The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) will release Attacks on the Press in 1997 at a news conference in Washington, D.C. at 10 a.m. Thursday, March 26, at the National Press Club, First Amendment Lounge, 14th and F Streets N.W. The 443-page worldwide survey details press freedom abuses in 117 countries.

Schedule:

10:00 - 10:45 a.m. — CPJ Board Member Peter Arnett of CNN and CPJ Executive Director William A. Orme, Jr. report on the state of press freedom around the world, including the imprisonment and assassinations of journalists in 1997.

10:45 - 11:30 a.m. — Panel Discussion on special reports in Attacks on the Press in 1997 moderated by Alice Chasan, CPJ program and editorial director:

 
• Kakuna Kerina, Africa program coordinator, examines the brutal crackdown on independent media in Nigeria and outlines CPJ's campaign for the release of Christine Anyanwu and the 16 other imprisoned Nigerian journalists.
• Joel Simon, Americas program coordinator, details how Mexico's increasingly independent press is uniting to defend itself against violence and legal threats.
• Lin Neumann, Asia program coordinator, discusses prospects for independent journalism in Hong Kong and the role of press restrictions in Asia's economic crisis.
• Joel Campagna, Middle East and North Africa program coordinator, reveals how Jordan's government is muzzling independent reporting.