Protesters holds placards during a rally against corruption and to pay tribute to murdered Slovak journalist Jan Kuciak JOE KLAMAR/AFP/Getty Images

How Press Freedom Is Won

On World Press Freedom Day, attention will naturally turn to the myriad ways that journalism, a key component of any well-functioning democracy, is under attack. But, amid the gloom, signs of journalistic resilience are emerging.

ACCRA – Every year on May 3 – World Press Freedom Day – news producers and consumers pause to reflect on the state of global media. This year, as journalists and government officials gather in Ghana for the event’s 25th observance, attention will turn to the myriad pressures and challenges confronting the profession worldwide, and how official and state-sponsored hostility toward the press is threatening democracy.

But these concerns, though certainly valid, are not the entire story. Signs of journalistic resilience are also emerging. So, rather than focusing exclusively on the obstacles journalists around the world are facing, let’s mark May 3 by considering the many reasons for optimism.

For starters, while no media market is immune to erosion of press freedom, resistance is possible. Recent events in Europe are illustrative. In Slovakia, public outrage over the politically motivated double murder of an investigative journalist, Ján Kuciak, and his fiancée, Martina Kušnírová, forced Prime Minister Robert Fico to resign, and has his successor, Peter Pellegrini, walking a public-relations tightrope.

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