at its 32nd annual International Press Freedom Awards ceremony. CPJ also honored Russian editor Galina Timchenko with the 2022 Gwen Ifill Press Freedom Award. This year’s awards ceremony was hosted by ABC…
CPJ Insider: November 2022 edition
Zero-click spyware poses existential crisis for journalism: A Q&A with CPJ Technology Editor Madeline Earp CPJ recently released its special report, “How zero-click surveillance threatens reporters, sources, and global press freedom.” For this month’s Insider, we spoke to Madeline Earp, CPJ’s technology editor, about how governments use spyware against journalists–and what CPJ is doing to…
CPJ Insider: October 2022 edition
Mass protests and arrests in Iran: a Q&A with Yeganeh Rezaian, CPJ’s Senior Researcher When mass protests erupted in Iran more than two weeks ago, the government cracked down hard. As clashes between security forces and demonstrators left many dead and disruptions to internet service made information hard to obtain, CPJ learned that security forces…
CPJ Insider: September 2022 edition
Covering the Amazon: Q&A with Renata Neder, CPJ’s Brazil representative Environmental reporting can be dangerous and traumatic for journalists. Whether covering wildfires or flash floods or reporting from remote areas where there is environmental destruction or drug trafficking, journalists face numerous threats on the beat. We spoke with CPJ’s Brazil representative, Renata Neder, about the…