UN Secretary General pledges to take action on journalist safety
Reporters Without Borders (RSF) and the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) urged UN Secretary General António Guterres to take steps to address the urgent issue of safety of journalists. Reporters Without Borders (RSF) Secretary General Christophe Deloire and the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) Executive Director Joel Simon met with United Nations Secretary General António…
The Best Defense
Threats to journalists’ safety demand fresh approach Reporting on wars and natural disasters is inherently dangerous, but the spread of insurgent and criminal groups globally poses an unprecedented risk to journalists. Since the videotaped killings of James Foley and Steven Sotloff in 2014, public awareness of the risks has increased exponentially, but the dangers persist.
CPJ Highlights: January edition
Meryl Streep’s nod to CPJ leads to record-breaking number of donations Earlier this month, Meryl Streep ascended the stage at the Golden Globes ceremony to accept the Cecil B. DeMille Award and gave a resounding speech about the importance of a free press in the United States.
Press freedom on OGP agenda as authoritarianism rises
There was poignancy to the Paris summit of the Open Government Partnership, as leaders from government and civil society took the stage to defend a political ideology under siege: liberal democracy. French President François Hollande, who amid weak public support announced he will not seek re-election in 2017, called democracy “so fragile and so precious.”…
CPJ Highlights: November edition
Note to our readers: CPJ plans to intensify our documentation of press freedom violations in the United States, following the election on November 8, 2016, of Donald Trump as president. During his campaign, Trump verbally attacked journalists, restricted access, threatened lawsuits, and promised to make legal action against the media easier under his administration. We…
Getting Away With Murder
CPJ’s 2016 Global Impunity Index spotlights countries where journalists are slain and the killers go free By Elisabeth Witchel, CPJ Impunity Campaign Consultant Published October 27, 2016. Some of the highest rates of impunity in the murders of journalists can be attributed to killings by Islamist militant groups, CPJ found in its latest Global Impunity…
Extremist groups get away with murders of journalists
Somalia, Iraq, Syria top CPJ’s 2016 Global Impunity Index New York, October 27, 2016–Some of the highest rates of impunity in the murders of journalists can be attributed to killings by Islamist militant groups, the Committee to Protect Journalists found in its latest annual Global Impunity Index, released today. At top of the list–which spotlights…
Protecting journalists who cover corruption is good for the bottom line
Corruption is one of the most dangerous beats for journalists, and one of the most important for holding those in power to account. There is growing international recognition that corruption is also one of the biggest impediments to poverty reduction and good governance. This is why journalists on this beat must be protected, including by…