World Press Freedom Day

May 3 is World Press Freedom Day, an opportunity to recognize the attacks on the free press around the world and right here in the US.  Nora Benavidez is with PEN America, an organization that was founded 100 years ago to support writers, tells KGNU that they’re hosting a World Press Freedom Day event tomorrow evening at the BookBar in Denver.

“World Press Freedom Day was thought of as something for journalists abroad, and that it was something the rest of the world could do, that they could elevate and take a stand on behalf of journalists who have been silenced or targeted in some way, arrested or even killed. But here in the United States, what we’ve seen is various incidents that are now on the rise where journalists are being assaulted, verbally and physically, while they’re doing their job and reporting. We’ve seen Journalists who are working at our U.S. and Mexico border put under surveillance, even being detained at the border. We’ve seen press credentials for journalists who are trying to cover news at our various State Capitals around the country. Those press credentials have been either revoked or denied. And then we’ve also seen legislative efforts where some of our elected officials want to seek new legislative ways of restricting and monitoring what Journalists do and what they define themselves as.”

The Denver World Press Freedom Day event takes place at the BookBar in Denver, starting at 4:30 pm.

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