Club expands Press Freedom Day into week

Journalists are facing unprecedented restrictions, intimidation and violence in the U.S. and around the world. While this is a topic we address almost every day at the National Press Club and its Journalism Institute, we've traditionally focused a lot of programming on World Press Freedom Day on May 3.

However, due to the urgency we see in press freedom issues, we've expanded to incorporate events through the whole week. (Huge thank you to all the volunteers who've made this possible, especially those in our Press Freedom Team.)

We call on all members to join in as many of these activities as possible and make to register beforehand.

Monday is a look at Afghanistan. At 6 p.m., we'll host a documentary screening of “Etilaat Roz,” which tells the story of what happened with the Etilaat Roz newspaper and its journalists after the fall of Kabul and the takeover by the Taliban.

• Co-producer Zaki Daryabi will be available for a question-and-answer session as well.

Tuesday is Action for Austin Day. Austin Tice is the American journalist who was taken 10 1/2 years ago while working as a journalist in Syria, reporting on the humanitarian crisis happening in the area.

• We will have a social media takeover for Austin (Consider changing your social media images for the day. Here’s how.) Use hashtags: #BringAustinHome and #FreeAustinTice
• The Club is asking reporters covering the Department of Defense, State Department, Pentagon, White House and congressional briefings to ask on the record what is being done to bring Austin Tice home. May 2 is the one-year mark when President Biden met with Austin’s parents and instructed his National Security Council to engage directly with the Syrian government.
• Austin’s mother Debra Tice will hold a press conference to give us an update at 1 p.m. ET.

Wednesday is World Press Freedom Day and our focus on Evan Gershkovich, who's been unjustly detained in Russia and is our John Aubuchon Award honoree for 2023. There's many events and reports coming out on the state of affairs globally.

• The Wall Street Journal is asking that everyone join a 10:30 a.m. ET tweet storm, posting photos of journalists and communicators with #IStandWithEvan and #FreeEvan signs. Join if you can.
• At 11 a.m., the Club is having a letter-writing campaign for Evan that will include watching a very personal 9-minute video focused on his parents. We will post photos of the attendees.
• We’ll have an interview with Rana Ayyub, an Indian journalist facing charges from the Modi administration. This pre-recorded interview will post at 10 a.m. ET.
• At 1 p.m., we’ll have a panel of four journalists — from Afghanistan, Iran, Sudan and Ethiopia — talking about their experience with press freedom issues in their countries and what happened after they had to flee.

Thursday, May 4, is a focus on exiled journalists.

• We will have a virtual event highlighting several exiled journalists from around the world to hear what life has been like since they made the decision to pursue life and freedom abroad. This is from 11-12:15 p.m. ET.

Friday, May 5, is a focus on journalist safety. 

• The James W. Foley Legacy Foundation has sponsored 10 journalists to participate in an all-day safety course, Head Set's Stress Management & Civil Unrest SMART course, to learn how to cover potentially dangerous protests and civil unrest.
• We will have a virtual panel highlighting the dangers of doing our jobs, including potential arrests, and how to protect yourself, starting at 11:30 a.m. ET.

We appreciate everyone's support of this important topic.