Press Freedom
National Press Club lauds congressional action on transparency
June 14, 2016
The National Press Club president congratulated Congress Tuesday for sending the president legislation aimed at making the federal government more transparent. The bill, which would strengthen the Freedom of Information Act, is known as the FOIA Improvement Act of 2016. The Senate passed the bill…
Read MoreNational Press Club Mourns Loss of National Public Radio Employees in Afghanistan
June 6, 2016
In the wake of the deaths Sunday in Afghanistan of a National Public Radio photographer and his translator, the National Press Club offered condolences to NPR staffers and the families of those killed. The photographer, David Gilkey, and his Afghan translator, Zabihullah Tamanna, were killed on…
Read MoreNational Press Club Decries Philippine President-Elect’s Dangerous Rhetoric
June 1, 2016
The National Press Club condemned recent statements by the president-elect of the Philippines that journalists could be targeted for assassination. “Just because you’re a journalist, you are not exempted from assassination, if you’re a son of a bitch,” Rodrigo Duterte was reported as saying at a…
Read MoreNational Press Club Alarmed by Growing Press Crackdown in Egypt
June 1, 2016
The National Press Club on Wednesday voiced alarm over deteriorating press freedom conditions in Egypt following this week's arrest of the head of the country's journalists' union. Egyptian Press Syndicate head Yahia Galash and two board members, Gamal Abdel Raheem and Khaled Elbashy, were detained…
Read MoreNational Press Club President: What Does Donald Trump Have Against the Constitution?
May 31, 2016
The National Press Club president expressed alarm on Tuesday about Donald Trump’s dangerous attitude toward the First Amendment. At a press conference earlier in the day, Trump had said “the press should be ashamed of themselves” for investigating his fundraising for veterans. Trump at one point…
Read MorePress Club Welcomes Azeri Reporter’s Release From Jail
May 25, 2016
The National Press Club on Wednesday applauded the Supreme Court of Azerbaijan’s decision to order the release of award-winning journalist Khadija Ismayilova. Ismayilova has been imprisoned for a year and a half on charges widely seen as retaliation for her investigative reporting into the finances…
Read MoreNational Press Club Marks World Press Freedom Day 2016
May 3, 2016
National Press Club President Thomas Burr issued the following statement on World Press Freedom Day 2016:The National Press Club is deeply concerned about the dangers reporters around the world face each day. We call for an end to the imprisonment, threats, harassment, intimidation, injuring and…
Read MoreAfter murders in Bangladesh, National Press Club urges justice
April 26, 2016
National Press Club leaders expressed outrage Tuesday about the murder of two people, including a journalist, in Bangladesh. Xulhaz Mannan, editor of Roopbaan, an LGBT magazine, and Tanay Mojumdar, a friend of Mannan’s, were hacked to death in Mannan's apartment in the capital, Dhaka, on April 25,…
Read MoreNational Press Club Condemns Murder of Syrian Journalist
April 15, 2016
The National Press Club condemned the murder this week of Syrian journalist Mohammed Zahir al-Sherqat in the Turkish city of Gaziantep. This is reportedly the fourth murder of a Syrian journalist in Turkey that has been claimed by the Islamic State terrorist group, or ISIL. Al-Sherqat, who reported…
Read MoreNational Press Club expresses concern of deteriorating press freedoms in Maldives
April 12, 2016
The National Press Club expressed concern April 12 about reports of the rough treatment of a group of journalists gathered to protest worsening press freedoms in the Maldives. "We are deeply troubled by reports of tear-gassing and manhandling of journalists who were understandably frustrated by a…
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