US - RSF launches #DefendPressFreedom campaign ahead of midterm elections

As the US midterm elections approach, RSF and its coalition of partners including the Association of Alternative Newsmedia, Asian American Journalists Association, International Press Institute, Investigative Reporters and Editors, Media Law Resource Center, the Newseum and its Freedom Forum Institute, Free Press Action Fund, the National Press Club, News Media Alliance, National Press Photographers Association, PEN America, the Society of Professional Journalists, and more are launching the #DefendPressFreedom campaign, which urges voters to contact their candidate through phone calls, letters, at town hall meetings, or on social media, and ask them where they stand on press freedom. 

By doing this, RSF hopes to bring to light the critically important role that journalists play in the US, as well as the dire need to preserve press freedom in the midst of its concerningly steady decline. It is vital to remember the crucial role journalists play in empowering the community to make more informed decisions and to hold those in power accountable. This is why it’s time to remind those running for office of the importance of an independent and free media. It’s time to #DefendPressFreedom.

“This is not a partisan issue; it is a fundamental right that impacts every American no matter their politics,” says Margaux Ewen, RSF’s North America Director. “In a democracy like the United States, no journalist should be arrested, assaulted, or threatened for simply doing their job.”

In the US, assaults against reporters, photojournalists, and media workers are becoming more and more commonplace. Physical, verbal, and online attacks against reporters undermine the media's role as a critical pillar of democracy, consequently creating opportunities for government overreach, the erosion of the First Amendment, and infringing on the public’s right to be informed.

On June 28th, 2018 one of the most horrific attacks on press freedom in the US unfolded when five employees, including four reporters, were killed at the Capital Gazette newspaper in Annapolis, Maryland. This shooting did not happen in a vacuum: open hostility against journalists is on the rise in the US. While covering the February 2018 school shooting in Parkland, Florida, journalists were impersonated on social media, impeding their ability to accurately investigate the facts and disseminate information that could be vital for preventing similar tragedies. In May 2017, then-congressional candidate Greg Gianforte body-slammed Guardian reporter Ben Jacobs on the eve of his special election to the US House of Representatives after Jacobs persistently asked him questions regarding healthcare reform – an issue that impacts every American. Jacobs is just one of 45 journalists to be physically attacked in 2017, along with at least 34 more this year. More and more journalists and media outlets have reported being the target of death threats in relation to the stories they cover.

To learn more about the campaign, visit the #DefendPressFreedom webpage.