Imagine there was no news. Nobody would have reported about a virus in China. Nobody informed you about the dangers of corona and why the global lockdown is the only way to flatten the curve. Useful to think about how that would be, especially on World Press Freedom Day.
by Ole Chavannes, 03 mei 2020
Actually there was going to be a great gathering in the Hague today; Unesco’s annual event. It's postponed thanks to that virus. Nevertheless, the Covid-19 crisis has proven the value of news undeniably. Without it the curve would never be flattened. The demand for timely and checked facts has never been higher. Simultaneously, many governments use the crisis to limit press freedom quickly. Many reporters risks infection and detention nevertheless, to keep reporting the truth. That’s why I think today journalists especially in repressive countries deserve a thumbs up!
Below some noteworthy online initiatives that mark this year’s World Press Freedom Day >
* The most impressive ‘media in times of corona’ overview is the colour coded global ‘corona incidents map’ by Index on Censorship. This London based non-profit created on indexoncensorship.org/disease-control an overview with 131 incidents so far. Most of the dots represent detention / arrest (30), attacks on journalists (28) and not being allowed to report on Covid-related affairs (26).
* The Committee to Protect Journalists published a chilling list of the ten most ‘emblematic’ cases of journalists in prison. Read the stories and take action for Avaz Zeynally (Azerbaijan), Ahmed Humaidan (Bahrain), Ilham Tohti (China), Mahmoud Abou Zeid (Egypt), Dawit Isaac (Eritrea), Reeyot Alemu (Ethiopia), Siamak Ghaderi (Iran), Fusün Erdoğan (Turkey), Muhammad Bekjanov (Uzbekistan) and Nguyen Van Hai or Dieu Cay (Vietnam) at https://cpj.org/x/5a47.
* In Brussels starts Difference Day at 5PM; a streamed live event to mark World Press Freedom under patronage of Unesco. Register and watch the webcast at https://www.differenceday.com/event/.
* In Amsterdam this day is hosted by Pakhuis de Zwijger with photojournalist Kadir van Lohuizen, who talks with international (photo)journalists about press freedom, especially during the COVID-19 crisis. It starts at 4PM at https://dezwijger.nl/programma/world-press-freedom-day.
Let's hope the real #WPFD event will take place when it is save again!