Press freedom: World Press Photo memorial for fallen journalists and a list

FREEDOM OF THE PRESS

Freedom of the press: The Memorial to fallen journalists in Amsterdam

and a list

World Press Photo and its memorial plaque

November 2024

Exhibition of the World Press Photo and the Memorial to fallen journalists during the award ceremony on 24 April 2024 ©World Press Photo

Freedom of expression and freedom of the press

By Claudia G. Mauer: Freedom of expression and freedom of the press are more important and endangered than ever. In April, we reported on the presentation of the World Press Photo Award in Amsterdam, an annual competition held in De Nieuwe Kerk under the patronage of Prince Constantijn and in the presence of Touria Meliani, Amsterdam's Alderwoman for Culture. In a side room of the exhibition was a small room next to the Photo of the Year by Mohammed Salem, in which the names and photos of the fallen journalists were displayed. It is the Foundation's co-operation with the Committee to Protect Journalists, CPJ, which has been keeping a list of journalists killed in the line of duty since 1992. In the board of CPJ are journalism legends such as Christiane Amanpour, Tom Brokaw and Arianna Huffington.

The award ceremony in the De Nieuwe Kerk on 24 May was particularly emotional in these times of war in Ukraine and Gaza. The photos, including Ukrainian and Sudanese soldiers and a photo of an Israeli soldier standing stunned in the devastated square of the Supernova Festival, were shown to a cellist's piece. The winner of the World Press Photo Award 2024, Palestinian Reuters photojournalist Mohammed Salem, was unable to accept his prize for the Photo of the Year because he was unable to leave the country. His brother accepted the award in his place. The next day, the church was packed with people when another Palestinian photojournalist, Motaz Azaiza, gave a speech.

Encourage people to take time to read and reflect on some of the names

The idea of an exhibition about fallen journalists at the World Press Photo Award is not new. As Andrew Davis from the World Press Photo Foundation told us, information about press freedom and fallen journalists is integrated into the annual exhibitions whenever possible. For several years, World Press Photo has included the list of fallen journalists in the main exhibition in Amsterdam, Davis told Alethea Magazine. This year it was located in a smaller room next to Mohammed Salem's Photo of the Year ‘to encourage people to take time to read and reflect on some of the names’.

According to the ‘MEMORIAL FOR JOURNALISTS’ of the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) and the corresponding memorial plaque, 99 journalists and media professionals were killed worldwide in 2023 in reprisal for their work. Many were threatened with violence and imprisonment simply for doing their job.

In cooperation with ‘A Safer World for the Truth’, World Press Photo has presented the names of more than 1,500 journalists who have been killed since 1992. The circumstances of each death are verified by CPJ investigators and only ‘confirmed’ when it appears certain that a journalist was killed ‘in retaliation for their work, in combat or crossfire, or while carrying out a dangerous assignment.’ All 1553 cases in the memorial have been confirmed.

When you dedicate your life to the right to information

The memorial, which was erected in collaboration with the Safer World for the Truth coalition (Free Press Unlimited, the Committee to Protect Journalists, and Reporters Without Borders), is intended to commemorate and honour journalists ‘who have dedicated their lives to the public interest and the right to information.’ Among them are former World Press Photo winners.

94 fallen journalists

The exhibition pays particular attention to the war between Israel and Hamas since October 2023. According to the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), ‘as of 4 March 2024, 94 journalists and media workers have been killed in the war between Israel and Hamas, making it one of the deadliest wars in the history of the media. Of the confirmed dead, 89 were Palestinians, 2 Israelis and 3 Lebanese.’

The memorial plaque in De Nieuwe Kerk

Excerpt (with permission) from the memorial plaque for fallen journalists during the World Press Photo Awards: ‘Several media outlets reported apparent air strikes on journalists’ homes in which family members were killed. Communications outages, affecting both physical and wireless data connections and the use of mobile phones, severely hampered reporting from Gaza. In addition, Israel denied foreign journalists access to Gaza to report freely on the war, while local journalists worked in extremely dangerous conditions to document the conflict and help people understand its severity.’

‘Why press freedom is important’

In a separate room, the Reporters Without Borders press freedom index map was displayed with the headline: “Why press freedom is important“

According to the organisation Reporters Without Borders (RSF), freedom of the press cannot be taken for granted. It defines ‘press freedom as the ability of journalists, as individuals and collectives, to select, produce and disseminate news in the public interest, independently of political, economic, legal and social influences and without threat to their physical and psychological safety.’ RSF estimates that almost half of the world's population does not have access to freely disseminated news and information. According to RSF, more than 1,600 journalists have been murdered in the last 20 years, an average of 80 per year.

The Committee to Protect Journalists, CPJ, was founded in 1981 by a news editor from the Columbia Broadcasting System and the editor-in-chief of the Columbia Journalism Review. Today, its members include journalists such as Christiane Amanpour, Tom Brokaw and Arianna Huffington. Since 1992, the CPJ has maintained a list of journalists killed in the line of duty. The list uses criteria such as ‘Murdered’, ‘In Crossfire’, ‘Combat’, ‘On Dangerous Assignment’ and provides precise information about the circumstances of the death, also citing family backgrounds, private sources and social media entries.

For the most up-to-date information

https://www.saferworldforthetruth.com/

The list of fallen journalists

https://cpj.org/data/killed/all/?status=Killed&motiveConfirmed%5B%5D=Confirmed&type%5B%5D=Journalist&cc_fips%5B%5D=IS&start_year=1992&end_year=2024&group_by=year

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Exhibition of the World Press Photo and the Memorial to fallen journalists during the award ceremony on 24 April 2024 ©World Press Photo

Exhibition of the World Press Photo and the Memorial to fallen journalists during the award ceremony on 24 April 2024 ©World Press Photo

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