Press Freedom
National Press Club Condemns Pentagon Barring of Reporters
May 13, 2010
The National Press Club condemned Monday a recent decision by Defense Department officials to ban four reporters from covering military commission proceedings at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. The journalists were banned for reporting the name of a witness, even though the person's name was already on the…
Read MoreNational Press Club Decries Police Raid of Virginia Student Newspaper Office
April 19, 2010
The National Press Club called the police raid of a Virginia student newspaper deplorable and urged law enforcement to cease taking any such action in the future. James Madison University's The Breeze newspaper reported on its Web site that Marsha Garst, Virginia commonwealth attorney for the…
Read MoreNPC urges Congress for legislation discouraging foreign lawsuits that limit First Amendment rights
March 24, 2010
The National Press Club urged the U.S. Congress to enact legislation that would discourage foreign lawsuits that limit American authors' and journalists' First Amendment rights. Plaintiffs, through a practice known as "libel tourism," bring lawsuits against Americans in countries that lack adequate…
Read MoreNPC applauds Senate bill to strengthen FOIA
March 19, 2010
The National Press Club lauded on Wednesday a bill soon to be introduced in the Senate that aims to speed up the processing of public requests for documents under the Freedom of Information Act. Two senators who have long championed press freedom and open government legislation, Democrat Patrick J…
Read MoreNew muffins, pastries at Members' self-serve breakfast
March 9, 2010
Club members who stop by the Reliable Source for breakfast are now offered freshly baked pastries and bite-sized muffins in addition to the fruit, bagels and other goodies on the continental breakfast buffet. Executive Chef Susan Delbert reports that "replacing the iced Danish of old, the Press…
Read MoreThe National Press Club condemns the terrorist attack on Peshawar's Press Club
December 23, 2009
A suicide bomber on Tuesday detonated explosives at the gates of the Club, killing a guard, the Club's accountant and a bystander and wounding at least 20 others. The Club in this northwest Paskistan city had received a series of threats in the month leading up to the suicide attack. "The targeting…
Read MoreNational Press Club decries embedding censorship
October 16, 2009
The U.S. military’s decision to bar embedded reporters in Afghanistan from publishing photographs of U.S. military personnel injured or killed in action hampers journalists' ability to independently report the war and the public's right to know. "The U.S. military should not determine what is and…
Read MoreNPC Urges Venezuela to End Restrictions on Free Press
August 6, 2009
The National Press Club is distressed by the Venezuelan government's recent actions to intimidate and bully the country's media. The government of Venezuela has taken a series of steps since July 31 that threaten to destroy press freedom. On July 31, the government revoked licenses for more than 30…
Read MoreNPC Statement on the Return of American Journalists Laura Ling and Euna Lee
August 5, 2009
The National Press Club applauds the release and pardon of American journalists Laura Ling and Euna Lee, who arrived in California on Wednesday. The journalists had been held by North Korea since March 17 for allegedly perpetrating "hostile acts" for entering the country while reporting on North…
Read MoreNational Press Club Celebrates Dismissal of Charges Against AP Photographer
April 9, 2008
The National Press Club joined other journalism organizations Wednesday in celebrating the dismissal of terrorism-related allegations against an Associated Press photographer. A judicial committee in Baghdad ordered the release of Bilal Hussein nearly two years after he was detained by the U.S.…
Read More