The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) is an independent nonprofit organisation based in New York City that promotes press freedom and defends the rights of journalist

Journalist

A journalist collects and distributes news and other information. A journalist's work is referred to as journalism.A reporter is a type of journalist who researchs, writes, and reports on information to be presented in mass media, including print media , electronic media , and digital media A...

s.

History

A group of U.S. foreign correspondent

Foreign correspondent

Foreign Correspondent may refer to:*Foreign correspondent *Foreign Correspondent , an Alfred Hitchcock film*Foreign Correspondent , an Australian current affairs programme...

s founded CPJ in 1981 in response to harassment from authoritarian governments.

Operations

CPJ organizes vigorous public protests and works through diplomatic channels to effect change. CPJ publishes articles, news releases, special reports, a biannual magazine called Dangerous Assignments, and an annual worldwide survey of press freedom called Attacks on the Press.

CPJ also administers the annual CPJ International Press Freedom Awards

CPJ International Press Freedom Awards

The CPJ International Press Freedom Awards honour journalists around the world who show courage in defending press freedom in the face of attacks, threats or imprisonment. Created in 1991, the awards are administered by the Committee to Protect Journalists....

 which honour journalists and press freedom advocates who have endured beatings, threats, intimidation, and prison for reporting the news.

CPJ compiles an annual list all journalists killed in the line of duty around the world. Since 1992, the first year of the CPJ list, over 850 journalists have been killed. The organization's figures are typically lower than similar ongoing counts by Reporters Without Borders

Reporters Without Borders

Reporters Without Borders is a France-based international non-governmental organization that advocates freedom of the press. It was founded in 1985, by Robert Ménard, Rony Brauman and the journalist Jean-Claude Guillebaud. Jean-François Julliard has served as Secretary General since 2008...

 or the International Federation of Journalists

International Federation of Journalists

International Federation of Journalists, IFJ, is a global union federation of journalists' trade unions—the largest in the world. The organization aims to protect and strengthen the rights and freedoms of journalists...

 because of CPJ's established parameters and confirmation process.

CPJ is a founding member of the International Freedom of Expression Exchange

International Freedom of Expression Exchange

The International Freedom of Expression eXchange , founded in 1992, is a global network of around 90 non-governmental organisations that promotes and defends the right to freedom of expression....

 (IFEX), a global network of more than 70 non-governmental organisations that monitors free expression violations around the world and defends journalists, writers, and others persecuted for exercising their right to freedom of expression.

Staff and directors

The current executive director of CPJ is journalist Joel Simon, who assumed the position in July 2006 after having served as deputy director since 2000. His predecessor was veteran foreign correspondent Ann Cooper, who served as executive director from 1998 to 2006.

CPJ's board of directors has included prominent US journalists including Christiane Amanpour

Christiane Amanpour

Christiane Amanpour, CBE is anchor of ABC News's This Week and formerly chief international correspondent at CNN, where she worked for 27 years. She is a Board Member at the IWMF .-Early years:...

, Tom Brokaw

Tom Brokaw

Thomas John "Tom" Brokaw is an American television journalist and author best known as the anchor and managing editor of NBC Nightly News from 1982 to 2004. He is the author of The Greatest Generation and other books and the recipient of numerous awards and honors...

, Anne Garrels

Anne Garrels

Anne Garrels is a foreign correspondent for National Public Radio in the United States.-Career:Garrels graduated from Harvard University's Radcliffe College in 1972...

, Charlayne Hunter-Gault

Charlayne Hunter-Gault

Charlayne Hunter-Gault is an American journalist and former foreign correspondent for National Public Radio, and the Public Broadcasting Service....

, Gwen Ifill

Gwen Ifill

Gwendolyn L. "Gwen" Ifill is an American journalist, television newscaster and author. She is the managing editor and moderator of Washington Week and a senior correspondent for the PBS NewsHour, both of which air on PBS. She is a political analyst, and moderated the 2004 and 2008 Vice...

, Jane Kramer

Jane Kramer

Jane Kramer is an American journalist who is the European correspondent for The New Yorker; she has written a regular "Letter from Europe" for twenty years. Kramer has also written nine books, the latest of which, Lone Patriot , is about a militia in the American West...

, Anthony Lewis

Anthony Lewis

Anthony Lewis is a prominent liberal intellectual, writing for The New York Times op-ed page and The New York Review of Books, among other publications. He was previously a columnist for the Times . Before that he was London bureau chief , Washington, D.C...

, Dave Marsh

Dave Marsh

Dave Marsh is an American music critic, author, editor and radio talk show host. He was a formative editor of Creem magazine, has written for various publications such as Newsday, The Village Voice, and Rolling Stone, and has published numerous books about music and musicians, mostly focused on...

, Kati Marton

Kati Marton

Kati Marton is a Hungarian-American author and journalist. Her career has included reporting for ABC News as a foreign correspondent and National Public Radio, where she started as a production assistant 1971 in her 20s, as well as print journalism and writing a number of books.She is the former...

, Michael Massing

Michael Massing

Michael Massing is a contributing editor of the Columbia Journalism Review. Michael Massing received his Bachelor of Arts from Harvard and an MS from the London School of Economics and Political Science. He often writes for the New York Review of Books concerning the media and foreign affairs...

, Victor Navasky

Victor Navasky

Victor Saul Navasky is a professor at the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism. He was editor of The Nation from 1978 until 1995, and its publisher and editorial director 1995 to 2005. In November 2005 he became the publisher emeritus...

, Andres Oppenheimer

Andrés Oppenheimer

Andrés Oppenheimer is an Argentine born-American journalist who resides in the United States. He is the Latin American editor and syndicated foreign affairs columnist with The Miami Herald. His column, "The Oppenheimer Report," appears twice a week in The Miami Herald and more than 60 U.S. and...

, Clarence Page

Clarence Page

Clarence Page is an American journalist, syndicated columnist, and senior member of The Chicago Tribune editorial board.-Early years:...

, Norman Pearlstine

Norman Pearlstine

Norman Pearlstine joined Bloomberg L.P. in June 2008 as chief content officer, a newly-created position. In this role Pearlstine is charged with seeking growth opportunities for Bloomberg’s television, radio, magazine, and online products and to make the most of the company’s news operations.Prior...

, Dan Rather

Dan Rather

Daniel Irvin "Dan" Rather, Jr. is an American journalist and the former news anchor for the CBS Evening News. He is now managing editor and anchor of the television news magazine Dan Rather Reports on the cable channel HDNet. Rather was anchor of the CBS Evening News for 24 years, from March 9,...

, John Seigenthaler, and Mark Whitaker

Mark Whitaker

Mark Whitaker is Executive Vice President and managing editor for CNN Worldwide . He was previously Senior Vice President and Washington Bureau Chief for NBC News, succeeding Tim Russert after his fatal heart attack in June 2008...

.

External links

• Committee to Protect Journalists website
• International Freedom of Expression Exchange