CPJ

“I didn’t wear the bulletproof jacket and helmet that Reuters gave me,” explained veteran Somali journalist Sahal Abdulle to a packed crowd at Nairobi’s Serena Hotel for CPJ’s launch of Attacks on the Press. “It didn’t seem right when my colleagues, local journalists, were risking their lives trying to cover the same event.” Abdulle, like all Somali journalists, faces immense challenges in covering the story in his war-ravaged country. According to this year’s findings in Attacks, nearly all the journalists killed in the line of duty in 2009 were local journalists—and nine of them were killed in Somalia.

It’s happening again: Journopalooza II, the rock ‘n’ roll journalists’ extravaganza that a year ago turned the often quiet National Press Club into one of the best parties in town. This coming Friday night two repeat-performing bands, Nobody’s Business and Suspicious Package, will be back along with Dirty Bomb and Charm Offensive. Journalists—including unemployed ones—are in every band. The gig should run the gauntlet, from some original material to covers of Springsteen and Lou Reed. A cash bar, a few of them in fact, will be on hand. Proceeds will go to CPJ’s Journalist Protection Fund, Reporters Without Borders, and the Eric Friedheim National Journalism Library. Tickets are available at journopalooza.com.

We want to thank all of you who responded to the challenge set out by our chairman, Paul Steiger, calling on individuals who care about independent media to support CPJ. His e-mail has already generated an unprecedented response, but we still have a ways to go before reaching our goal. Paul has offered a $25,000 matching gift that will effectively double new or increased contributions, up to $500.  

Yesterday, CPJ received the Thomas J. Dodd Prize for International Justice and Human Rights at an outdoor ceremony at the University of Connecticut. It was one of those perfect, crisp fall mornings in New England with a strong wind blowing clouds across the sun and shaking the first leaves from the maples, which have already turned red and orange. CPJ co-founder Michael Massing and I accepted the award, selected by the national advisory board of the Dodd Center. Journalist Mariane Pearl spoke at the ceremony and described how her husband, Daniel Pearl, once told her he "loved life" but was prepared to risk it for his work. She spoke inspirationally about journalists around the world who are willing who make sacrifices to tell stories that must be told. 

In a 2006 interview, Walter Cronkite recalled how the search for missing reporters in Vietnam led him to CPJ and on to Turkey. Interview by Maya Taal

New York, July 17, 2009--The Committee to Protect Journalists recalls Walter Cronkite, the CBS News anchor and CPJ honorary co-chairman who died today, as an instrumental leader in the international press freedom movement. Throughout CPJ's 28-year history, Cronkite was active in efforts to protect local journalists working in dangerous situations around the world.

Walter Cronkite had such a profound impact in so many ways that one might overlook an important part of his legacy--his long efforts on behalf of international press freedom and his advocacy on behalf of local journalists around the world. Cronkite was a vital participant in the launch of the Committee to Protect Journalists 28 years ago and, though his title here may have been honorary co-chairman, he was an active force throughout the years.

CPJ Executive Director Joel Simon and Senior Program Coordinator Carlos Lauría co-authored an op-ed that appeared today in the Spanish-language El Universal, a national paper based in Mexico City. The piece examines the importance of protecting freedom of expression in Mexico in light of increased violence and U.S. President Barack Obama's recent meeting with counterpart Felipe Calderón.

The Nicaraguan attorney general's office has dropped a criminal investigation into a nonprofit journalism organization headed by the prominent editor Carlos Fernando Chamorro Barrios after finding no evidence of wrongdoing. A remarkable number of media groups and individuals, including CPJ, spoke out against the investigation as politically motivated. 

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