Access Archives - Committee to Protect Journalists

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis is seen in The Villages, Florida, on March 23, 2020. Authorities at the Florida State Capitol recently barred journalist Mary Ellen Klas from attending a news briefing by DeSantis. (AP/John Raoux)

Reporter denied access to Florida governor’s briefing on COVID-19

March 30, 2020 4:15 PM EDT

Washington, D.C., March 30, 2020 — Florida Governor Ron DeSantis should allow reporters to safely cover his news briefings, and not penalize journalists who seek to follow public health guidance on social distancing, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.

Election posters in Bangladesh's capital, Dhaka, on January 29, 2020. Several journalists were attacked and harassed while covering polling in the city on February 1. (AFP/Munir Uz Zaman)

Journalists covering elections in Dhaka, Bangladesh attacked, harassed

February 4, 2020 1:57 PM EST

New York, February 4, 2020—The Committee to Protect Journalists is alarmed by reports that several journalists were attacked, threatened, or had equipment taken while covering elections in Dhaka, Bangladesh’s capital, on February 1.

People use the internet at a hotspot in Havana, Cuba in December 2018. Journalists and bloggers say recent internet regulations could legitimize censorship. (REUTERS/Stringer)

In new Cuban internet measures, journalists see a trap

September 12, 2019 7:21 AM EDT

International media announced the dawn of legal private Wi-Fi in Cuba this July. But a decree published the same month signals that content controls are expanding alongside access, local journalists and bloggers told CPJ.

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and US President Donald Trump at dinner in Hanoi on February 27. The White House blocked four journalists from covering the event. (AFP/Saul Loeb)

White House setting wrong example at Trump-Kim summit in Hanoi

February 27, 2019 11:11 AM EST

Washington, D.C., February 27, 2019–The White House today barred four journalists from covering a dinner in Hanoi between President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, citing “sensitivities over shouted questions,” according to news reports. The unusual move came a day after Vietnamese officials relocated the White House press corps filing center from…

President Miguel Díaz-Canel talks to the press in Havana on February 24 after voting in a referendum on a new constitution in Havana. Several critical news sites were blocked in Cuba on the date of the vote. (AP/Ramon Espinosa)

Critical news websites blocked during Cuba referendum vote

February 25, 2019 5:01 PM EST

Miami, February 25, 2019– Cuban authorities should immediately ensure citizens have access to news websites, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. Several critical news sites were blocked in the country yesterday, as Cuba held a national referendum on proposed changes to its constitution, news sites reported.

An exclusion zone set up by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. Journalists were blocked from covering the police response to a pipeline protest in British Columbia. (APTN/Kathleen Martens)

In Canada, police block media from covering break up of indigenous pipeline protest

January 8, 2019 5:27 PM EST

New York, January 8, 2019–The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) yesterday blocked reporters from covering a pipeline protest near Houston, British Columbia, where police were due to dismantle camps set up by indigenous activists, according to reports.

Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed arrives for a rally in the Oromia region in April, 2018. His government has allowed access to hundreds of websites that had been blocked in the country. (Reuters/Tiksa Negeri)

Ethiopia allows access to over 260 blocked websites

June 22, 2018 1:24 PM EDT

New York, June 22, 2018–The Committee to Protect Journalists today welcomed the Ethiopian government’s decision to allow access to 264 websites, including news outlets and blogs, that were blocked in the country. In a tweet today, Fitsum Arega, Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed’s chief of staff, said that the sites included the diaspora outlets Oromia Media…

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte, center, before he addresses Filipino Muslim leaders during a reception at the Presidential Palace to celebrate the end of the Holy Month of Ramadan in June 2017. Presidential spokesperson Harry Roque told local media the government decided to ban Rappler from covering official presidential events because Duterte had

Philippines bans Rappler reporters from presidential palace

February 21, 2018 11:30 AM EST

Bangkok, February 21, 2018 – The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns the Philippine government’s decision to ban the news website Rappler from covering official presidential events, and calls for an immediate end to all government harassment of the independent online publication.

A billboard featuring President Salva Kiir, left, and opposition leader Riek Machar, is displayed in Juba in 2016. South Sudan is due to resume peace talks under an agreement that includes calls for an end to harassment of the press. (AFP/Albert Gonzalez Farran, CDS)

As peace talks resume South Sudan continues its assault on press freedom

February 2, 2018 11:32 AM EST

A ceasefire agreement signed on December 21 between the South Sudanese government and opposition forces has revived a 2015 peace process and brought hope that the conflict will not persist into its fifth year. The agreement includes obligations to “ensure protection of media” and “[c]ease all forms of harassment of the media.” Yet, ahead of…

In this image made from video, Chinese President Xi Jinping, seventh from right on stage, introduces new members of the Politburo Standing Committee to the media at Beijing's Great Hall of the People on October 25, 2017. (APTN via AP)

China must allow all media outlets to cover events of public interest

October 25, 2017 12:45 PM EDT

Washington, D.C., October 25, 2017–The Committee to Protect Journalists today condemned the decision by Chinese authorities to bar at least five prominent news organizations from attending today’s press conference introducing the new leadership of the Chinese Communist Party, as described by press reports and a statement on Twitter by the Foreign Correspondents Club of China.…