Attacks on the Press ─ The New Face of Censorship

The latest, definitive assessment of the state of free press around the world

Attacks on the Press is a comprehensive, annual account of press conditions worldwide, focusing this year on the new face of censorship perpetrated by governments and non-state actors.

Compiled by the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), the 2017 edition documents new dangers and threats to journalists and to the free and independent media. The risks are a combination of familiar censorship tactics applied in novel ways, and the exertion of pressure through unconventional means or at unprecedented levels. These censorship efforts range from withholding advertising to online trolling, website blocking to physical harassment, imprisonment to the murder of journalists.

In the Americas, governments and non-state actors use new, sometimes subtle ways to limit journalists' ability to investigate wrongdoing. In Europe, authorities deploy intelligence services to intimidate the press in the name of national security. In Asia, governments block access to information online, and in some cases, punish those who manage to get around the obstacles. And throughout the world, terror groups are using the threat of targeted murder to compel journalists to refrain from covering crucial stories or otherwise self-censor.

Attacks on the Press documents how these new forms of censorship are perpetrated and provides journalists with guidance on how to work around them, when possible, and how to ensure their own safety as well as the safety of their sources and people with whom they work. The book enables readers to:

• Examine the state of free media around the world
• Learn which nations violate press freedom with impunity
• Discover the most dangerous beats and regions
• Delve inside specific, increasingly complex challenges

CPJ's mission is to defend the rights of journalists to report the news without fear of reprisal. Attacks on the Press provides a platform for direct advocacy with governments and the diplomatic community, for giving voice to journalists globally, and for ensuring that those journalists have a seat in discussions at the United Nations, the Organization of American States, the European Union, the African Union, and others.

The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) is an independent, nonprofit organization founded in 1981 to promote press freedom worldwide by defending the rights of journalists to report the news without fear of reprisal. CPJ was formed by a group of U.S. foreign correspondents in response to the often brutal treatment of their foreign colleagues by authoritarian governments and other enemies of independent journalism and operates with a full-time staff of 23 at its New York headquarters, including area specialists for each major world region, a Washington, DC representative, and consultants stationed around the world. A 35-member board of prominent journalists directs CPJ's activities and they are funded solely by contributions from individuals, corporations, and foundations. CPJ does not accept government funding.