World Press Freedom Day 2024

 

Journalism is in crisis - again. The challenges to press freedom are enormous and multi-faceted. And they are deepening both in “free” and open societies as well as autocracies. In 2023, 45 journalists lost their lives while pursuing their duty globally. As of December 1, 2023, 363 journalists were imprisoned worldwide. Nearly 100 journalists and media workers have been killed since the Israel-Gaza war began last October. This is the worst death toll in a conflict zone in decades. Beyond the threat to life, tens of thousands of media jobs were lost in 2023. In this era of digital dominance, social media has increasingly fractured audiences. We are witnessing the subtle erosion of freedoms and democracy. Russia has seen a mass exodus of journalists. Hong Kong is a shadow of its former self. Myanmar’s regime is a killer and jailer of reporters. Over two-thirds of Americans say they don’t trust their mass media. There is excellent reporting happening, but much will pass unseen, or dismissed outright. Especially when it comes to reports on climate change and the state of our planet. But at least 13 of the 28 journalists killed in India were working on stories linked to the environment. Several were killed while investigating the so-called sand mafia, an organized crime network supplying the construction industry. This year, UNESCO is dedicating World Press Freedom Day to the importance of journalism and freedom of expression in the context of the current global environmental crisis.