Every year, May 3rd, is the world's biggest celebration of press freedom. It's a day to assess press freedom around the world, to shield the media from attacks on their rights, and to pay tribute to journalists who have lost their lives in the pursuit of their profession. A reminder that becoming a journalist can be suicide. Publications and those that work with them are threatened, assaulted, and murdered. Publications are restricted, fined, and closed down.
It's a chance to: It's a great opportunity to:
- Press freedom's basic principles are celebrated; press freedom's founding principles are celebrated
- Investigate the state of press freedom around the world; assess the situation of press freedom around the world;
- The media is shielded from threats to their independence from attacks on their media; the media is shielded from attacks on their freedom; the media is shielded from attacks on their rights
- We salute journalists who have lost their lives in the line of duty, as well as journalists who have lost their lives in the line of duty
The number of journalists, editors, photographers, and other U.S. newsroom employees dropped by 5 percent in the United States over the past 15 years. As news business models continue to be in flux, it is predicted that more newsrooms will follow suit. There are now 1,500 "ghost newspapers" in which skeleton employees are providing little to no local news coverage. During this time, more than 1,400 communities around the country have lost a newspaper. And, in some regions, access to news has completely disappeared: more than 1,400 communities have lost a newspaper.
Visit the Press Freedom Day website. To express yourself, use your local newspaper. Write a letter to the editor on a subject that you are passionate about.
Read George Orwell's 1984, Aldous Huxley's Brave New World, Ray Bradbury's Fahrenheit 451 all depict a society without a free press.
Follow #PressFreedomDay, or #WorldPressFreedomDay on social media. Follow #PressFreedomDay, or #WorldPressFreedomDay on social media.
History
The World Press Freedom Committee was established in 1976 by a group of independent journalists to promote and protect press freedom, as well as 44 media organisations from around the world. Following the UN General Assembly's recommendation in 1991, the UN General Assembly officially declared World Press Freedom Day in 1993.
