Opinion

In Africa, Press Freedom Can Be a Matter of Life and Death

In Africa, Press Freedom Can Be a Matter of Life and Death

Today, nearly every African country holds multiparty elections of some kind, but – as in the case worldwide – relatively few fully respect political rights and civil liberties. This situation…
July 22, 2020
Jeffery Smith
What Hopewell Chin’ono’s Arrest Says about the Free Press in Zimbabwe

What Hopewell Chin’ono’s Arrest Says about the Free Press in Zimbabwe

On the morning of July 20, 2020, a group of men arrived at the Harare home of Zimbabwean journalist Hopewell Chin’ono, smashed a glass door to gain access and took…
July 21, 2020
Fungai Tichawangana
Changes at VOA Threaten the Free Press — At Home and Abroad

Changes at VOA Threaten the Free Press — At Home and Abroad

Many news consumers in the United States may have no idea that some of the world’s best reporting on what is happening in authoritarian societies and fragile democracies comes from…
June 29, 2020
Michael J. Abramowitz
Will This Racial Reckoning Finally Force Newsrooms to Listen to Every Staffer’s Voice?

Will This Racial Reckoning Finally Force Newsrooms to Listen to Every Staffer’s Voice?

I’ll never forget the day the publisher spotted me as I was returning to my desk after lunch. She dressed me down in the middle of the newsroom, with more…
June 19, 2020
Issac J. Bailey
A Journalist Wrestles with the Complex History of Racism in America

A Journalist Wrestles with the Complex History of Racism in America

Issac J. Bailey, a 2014 Nieman Fellow, is a journalist, author, and race relations seminar creator and facilitator. Here he shares an experience that forced him to take…
June 15, 2020
Issac J. Bailey
Is More Speech the Way to Counter Bad Speech?

Is More Speech the Way to Counter Bad Speech?

On May 29, I watched in disbelief as the police handcuffed a CNN crew while broadcasting live from Minneapolis in the aftermath of George Floyd’s murder. The appalling violation of…
June 12, 2020
Mattia Ferraresi
Countries Locking Up Journalists May Have a New Slogan: “It Happens in America, Too”

Countries Locking Up Journalists May Have a New Slogan: “It Happens in America, Too”

preI thought I’d grown accustomed to daily attacks on the press. Being a journalist in Serbia often means you spend more time fending off pressure from politicians than doing your…
June 11, 2020
Vladimir Radomirovic
With Press Freedom in Sharp Decline, a Russian Journalist Turns to Political Activism

With Press Freedom in Sharp Decline, a Russian Journalist Turns to Political Activism

On May 28, Ilya Azar, 35, a Novaya Gazeta journalist and activist, was arrested near the entrance to Moscow’s police department, where he was picketing, holding a small placard. On…
June 8, 2020
Pavel Kanygin
George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, and One Journalist’s Painfully Honest Self-Examination on Racism

George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, and One Journalist’s Painfully Honest Self-Examination on Racism

last June, I traveled to Ghana for the first time. For most of my life, I wanted no connection to the dark continent. I had been convinced, by whom or…
May 29, 2020
Issac J. Bailey
Tara Reade’s Allegations and Trauma-Informed Reporting

Tara Reade’s Allegations and Trauma-Informed Reporting

The more I read about Tara Reade’s story, the less I know about her sexual assault allegation against Joe Biden. That’s a problem, not just for Reade but for every…
May 21, 2020
Issac J. Bailey