2010
How to show support for Liu Xiaobo…in China
Although China continues to censor references to imprisoned writer Liu Xiaobo’s Nobel peace prize in the news and online, some have been finding creative ways to express support for him. An outspoken newspaper published a front-page picture featuring empty chairs on Sunday, in what appears to be a covert reference to the seat left vacant…
Journalists honored with press freedom awards
The Ethiopian-American community magazine Tadias published a story about the International Press Freedom Awards on November 22, with a focus on Ethiopian journalist Dawit Kebede. The three things you should know about Kebede, as quoted in the article: “First, it is impossible for me to live without the life I have as a journalist. Second,…
In Pakistan, local news has global, dangerous implications
As CPJ reports today, eight of the 42 journalists killed this year were on the job in Pakistan. It’s accurate to say the Pakistani victims were like most journalists killed worldwide: They were local journalists covering stories in their communities. But with Pakistan’s political and sectarian unrest aggravated by a decade-long war in neighboring Afghanistan,…
Group honors 4 international journalists
The Associated Press ran a story on November 22 about the International Press Freedom Awards and quotes CPJ Executive Director Joel Simon: “We celebrate these journalists because they embody the struggle to report without fear of reprisal. In each of their countries, asking questions and exposing uncomfortable truths is a dangerous task.”Click here for the full…
Ordinary heroes
The Washington Post editorial page weighed in on the 2010 International Press Freedom Award winners on November 23 with an article stating: “..all four of these first-rate journalists are heroes because they have sought to carry on the normal work of their trade – reporting the truth as best as it can be deciphered -…
Venezuela media bills would harm freedom of expression
New York, December 14, 2010–The Venezuelan legislature should reject proposed legal reforms that would harm freedom of expression, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. Legislation that would regulate Internet content and could force broadcaster Globovisión off the air are up for consideration this week in the Venezuelan National Assembly.
Iran jails 7, sentences 1, returns Blogfather to prison
New York, December 14, 2010–In a continuation of its relentless attack on independent and opposition media, Iranian authorities have arrested three journalists from the daily Sharq, bringing the number of the newspaper’s incarcerated staffers to seven in less than a week, according to news reports. In other developments, veteran journalist Mashallah Shamsolvaezin, at left, has…
In Norbert Zongo case, 12 years of impunity
For Geneviève Zongo, every December 13 revives excruciating memories of the loss of her husband Norbert Zongo, editor of the weekly L’Indépendant. He was assassinated in 1998 while investigating the murder of a driver working at Burkina Faso’s presidential palace. More painful still is that the killers who ambushed Zongo’s car, riddling it with bullets and…
CPJ mourns the passing of Richard Holbrooke
Richard C. Holbrooke, “one of the giants of American foreign policy” in President Barack Obama’s words, was also an ally of press freedom and a good friend to CPJ. In a statement marking Holbrooke’s death at age 69, Chairman Paul E. Steiger said: “CPJ mourns the passing of Ambassador Richard C. Holbrooke. He was a…
In Lebanon, Gebran Tueni’s daughter seeks the truth
On a rainy Sunday in downtown Beirut, in St. George Cathedral at Place d’Etoile, the family of murdered Lebanese journalist Gebran Tueni gathered with the staff of his newspaper, Al-Nahar, to hold a memorial marking the fifth anniversary of Tueni’s assassination. The memorial was held in the same church where Tueni was married in 2001,…