Keeping Track Of Press Freedom By Jonathan Beckesr

Attacks on Journalists
After being held in a Libyan prison for six weeks in 2011, a journalist by the name of Joseph Foley was finally released more than lucky to be alive, considering Libya is one of the world’s most dangerous places. Months later, in 2012, Foley decided to travel back overseas to Syria where he was then abducted. He was held captive for months before he was beheaded on camera; an Islamic terrorist group called ISIS then released this gruesome footage to the public. This footage sent shivers down the spine of many Americans and people all over the world. It brings to question the safety of journalists, the rights they posses and why they are not being protected. This attack, although very graphic, is not uncommon around

According to “Keeping Track of Press Freedom” by Jonathan Beckesr, “It is the state that has committed or facilitated acts of repression against journalists” (110). In countries on the cusp of revolution, war, or major political scandals, the government has tight control of what is filtered out to the public in terms of media. If it does not want a story published it will find a way to silence those working to make it public knowledge. When threatened governments have gone to the extremes to keep stories a secret, William A. Orme Jr., executive director for CPJ, made the point that, “imprisonment is a very effective form of censorship, assassination is the ultimate form of censorship”(qtd. in Hernandez). There have been many instances where governments have targeted vans and hotels to be attacked; fully aware that they were holding journalists. These governments have also been known to target individual journalists to be killed or imprisoned and then murdered while held behind

These groups show they “wield such immense power and influence that they are able to manipulate justice through corruption, violence, and fear” (Witchel). Witnesses and journalists are being murdered around the world and there is little to no discussion about it. Silence is the most lethal killer of freedom of the press. The Committee for Protecting Journalists and many other organizations are making leaps and bounds in gaining helping to aid journalists. Contrary to popular belief, “for every journalist killed in crossfire, three are targeted for murder” (Nieman 89). This is shocking to many people considering we only really ever hear of journalists dying in crossfire rather than murdered. Public perceptions behind journalist deaths are very scewed and many believe that journalists accidently put themselves in dangerous places, instead of considering that they were