Dear Press Freedom Supporter,
By now you’ve likely heard about the
local police raid of a newspaper office in Marion county, Kansas. Authorities seized computers and phones — as well as personal cell phones — from the Marion County Record.
The paper said the raids contributed to the death of its co-owner, 98-year-old Joan Meyer, who collapsed and died Saturday afternoon following the police search of her home. Such blatant undermining of press freedoms
is unacceptable.
I know the erosion of democratic norms and basic freedoms has been difficult to watch the past few years.
Not just for Marion county, Kansas, but all over the U.S. and beyond: in the classroom, at the school board, at the county commissioner’s meeting, at the local sheriff’s office — wherever people gather and go about the business of their community — journalists often serve as the lone watchdogs to investigate and report on wrong.
That can make their jobs immensely difficult, and increasingly dangerous, but it is essential: in a free society, journalists facilitate public accountability.
When CPJ is asked why a free press is essential to a free people, this is why. Not simply because journalists keep us informed, but because it’s only in the light of their reporting that we remain free.
And as journalists look out for us, we must look out for them.
That’s why CPJ provided 548 journalists in 50 countries with financial and non-financial assistance last year. It’s why we fight to keep journalists out of jail — and saw more than 150 imprisoned journalists released in 2022
Preserving democratic norms and free societies cannot happen without all of us together. Join us in the fight to ensure press freedom – and our freedom – is protected, and if you haven’t yet this year, or would like to contribute again, I hope you’ll consider a gift to CPJ.
Let’s keep people informed, and defend democracy, at the same time.
Best,
Jodie Ginsberg
President
