Why I believe in journalism as a public good

"Attacks on journalists…are often among the first indicators of a declining environment for freedoms and rights.”

Hi storytellers – 

Tomorrow is World Press Freedom Day. The United Nations made this declaration in December, 1993; the first World Press Freedom day was celebrated 30 years ago. Worldwide, journalists throughout history have been threatened and murdered for pursuing stories that powerful people want to hide. Ninety-nine journalists were killed “in relation to their work” last year, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) — 44% more than the year before.

“Attacks on journalists…are often among the first indicators of a declining environment for freedoms and rights more generally,” said CPJ chief executive Jodie Ginsberg in the Columbia Journalism Review. 

New Hampshire Public Radio reporter Lauren Chooljian never expected to encounter these kinds of threats. But in 2022, as she chronicles in The 13th Step, vandals targeted the homes of her parents and her news director. Later, they would target her own home. At her house, a brick was thrown through a picture window and th…