#press-freedom

#press-freedom

Pope Leo XIV encouraged international news agencies on Thursday to stand firm as a bulwark against the "ancient art of lying" and manipulation, as he strongly backed a free, independent and objective press. History's first American pope called for imprisoned journalists to be released and said the work of journalists must never be considered a crime. Rather, journalism is a right and a pillar upholding "the edifice of our societies" that must be protected and defended, he said.

He made it clear that media organizations are the barrier to protect the world from the disinformation that can do so much harm. And he championed the profession. In a speech to media executives at the 39th Conference of the MINDS International Association, Leo said, "Doing the work of a journalist can never be considered a crime, but it is a right that must be protected."

The CEO of the Illinois Press Association, who had joined a lawsuit against the Trump administration for actions toward journalists outside a Chicago-area Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility, resigned this week following a dispute with the association's board over the litigation. Don Craven, who had led the Illinois Press Association since 2021, added the organization to the lawsuit Sunday alongside other Illinois news outlets and advocacy groups.

If today we know what is happening in Gaza, Ukraine and every other land bloodied by bombs, we largely owe it to them, Pope Leo said, according to the Associated Press. These extraordinary eyewitness accounts are the culmination of the daily efforts of countless people who work to ensure that information is not manipulated for ends that are contrary to truth and human dignity.

1. Journalism that reports on the world as it actually is. 2. Journalism that is fair, fearless, and factual. 3. Journalism that respects our audience enough to tell the truth plainly - wherever it leads. 4. Journalism that makes sense of a noisy, confusing world. 5. Journalism that explains things clearly, without pretension or jargon. 6. Journalism that holds both American political parties to equal scrutiny. 7. Journalism that embraces a wide spectrum of views and voices so that the audience can contend with the best arguments on all sides of a debate.

A Reform UK council has ended its ban on journalists from the area's biggest local newspaper after being threatened with legal action over damaging the outlet's freedom of expression. Nottinghamshire county council, which has been led by Reform since the local elections earlier this year, said it was committed to the principles of openness after lifting the sanctions it had placed on journalists from the Nottingham Post and its website, Nottinghamshire Live.

Officers shoved amNewYork's police bureau chief, Dean Moses, as Moses was documenting the detention of an immigrant who had arrived for a hearing at 26 Federal Plaza. According to Moses, agents shoved Associated Press freelancer Olga Fedorova to the floor, at which point L. Vural Elibol of the Anadolu Agency also fell to the ground and sustained what appeared to be a serious injury.

In a clip seen millions of times, Vance singled out The Nation in a dog whistle to his far-right followers. Predictably, a torrent of abuse followed. To correct the record on Vance's false claims about the source of our funding: The Nation is proudly reader-supported by progressives like you who support independent journalism and won't be intimidated by those in power.

When former lawyer Zhang Zhan posted hundreds of videos from Wuhan during the chaotic early months of the COVID-19 outbreak, she became one of China's most prominent citizen journalists. Jailed in 2020 for "picking quarrels and provoking trouble" a charge Chinese authorities often use against journalists and activists she was sentenced recently to another four years for the same offense.

My cell is painted green, the same colour we once used in the newsroom. Two benches and a table are bolted to the floor. Nothing moves. The bed is narrow, but I haven't fallen out yet. When I was free, but already expecting arrest, I used to joke that prison would give me the time I always lacked finally, I could read.