Hello, and welcome to a special Saturday edition of The Press Freedom Report.
I’m Liam Scott, and today is World Press Freedom Day.
“It should be a day of celebration. Increasingly, it’s one of mourning,” Jodie Ginsberg, CEO of the Committee to Protect Journalists, said today in a post on LinkedIn. I think that sums it up well.
Today, I have a video interview with Ginsberg. Plus, the latest on USAGM, Trump, Nika Novak, global press freedom rankings, top press freedom headlines from around the world, and more.
CPJ’s Jodie Ginsberg: Press Freedom At Risk in U.S.
Ahead of World Press Freedom Day, I spoke with Jodie Ginsberg, CEO of the New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists, about the decline of press freedom in the United States, the global criminalization of journalism, and what still gives her hope.
“I’m thinking, sadly, that the attacks on journalists, on press freedom are growing and becoming more intense. The situation is worsening in many countries, including here in the United States,” Ginsberg told me.
Watch our full interview at the clip above or here.
Global Press Freedom at “All-Time Low,” RSF Says
Global press freedom is at an “all-time low,” according to the latest World Press Freedom Index published annually by Reporters Without Borders.
In the United States, press freedom has also hit a record low, according to the index, which was released Friday by the Paris-based press freedom group known as RSF.
The United States fell two spots and now ranks 57 out of 180 countries on the index, where 1 shows the best media environment. RSF had for years considered press freedom in the United States to be “satisfactory,” but as of last year, it’s now considered “problematic” by RSF standards.
That drop for the United States doesn’t factor in the various ways in which the Trump administration has targeted the press over the past three months. The index is based on the calendar year, which means this latest index doesn’t take into account anything that happened after 2024 for its rankings. Next year’s index will reveal how the Trump administration has impacted the U.S. standing on the index.
More broadly, the global state of media freedom is now classified as a “difficult situation” for the first time in the history of the index.
Part of the reason for that decline is economic pressure, according to the report. Ownership concentration, pressure from advertisers and financial backers, and restricted public aid are among the factors that are increasingly forcing news outlets to pick between their editorial independence and their financial survival, according to the report.
“Without economic independence, there can be no free press,” RSF’s editorial director Anne Bocandé said in a statement. “The media economy must urgently be restored to a state that is conducive to journalism and ensures the production of reliable information.”
Norway ranked first on the index for the ninth year in a row, followed by Estonia and the Netherlands. China, North Korea and Eritrea ranked worst on the index, in that order.
Trump and World Press Freedom Day
On Thursday, just two days before World Press Freedom Day, President Donald Trump signed an executive order aimed at cutting public subsidies from PBS and NPS over perceived bias in the outlets’ coverage.
PBS CEO Paula Kerger called the order a “blatantly unlawful Executive Order, issued in the middle of the night.”
NPR pledged to fight back against what it considered an affront to the First Amendment. “We will vigorously defend our right to provide essential news, information and life-saving services to the American public,” NPR CEO Katherine Maher said in a statement.
Press freedom experts have previously told me these attempts to slash public funding from NPR and PBS are intended to silence criticism of the Trump administration.
On this World Press Freedom Day, I haven’t yet seen any statements from Trump acknowledging the occasion. I asked the White House whether Trump will be releasing a statement marking the day, but as of publication, I had not yet received a reply.
Reporters Without Borders, or RSF, has thoughts on the matter.
“Trump is celebrating World Press Freedom Day by expanding his war on the press, trying to eliminate the funding for independent, reliable public media,” Clayton Weimers, the U.S. director of RSF, said in a Friday statement.
Last year, on May 3, 2024, the last World Press Freedom Day that President Joe Biden spent in the White House, he released a statement in support of media freedom and journalist safety.
“Journalism should not be a crime anywhere on Earth. On World Press Freedom Day, we honor the bravery and sacrifice of journalists and media workers around the world risking everything in pursuit of truth,” Biden said in the statement. “Journalists and media workers are an essential part of any democracy, because well-informed dissent is critical to building stronger and more successful societies,” he added.
Biden, like Democratic presidents before him, didn’t have a perfect record when it came to media freedom. But no president has waged an all-out war on the press and media freedom like Trump is now waging, according to press freedom experts.
National Press Club Brings RFE/RL Journalist Case to UN Arbitrary Detention Group
The Press Freedom Center at the National Press Club has submitted a petition with the United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention on behalf of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty journalist Nika Novak, who has been imprisoned in Russia since late 2023.
“We again ask that Miss Novak be released immediately and without conditions. She is a journalist, and journalism is not a crime,” Mike Balsamo, president of the National Press Club, said in a Saturday statement.
Novak was sleeping at her mother’s home in Siberia in the early morning hours of Dec. 25, 2023, when she was arrested without warrant.
In Nov. 2024, a court convicted her and sentenced her to four years in prison under Article 275.1, which rights experts say is written so broadly that it can be used to target anyone who communicates with people outside of Russia. Novak’s employer has condemned her plight as politically motivated.
In March 2025, a court denied her appeal.
Three other RFE/RL journalist remain jailed in Azerbaijan, Belarus and Russian-occupied Ukraine for doing their jobs. Six journalists across RFE/RL’s sister outlets Voice of America and Radio Free Asia also remain imprisoned, in Myanmar and Vietnam, over their work.
A lot has happened regarding the U.S. Agency for Global Media since my last newsletter. Here’s a breakdown on the latest.
Latest Court Orders
A federal appeals court in Washington ruled on Thursday that the Trump administration, for now, can continue withholding funding from Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, Radio Free Asia and Middle East Broadcasting Networks.
The decision temporarily reversed parts of two lower court rulings from April that stopped the Trump administration from cutting off funds to the news outlets.
The appeals court maintained parts of one lower court ruling, which required the administration to bring back journalists at Voice of America from paid leave and return to broadcasting.
Voice of America staff can resume reporting next week, DOJ says (WaPo)
The latest order temporarily blocks the lower court rulings until appeals court judges decide on whether to overrule the lower court while they reach a final verdict.
RFA
As of Friday, RFA has laid off most of its staff and is shutting down many of its broadcasts and language services, including the Lao Service, which functioned as one of the only sources of independent news for populations in Laos.
RFE/RL
The iconic alternative rock bank R.E.M. has announced a special reissue of their 1981 single “Radio Free Europe”
To commemorate the song, R.E.M. said it was releasing a limited-edition orange vinyl recording of “Radio Free Europe” as well as merchandise with proceeds going to RFE/RL
Grantees send letter to USAGM
On Friday, the heads of RFA, RFE/RL and MBN wrote a letter to USAGM officials, including Kari Lake, the local broadcaster turned unsuccessful Arizona politician who was installed as a senior advisor at USAGM earlier this year
“Our journalists are terrified that the withdrawal of support from their employers will lead to harassment, prison, and worse,” the letter said.
“We urge you to restore our funding immediately before further irreparable reputational harm is done to the United States — and before innocent lives are needlessly and recklessly lost,” it added.
USAGM Audit
USAGM, under Lake’s direction, recently gave a sole-source $250,000 contract to the law firm Ragnar Group for “grantee monitoring” and “program consulting support,” per POLITICO
10 Most Urgent Cases of Imprisoned Journalists
World Press Freedom Day is a day designated by the UN General Assembly to highlight the important role of the free press.
Every year around World Press Freedom Day, the One Free Press Coalition publishes its annual “10 Most Urgent” list to draw attention to the ten most concerning cases of imprisoned journalists around the world.
This year’s list features some journalists I’ve reported on, including Jimmy Lai in Hong Kong, Li Yanhe in China, Ihar Losik in Belarus and Vladyslav Yesypenko in Russian-occupied Crimea.
This year’s list also features Shin Daewe in Myanmar, Frenchie Mae Cumpio in the Philippines, Pham Doan Trang in Vietnam, Sevinj Vagifgizi in Azerbaijan, Makhabat Tajibek kyzy, Azamat Ishenbekov and Aike Beishekeyeva in Kyrgyzstan, and Joakim Medin in Turkey.
Press Freedom News Wrap
United States
Trump is trying to chill the investigative journalism that holds him to account (CNN)
The loss of editorial freedom at 60 Minutes is a sorry milestone for US media (Margaret Sullivan in The Guardian)
President Trump said he ‘brought back free speech.’ His first 100 days tell a different story. (Poynter)
Radio Free Asia lays off most of its staff amid funding battle with Trump (CNN)
Appeals Court Allows Trump to Block Money for Federally Funded Newsrooms, for Now (NYT)
If Independent Press Vanishes, So Do First Amendment Protections (RealClearPolitics)
Africa
Morocco: Moroccan authorities deported two Italian freelance journalists who were trying to enter the Western Sahara earlier this week (CPJ)
Libya: Rights groups express concern about deterioration of press freedom in Libya (Article 19)
Asia
Philippines: Veteran publisher Juan Dayang, 89, shot dead in his home in the Philippines on Tuesday (CPJ, IFJ, Rappler)
“President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s government hasn’t done enough to stop the killers of journalists,” CPJ’s Shawn Crispin said
Myanmar: Myanmar journalist Than Htike Myint was sentenced to 5 years in prison on terrorism charges in April, local media reported this week (Democratic Voice of Burma, CPJ)
Azerbaijan: Reporting from exile: Azerbaijani journalists confront new realities and old fears (Global Voices)
Europe
Serbia: Media Freedom in State of Emergency (new report from IPI and Media Freedom Rapid Response)
United Kingdom: Backlash grows against Ipso’s undermining of press freedom (The Telegraph)
Europe leads world in media freedom rankings — but Greece trails again (POLITICO)
Middle East
Turkey: A Turkish court on Wednesday convicted Swedish journalist Joakim Medin of insulting President Recep Tayyip Erdogan (AP)
The report was given an 11-month suspended prison term
Turkey: Press freedom is deteriorating in Turkey (Index on Censorship)
Palestine the world’s most dangerous place for journalists, RSF says (Al Jazeera)
Thanks for reading. I’ll be back on Wednesday.
Best,
Liam Scott
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