William Biggart

By Joel Simon

In 2008, the numbers of journalists killed and jailed both dropped for the first time since the war on terror was launched in the aftermath of the September 11 attacks. This is welcome news, but it is tempered by harsh realities. The war on terror had a devastating effect on journalists, and the trends will be difficult to reverse. Over seven years, journalists were targeted for murder in record numbers, while deterioration in the international legal environment led to a surge in journalist imprisonments.

New York, August 6, 2007—CPJ welcomes the swift apprehension of the man who killed Oakland editor Chauncey Bailey. Following a police raid on Friday, a 19-year-old handyman at a local bakery confessed to the murder. Bailey was gunned down in broad daylight as he walked to work on the morning of August 2. 

New York, August 2, 2007—U.S. journalist Chauncey Bailey was shot to death this morning on a street in downtown Oakland. The Committee to Protect Journalists expressed alarm and called on local authorities today to conduct a prompt and vigorous investigation into his murder.

Around 7:30 a.m., an unidentified assailant dressed in black clothes approached Bailey, editor of the weekly paper Oakland Post, while he was on his way to work, according to press reports and CPJ interviews. The gunman shot Bailey multiple times at close range before fleeing on foot, Oakland police spokesman Roland Holmgren told CPJ. Bailey was pronounced dead at the scene.

CPJ Update August 2007 News from the Committee to Protect Journalists

Since its founding in 1981, CPJ has, as a matter of strategy and policy, concentrated on press freedom violations and attacks against journalists outside the United States. Within the country, a vital press freedom community marshals its resources and expertise to defend journalists' rights. CPJ aims to focus its efforts on those nations where journalists most need international support and protection.

New York, January 3, 2002--A total of 37 journalists were killed worldwide as a direct result of their work in 2001, a sharp increase from 2000 when 24 were killed, according to CPJ research. At least 25 were murdered, almost all with impunity.

The dramatic rise is mainly due to the war in Afghanistan, where eight journalists were killed in the line of duty covering the US-led military campaign and a ninth journalist died of wounds sustained there two years ago. This was the highest death toll recorded for a single country since 1999, when 10 journalists were killed in Sierra Leone.

Nueva York, 3 de enero de 2002 -- Un total de 37 periodistas fueron asesinados en todo el mundo como resultado directo de su labor en el 2001, un brusco incremento en relación con el año 2000, cuando 24 fueron asesinados, según las investigaciones del Comité para la Protección de los Periodistas (CPJ, por sus siglas en inglés). Por lo menos 25 de ellos fueron asesinados, casi todos con impunidad.

El dramático aumento se debe principalmente a la guerra en Afganistán, donde ocho periodistas murieron cumpliendo su deber al cubrir la campaña militar encabezada por los Estados Unidos, y un noveno periodista murió de heridas que recibió en ese país hace dos años. Este es el mayor saldo de víctimas que se haya registrado en un solo país desde 1999, cuando 10 periodistas fueron asesinados en Sierra Leona.

New York, September 20, 2001---An American free-lance news photographer is among the 233 confirmed dead in the September 11 terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center. Several other media workers have been reported injured or missing.

As of today, CNN reported, the confirmed death toll in the World Trade Center attacks stands at 233, with 170 of those victims identified. Another 6,333 people remain missing.