Bassem Youssef, Egypt
2013 CPJ International Press Freedom Awardee (Courtesy of Univision) To read Youssef’s acceptance speech, click here. As a window for free expression opened in Egypt with the demise of the Mubarak era in 2011, cardiac surgeon Bassem Youssef began dissecting his society with a satirical newscast produced in his living room and posted on YouTube….
Nedim Şener, Turkey
2013 CPJ International Press Freedom Awardee (Courtesy of Univision) To read Şener’s acceptance speech, click here. Nedim Şener, a leading investigative journalist with the Turkish daily Posta, is considered a terrorist by his government, which alleges that his critical reporting contributed to an anti-government plot. His case is emblematic of Turkey’s widespread application of vague laws to…
Paul Steiger
2013 CPJ Burton Benjamin Memorial Awardee Paul Steiger is president and editor-in-chief of ProPublica, a New York-based non-profit newsroom focused on investigative journalism, a position he assumed beginning January 2008. Steiger was previously editor-at-large at The Wall Street Journal, having stepped down in May 2007 from a 15-year stint as managing editor and vice president of…
Video: 1,000 Journalists Killed
2013 CPJ International Press Freedom Awards CPJ’s “1,000 Journalists Killed” premiered at the 2013 International Press Freedom Awards ceremony. The video highlights the death of Sky News cameraman Mick Dean in Egypt, marking the 1,000th journalist killed since CPJ began documenting journalist fatalities in 1992. It also tells of the 2009 Maguindanao massacre in the…
Obama must urge free press during meeting with Vietnam
Dear President Obama: We are writing to express our concern about the deteriorating press and Internet freedom situation in Vietnam ahead of your Thursday meeting with Vietnamese President Truong Tan Sang. We ask that in your discussions you insist on the progress of freedom of expression-related issues as a precondition for broadening Vietnam’s diplomatic, economic, and strategic relations with the United States.
Attacks on the Press in 2012: Vietnam
Vietnam intensified its grip on old and new media through a campaign of censorship, surveillance, and imprisonments. Central Propaganda Department officials held weekly meetings with top newspaper editors, outlining news agendas and identifying banned topics. The list of prohibited topics expanded to include criticism of the government’s economic management, land conflicts between the state and…
Vietnam hands three bloggers harsh prison terms
Bangkok, September 24, 2012–The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns the harsh prison sentences handed down today to three prominent Vietnamese online journalists convicted of anti-state charges. In a widening crackdown on press and Internet freedoms, Vietnamese courts have sentenced six journalists and bloggers to prison in the last five weeks.