Newspapers Encouraged to Promote World Press Freedom Day on 3 May
Paris, 17 April 2002
For immediate release
Newspapers Encouraged to Promote World Press Freedom Day on 3 May
Everything a newspaper needs to commemorate World Press Freedom Day on 3 May
is now available for downloading from www.wan-press.org,
the web site
of the World Association of Newspapers.
Interviews with press freedom heroes, maps and statistics on the press
freedom situation world-wide, essays from leading journalists and
print-ready advertisements promoting press freedom are being offered by WAN,
at no charge, to newspapers world-wide.
"World Press Freedom Day exists to commemorate the sacrifices that
journalists the world over are making in the cause of democracy and free
speech, and to put new pressure on the violators of press freedom," said
Timothy Balding, Director General of the Paris-based WAN. "With these values
under attack in much of the world, 3 May is a welcome opportunity to remind
readers of the importance of protecting these rights."
Terrorism and the risk to press freedom of preventive regulations and other
information restrictions are given special focus in this year's World Press
Freedom Day campaign.
Thousands of newspapers and magazines world-wide each year use the WAN
materials in a variety of ways: from a simple quarter-page advertisement, to
full page ads, to special sections and supplements dedicated to press
freedom.
The 2002 package (in English, French, Spanish, German and Russian) includes:
-- Details of the killings of 58 journalists in 2001 and information on
dozens of journalists currently being held in prison;
--Advertisements on press freedom themes;
--Interviews with two presidents who were once imprisoned for their
opinions, Vaclav Havel of the Czech Republic and Chen Sui-ban of Taiwan;
--Essays and interviews on:
--Press freedom at risk in democracies in times of terrorism, by James
Ottaway, President of the World Press Freedom Committee and Ron Koven, WPFC
European representative.
--Working in the world's most dangerous news environment, by Francisco
Santos Calderon, the former Chief Editor of El Tiempo in Colombia, where
dozens of reporters have been murdered in recent years,
--Nine years in prison for promoting democracy in Syria, a personal account
by Nizar Nayouf, former Editor-in-Chief of Sawt al-Democratiyya (Democracy's
Voice) and Secretary-General of the Committee for the Defence of Democratic
Freedom in Syria,
--The difficulties of editing an independent newspaper in a country where
press freedom is regularly violated, by Geoffrey Nyarota, Editor-in-Chief of
the Daily News of Zimbabwe,
--The expectations in many cases unfulfilled -- for full press freedom in
countries of Eastern and Central Europe, by Ioana Avadani, Director of the
Association of Independent Journalists of Romania,
--Political cartoons against press freedom repression by Michel Cambon.
WAN, the global organisation for the newspaper industry, defends and
promotes press freedom world-wide. It represents 18,000 newspapers; its
membership includes 71 national newspaper associations, individual newspaper
executives in 100 countries, 13 news agencies and seven regional and
world-wide press groups.
Inquiries to: Larry Kilman, Director of Communications, WAN, 25 rue
d'Astorg, 75008 Paris France. Tel: +33 1 47 42 85 00. Fax: +33 1 47 42 49
48. Mobile: +33 6 10 28 97 36. E-mail: lkilman@wan.asso.fr
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Larry Kilman
Director of Communications
World Association of Newspapers
25, rue d'Astorg
75008 Paris France
Tel: +33 1 47 42 85 00
Fax: +33 1 47 42 49 48
E-mail: lkilman@wan.asso.fr
Visit our web site at
http://www.wan-press.org