Freedom Day? Full-Court Press Remains on Journalists Worldwide

As May 3 marked World Press Freedom Day, journalists around the world were being arrested, beaten, assaulted, jailed, harassed, and detained by autocratic governments, and reviled by those who question the value of their work.

The commemoration this year was overshadowed by the findings of a survey issued by the Paris-based Reporters Without Borders, finding journalists under threat in three-quarters of 180 countries.

Only 12 countries have relative press-freedom environments, the lowest number since 2013 when the current evaluation methodology was adopted, said Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty.

Increasingly, around the world, journalists trying to do their job find themselves under siege, especially when trying to report on corruption, organized crime and authoritarian regimes, including in the European Union.

Just recently, noted Greek investigative journalist Giorgos Karaivaz was gunned down outside his home on April 9, hit with eight bullets by a gunman on the back of a motor scooter who got off and delivered two more shots to the head as the reporter lay bleeding on a sidewalk. The police link the attack to mobsters.

In Hungary and Poland, oligarchs tied to their government leaders are moving to impede independent media, while reactions from the EU have been scarce.

Poland's state-controlled oil refinery PKN Orlen said it would not abide a court order and would proceed to acquire Polska Press, a large regional news group.

The Germany-based Media Freedom Rapid Response, which tracks press freedom violations, said Poland's ruling Law and Justice PiS party "pioneered a form of media capture unique within the European Union" with the takeover.

That followed the lead, Poland's government admitted, of Hungarian strongman leader Viktor Orban who used connections with business tycoons to have them buy independent news outlets to muzzle dissent.

The day has meaning though, media rights group said.

“The goal of Press Freedom day is also to raise awareness on the importance of press freedom as a pillar of democracy. It reminds us that without journalists, such a story or subject would not have been revealed and would remain unknown, or thanks to other courageous journalists, the atrocities committed in such country could not have been revealed with such magnitude,” Pauline Ades-Mevel, Editor-in-Chief & Head of Publications for Reporters Without Borders told Blueprint for Free Speech.

She said the day “also allows to challenge the institutions, not just the states, the institutions so that they make press freedom a priority … the protection of journalists is always connected to the fight against impunity: not letting those who commit crimes against journalists unpunished is key to protect others.”

And while the New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists said murders of reporters had been dropping the past few years worldwide, it noted more of them who were killed were in areas considered peaceful, not war zones, jumping from 42 percent in 2016 to 68 percent in 2020.

A MOST DANGEROUS OCCUPATION

Mexican journalist Benjamín Morales, his country the most dangerous for the profession, was shot dead on Press Freedom Day, police saying a piece of cardboard with a message that remains unpublicised left on his body.

Even in the United States, where freedom of the press is enshrined in the Constitution, it was under attack in 2020, prompted largely by then-President Donald Trump calling journalists “the enemy of the people,” to his supporters' delight.

The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) said at least 110 journalists were arrested or criminally charged, many rounded up while covering protests, citing the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker.

"By fomenting the idea that the press is the enemy of the people ... you really put journalists in the bullseye," Marty Steffens, a member of the North America Committee of the International Press Institute and a professor at the Missouri School of Journalism told CPJ.

Female journalists are not exempt. A global survey by UNESCO taken with the International Center for Journalists, found 73 percent were harassed online.

Additionally, 20 percent reported being attacked offline in connection with online violence they had experienced, the atmosphere of hate so prevalent that 17 percent said they self-censored to avoid online bullies.

A report from the Coalition for Women In Journalism (CFWIJ) stated Turkey is “the leading country for attacks and threats against women journalists” in 2021, with 114 attacked or threatened so far.

So what is the point of a press freedom day if reporters really aren't free to do their work without fear?

Laurens C. Hueting, Advocacy Officer for the European Centre for Press and Media Freedom told Blueprint that it's “a reminder to governments to respect their obligations to ensure media freedom and a day of support to journalists, media workers and outlets who are the targets of attacks.”

He added: “The current negative trends in this regard, in Europe and beyond, make such a day more necessary than ever,” as those responsible for the murders of investigative journalists Daphne Caruana Galizia on Malta and Jan Kuciak in Slovakia are still facing impunity.

“The symbolism of recognizing the central importance of media freedom to democracy, rule of law and human rights, and expressing solidarity with journalists, media workers and outlets under attack is important on its own merits,” he said.

To skeptics, many backers of press freedom are paying only lip service to protecting journalists.

US President Joe Biden, marking the day, said, "We celebrate the fierce bravery of journalists everywhere. We recognize the integral role a free press plays in building prosperous, resilient and free societies. And we recommit to protecting and promoting free, independent, and diverse media around the world."

At the same time, the US refused to sanction Saudi Arabia for what the CIA said was the state-sanctioned murder of Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi, the administration admitting the country was too important politically and as a trade partner and oil supplier.

Hueting said, “The day is is not only for autocratic governments: democracies face problems with media freedom too, and WPFD is a good occasion to shine a spotlight on those issues.”

He added: “While, of course, a symbolic day won't result in media freedom in autocratic governments on its own, an opportunity to denounce their practices, advocate for improvement and engage with domestic and international stakeholders is always welcomed.”