,
This Saturday marks World Press Freedom Day. It’s a global observance established by the United Nations more than thirty years ago to honor journalists and uphold the value of a free press.
For Poynter, this moment is more than just symbolic — it’s a time to recommit to our mission to defend journalism and democracy. And if you have been reading the headlines, you likely know what’s at stake.
Associated Press journalists were barred from Oval Office news events after the 179-year-old newsroom refused to change its style from Gulf of Mexico to "Gulf of America." When the AP sued, a federal judge ruled the exclusion contrary to the First Amendment.
A new executive order directed the U.S. Agency for Global Media, which oversees Voice of America, to eliminate all activities to “the maximum extent consistent with applicable law.” A federal judge has since blocked the administration's efforts to shut down the congressionally mandated agency.
In the United States, we are standing at a crossroads in which one of the five freedoms of the First Amendment is under unprecedented duress.
Press freedom doesn’t just help journalists — it empowers the public. It’s how we know what elected officials are doing, how taxpayer money is spent and whether campaign promises are being kept. If you care about truth and transparency, you care about press freedom.
Yet journalists cannot do this work alone. That’s where Poynter comes in.
