CPJ calls on Sri Lanka to improve press freedom
Dear President Sirisena, As your government’s post-election 100-day agenda nears completion the Committee to Protect Journalists, an international press freedom organization, recognizes your early endeavors in keeping promises to ensure media freedom. CPJ would like to request a meeting with you and your government to discuss the problems that persist for the country’s media.
After Charlie Hebdo attack, vigils, protests and publishing bans
Protests against the French satirical weekly Charlie Hebdo were held in Afghanistan, Pakistan, the Middle East and parts of Africa over the weekend, as crowds demonstrated against the magazine’s portrayal of the Prophet Muhammad, according to news reports.
Uneasy alliance: State Department and journalists discuss rise in violence
Doug Frantz spent more than three decades in the journalistic trenches covering wars, overseeing investigative reporting, and directing national security coverage. He did stints at The New York Times, the Los Angeles Times, and The Washington Post. Today Frantz works for the State Department, serving as Assistant Secretary of State for Public Affairs. Alarmed by…
Impact: A year in review
The past year has been a traumatic one for the press, with the high number of journalists killed and imprisoned underscoring the perils of a profession that requires being on the front line of history. Amid growing animosity by governments, and the threats posed by organized crime and militant groups such as the Islamic State,…
Bangladesh court convicts British journalist on contempt charges
On December 2, 2014, a special war crimes court convicted Dhaka-based British journalist David Bergman of contempt in connection with his reporting, according to news reports. The court ruled that Bergman’s writing “portraying derogatory criticism” had “hurt the feelings of the nation,” and ordered him to pay a 5,000 taka (US$65) fine or serve seven…
The Road to Justice
Breaking the Cycle of Impunity in the Killing of Journalists The lack of justice in hundreds of murders of journalists around the world is one of the greatest threats to press freedom today. While international attention to the issue has grown over the past decade, there has been little progress in bringing down rates of…
The Road to Justice
About This Report Elisabeth Witchel, the founder of CPJ’s Global Campaign Against Impunity, is the lead author of this report. Witchel launched the campaign in 2007 and has compiled five editions of the organization’s annual Global Impunity Index as well as several other major reports. She has worked in human rights and journalism for more…
The Road to Justice
1. What Does Impunity Mean? In 1981, the year CPJ was founded, Argentina was enmeshed in the so-called Dirty War, in which dozens of journalists were disappeared. Most were never seen again. To this day, no one has systematically documented the media murders that took place, and no one knows precisely how many journalists perished.…