At least 71 journalists around the world were killed last year for doing their work -- the highest number since the Committee to Protect Journalists began keeping track thirty years ago.
CPJ (a phenomenal organization) has put together the comprehensive story in "Attacks on the Press 2009," detailing what journalists are dealing with. And while murder and massacre is the worst of it, we also witnessed the imprisonment and release of American journalists in North Korea; reporters who are fleeing their countries in exile; and journalists working as freelancers in war zones without support networks because of the closing of foreign bureaus.
From the preface to the CPJ report by Fareed Zakaria:
Unable to afford foreign bureaus, more newspapers and magazines are relying on freelancers abroad. These stringers look just as suspicious to dictators and militant groups—and they are distinctly more vulnerable. In late year, Iran was still holding three U.S. hikers, one of whom had worked as a freelance journalist in the Middle East. In November, two freelancers, a Canadian and an Australian, were released by a Somali rebel group after 15 months in captivity; with no media organization behind them, their case had received scant attention. Nine freelancers were killed in reprisal for their work in 2009, while 60 others were in prisons worldwide in late year. As publications and TV networks continue to shed staff and look for ways to cover conflicts more affordably, the number of such cases is only going to grow.
In this new environment, local journalists are going to assume added importance—and they will take on greater risk. In increasingly violent Pakistan, local reporters face threats from the Taliban and other militants, along with government harassment and military indifference to their safety. (A year ago, Newsweek's Sami Yousafzai was shot at point-blank range by a Taliban assassin and then detained by Pakistani police as soon as he left the hospital.) The Somali press corps has suffered devastating losses. Nine local journalists were killed in 2009 and dozens have fled the country. Western correspondents—few of whom venture into Somalia now—no longer have sources to rely upon for basic information. Says Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Paul Salopek: "They were the first responders, if you will, to breaking news in Somalia. And most of them are gone.
Beyond each individual tragedy, the impact of this is incalculable. The fear it instigates means that that far fewer journalists are willing and able to follow through on the hardest stories, resulting in limited or nonexistent press freedom and a world where we are far less accountable to one another. CPJ offers close looks at the landscape around the world:
- AFRICA: In African hot spots, journalists forced into exile
- AMERICAS: In the Americas, Big Brother is watching reporters
- ASIA: As fighting surges, so does danger to press
- EUROPE and CENTRAL ASIA: Why a killing in Chechnya is an international issue
- MIDDLE EAST and NORTH AFRICA: Human rights coverage spreads, despite government pushback
- MAGUINDANAO: Makings of a massacre: Impunity fostered Philippine killings
We have to pay attention to this. We have seen, after all, how powerful the public's attention can be in creating safer spaces for journalists to do their work; as CPJ's Joel Simon puts it: "Governments, including the most recalcitrant and repressive, still respond to international pressure."
What's more, it's crucial for Americans and other Westerners to not sit smugly under the belief that the mistreatment happens only in Iran and China (the top two nations for the imprisonment of journalists). We've seen it happen on our own soil and we've participated in ourselves.
Last year, U.S. authorities held an Iraqi journalist in detention without charges or due process, despite a court order that freelance photojournalist Ibrahim Jassam, who was working for Reuters, be released. Our immigration officials detained a Voice of America reporter during a visa dispute for ten days. A new report released last year revealed that more than 40 journalists were arrested during the 2008 Republican National Convention in St. Paul, Minnesota, and criticized the local police department for not having a better protocol. And two men were finally indicted last April for the 2007 murder of Oakland Post editor Chauncey Bailey, who was killed for his reporting. The arrests are the direct result of the good work done by the Chauncey Bailey Project, a collective of people who worked with Bailey and committed to continuing the investigation into the story he was covering. The Project also closely watched the police investigation into Bailey's murder, and revealed irregularities in the process.
There is good news.
The Daniel Pearl Freedom of the Press Act passed the House, and it came under consideration in the Senate. The act would compel the State Department to report annually to Congress on a full range of press freedom abuses, and to explain “what steps the government of each such country has taken to preserve the safety and independence of the media, and to ensure the prosecution of those individuals who attack or murder journalists.” CPJ sent a letter of support to the House sponsors of the bill, Reps. Adam Schiff and Mike Pence, and urged the Senate to pass the legislation. The Free Flow of Information Act, which would help journalists under federal subpoena protect confidential sources, remained under consideration in Congress. The legislation cleared a key hurdle in December when the Senate Judiciary Committee approved a bill and sent it to the full chamber for a vote. The House had earlier passed its own version.
CPJ was among many press freedom and news organizations supporting the legislation. The Global Online Freedom Act, which would make it a crime for U.S. firms to turn over customer information to governments of “Internet-restricting countries,” remained under consideration in the House of Representatives. CPJ continued to serve as a member of the Global Network Initiative, founded in 2008 by a group of Internet companies, academics, investors, and human rights groups. The initiative established voluntary guidelines for Internet and telecommunications companies to protect free expression and privacy. Yahoo, Google, and Microsoft joined the initiative and agreed to follow its guidelines when restrictive governments seek to enlist them in acts of censorship or surveillance that violate international human rights standards.
Beyond participating in advocacy campaigns for particular journalists and supporting policies that encourage a vibrant and fair media landscape, what else can you do? Consider these choices:
- Become a supporter of the Committee to Protect Journalists through financial donations, in-kind donations, memorial contributions, corporate giving, or naming CPJ in your will.
- Be attentive: follow CPJ through its e-newsletter and the usual social networking sites.
- Get involved in the campaign against impunity.
- Provide direct assistance to journalists.
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