Red flags in the European Union press freedom debate
The European Union enjoys waving the banner of press freedom overseas. However, it is sometimes at a loss when it has to define its approach to press freedom among its own member states. Last year, the EU tried and failed to convince the Hungarian government to radically amend its highly controversial media law. The conservative…
CPJ Impact
News from the Committee to Protect Journalists, November 2012 Journalists honored at IPFA Thanks to David Boies, chairman of Boies, Schiller & Flexner LLP, who chaired CPJ’s 2012 International Press Freedom Awards dinner on November 20, the organization raised a record-breaking $1.57 million to support persecuted journalists. The nearly 900 distinguished guests at the event…
Equatorial Guinea indefinitely suspends radio program
New York, October 23, 2012–Authorities in Equatorial Guinea indefinitely suspended a radio program on a government-controlled outlet during a broadcast on Friday that included criticism of the president of the Supreme Court, according to local journalists and news reports.
Turkey’s Press Freedom Crisis
5. Test of Political Will On March 25, 2012, the day before the Nuclear Security Summit got under way in Seoul, South Korea, U.S. President Barack Obama met with Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan to discuss a world of troubles. On the agenda were efforts to compel Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to step aside,…
Spotlight on Giving
CPJ hosted its 2019 International Press Freedom Awards dinner in November, which raised more than $2.7 million for our work, a new record! During the dinner, host Shep Smith made a surprise announcement–he was personally donating $500,000 to CPJ! Smith spoke passionately about the need for a free press. “Journalists are sometimes wary of being…
Charlie Hebdo cartoons set off fierce debate in France
Connection impossible! The Charlie Hebdo website was not accessible on Wednesday afternoon after the French satirical magazine proclaimed that it had published fresh cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad. Stéphane Charbonnier, its editor-in-chief, confirmed that the site had been attacked by hackers.
Vietnam’s press freedom shrinks despite open economy
Vietnamese officials are stepping up repression of old and new media even as they promote an image of an open, globalized economy. Intense surveillance and imprisonment of critical journalists, coupled with increasingly restrictive laws, are choking the flow of information. A CPJ special report by Shawn W. Crispin
In Azerbaijan, editor jailed on drug possession charges
New York, June 25, 2012–Authorities in Azerbaijan must drop the charges against journalist Hilal Mamedov and immediately release him, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. Mamedov is the eighth journalist jailed in Azerbaijan, according to CPJ research.