Jerusalem Post - Newspaper readers might notice an empty white space in place of front page stories in their favorite broadsheets and tabloids on Wednesday morning. It’s part of a campaign organized by the World Association of Newspapers and News Publishers to mark World Press Freedom Day. Larry Kilman, WAN’s executive CEO told The Media Line that the idea is to “remind [readers] that without a free press, this is what the industry would look like.”
World Press Freedom Day was created twenty years ago by journalists in Africa who wanted to sound a call to arms to protect the fundamental principles of freedom of expression as set forth in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights - a call repeated this year by the United Nations. Although at first glance it seems to be little more than just one more ceremony and one more day of commemoration, to journalists covering a volatile world the observance has taken on renewed meaning in 2011. While the news industry undergoes a sea change spawned by new technologies and the spiraling prominence of social media, reporters, photojournalists and producers who cover conflicts the old-fashioned way are doing so under more dangerous conditions than ever, as evidenced by statistics documenting one of the bloodiest years in history in terms of casualties among working journalists. Read More
