Press Freedom at Risk: How the Pandemic is Threatening Truthtelling Around the World
Would-be autocrats around the world are using the COVID-19 pandemic as cover for tightening their grip on power. And cracking down on journalism is the first order of business. From Eastern Europe to South Asia to Latin America and Africa, vast restrictions on the press are criminalizing independent reporting. At stake is the public’s right to know, and at a time when the stakes have never been higher.
In this session we meet reporters on four continents who are experiencing this firsthand. Also joining us is Joel Simon, Executive Director of the Committee to Protect Journalists, which is on the front lines of advocating for a free press.
Speakers:
- Joel Simon, Executive Director, Committee to Protect Journalists
- Jennifer Avila Reyes, Journalist, Honduras
- Daniel Kalinaki, Journalist, Uganda
- Raksha Kumar, Journalist, India
- Szabolcs Panyi, Journalist, Hungary
- Vivian Schiller, Executive Director, Aspen Digital
Aspen Digital is a new program of the Aspen Institute which empowers policy makers, civic organizations, companies, and the public to be responsible stewards of technology and digital media in the service of a more just and equitable world. Aspen Digital combines many of the Institute’s initiatives focused on technology and media, including the work of the Aspen Cyber & Technology Program, Communications & Society Program, the Center for Urban Innovation, and the Aspen Tech Policy Hub.