Largest Programs

Committee to Protect Journalists reported its largest program on its FY 2020 Form 990 as:

Since 1981, CPJ has defended the right of journalists to report the news safely and freely all over the world. Our organization is made up of journalists and advocates who use journalism to expose and ... (More)
Since 1981, CPJ has defended the right of journalists to report the news safely and freely all over the world. Our organization is made up of journalists and advocates who use journalism to expose and advocate on a broad range of violations. We focus on reducing the number of journalists in prison, fighting against injustice, and battling censorship and repressive legislation that governs our worlds increasingly complex information landscape. We document violations and meet with government leaders to push for change, secure convictions in murders, and free jailed journalists. Our reporting and documentation inform and empower our advocacy. In doing so, we ensure access to independent information that enables all people to make decisions and hold the powerful to account. CPJs regional programs cover Africa, the Americas, Asia, Europe and Central Asia, and the Middle East and North Africa and are led by experts from all over the world who report daily on press freedom abuses. Our staff, which reports on anti-press violations and works closely with our correspondents in 18 global cities, has built deep ties with local journalists and advocates all over the world and engages with government leaders to raise our concerns about media repression. We are unique in our ability to mobilize the media to support the press. As experts on the conditions that hinder a free press and suppress the flow of information, CPJ's regional and technology teams are regularly consulted by the media and public officials. Our Advocacy team leads or coordinates strategic efforts and impactful campaigns that weave cases into the most pressing issues. The team engages with policymakers and leaders from the United States, the European Union, and the United Nations, among other entities. In partnership with teams across the organization, they inject our reporting into multilateral systems and mechanisms that champion press freedom, protect journalists and help to deliver justice. Our Emergencies team provides pre-emptive, tailored tools and reactive support to journalists under threat all over the world. They are a pillar of support for journalists forced to flee for their safety and provide training, consultations and guidance to prevent deaths, detentions, kidnappings, and other dangers. CPJs vast international networks and collaborative relationships with local and international freedom of expression and human rights groups, allows for joint advocacy and strategic interventions together with groups like Human Rights Watch, Article 19, International PEN, and Reporters Sans Frontires. CPJ is a founding member of IFEX, an organization of 95 global freedom of expression groups. These relationships touch all teams, which also collaborate with local, regional, and international media and human rights groups to ensure the perspective and voice of those on the front lines is always in our work. The COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 presented a new set of challenges for our organization and our defense of journalists globally. But we continued with our work, knowing that journalists ability to cover the pandemic and accompanying social upheaval with safety and free of government interference was CPJs top organizational priority in the United States and around the world. We documented government repression, restrictions on newsgathering, and the imprisonment of journalists covering COVID-19. We issued safety advisories, conducted workshops and online consultations with journalists, advising them on ways to stay safe while reporting on the pandemic. We also provided financial and safety assistance to those journalists who needed it. Our comprehensive approach made possible the physical and emotional security of journalists, many of whom have been vital in counting the dead, uncovering lapses in accountability and reporting on public health in ways vital to peoples survival.In recent years, CPJ has recorded the highest numbers of jailed journalists since the early 1990s. In 2020, the number of journalists imprisoned globally hit a new highat 274as governments cracked down on coverage of the pandemic or tried to suppress reporting on political unrest. But this is why CPJs work is so important. We document each imprisonment and advocate around it. We carry out annual Free the Press campaigns and raise this issue in meetings with leaders. And our impact is global: In 2020, CPJ helped free at least 99 imprisoned journalists from dozens of countries. The previous year, CPJ advocacy helped win the early release from prison for 81 journalists. Murder is the ultimate form of censorship, and impunity breeds fear. That is why CPJ has carried out a global campaign for justice in journalist murders for more than a decade, and we are committed to fighting for justice. We report on each case, meet with leaders, and campaign for convictions. We publish an annual Impunity Index, which spotlights countries where journalists are murdered and their killers go free. In 2020, our advocacy helped win convictions in the murders of four journalists. Today, CPJ data show that nearly 20 percent of journalist murders are solvednearly double the 10 percent that CPJ documented when we first launched our campaign on impunity more than a decade ago. Put another way, of the 898 journalists who have been murdered since 1992, there has been no resolution in 724or 81 percentof their cases. CPJs Emergencies team, formed in 2016, helps to keep journalists safer all over the world. The team disseminates practical advice to journalists and, during high-risk situations, works with security experts to provide tactical information and practical support to journalists. The team also provides grants, including for evacuation, trauma therapy, and legal fees. In 2020, we provided assistance, including safety information around COVID-19 concerns, to 757 journalists in 50 countries and disbursed more than $285,000 in grants to 141 journalists who needed support for emergency relocation, prison, medical issues, and trauma. In 2019, we provided financial and non-financial support to 212 journalists and distributed more than $215,000 in grants to 84 journalists from all over the world. When CPJ was founded by a group of U.S. journalists 40 years ago, it was to defend their international colleagues who were at risk. Since then, we have used every tool of journalism to carry out our missionfrom news alerts, to special reports, to documentaries, to social media. We have developed an unparalleled reputation for the accuracy and timeliness of our reporting, the quality of our data, and our ability to offer informed policy recommendations and conduct impactful advocacy. Our reporting influences political, news and technology leaders, drives coverage in the media, and shapes public discourse that leads to change. By ensuring journalists are able to report the news freely, CPJ defends the right of people globally to access the critical information they need to make informed decisions in all areas of their lives and to hold decision-makers accountable. When a countrys journalists are silenced, its people are silenced. By protecting journalists, CPJ protects freedom of expression and democracy.A recognized leader in the global fight to protect press freedom, CPJ has been honored with a range of awards, including the 2018 Chatham House Prize. (Less)