WASHINGTON, Nov. 22, 2024 /PRNewswire/ --
News Advisory:
Event: Launch of Press Freedom Center at the National Press
Club
Where: National Press Club, 529 14th Street NW,
Washington, D.C. 13th
Floor
When: Nov. 25 (Panel starts at
6:30pm, doors open at 6)
Contact: Bill McCarren,
202-662-7534; or wmccarren@press.org for the National Press
Club
The National Press Club, the world's leading professional
organization for journalists, is proud to announce the opening of
the Press Freedom Center, a vital new initiative dedicated to
defending press freedom and supporting journalists in danger around
the world.
With the increase in state-sponsored hostage taking and
repressive governments, more journalists are under threat and in
dangerous situations. Meanwhile, concerns exist about the future of
domestic reporters in the U.S.
The Press Freedom Center at the National Press Club represents a
new chapter in the Club's role as a leader in press freedom.
The Center's mission is to defend press freedom by assisting
detained, threatened or exiled journalists through advocacy, direct
support and community.
The Center will focus on campaigns advocating the release of
detained journalists, providing support for journalists who have
been exiled from their home countries and are trying to settle in
the U.S., and assisting domestic journalists and news
organizations.
The Press Freedom Center's dedicated staff and resources will
allow the Club to sustain its important press freedom work into the
future and take the Club's impact and advocacy to a new level.
The PFC will be headed by Bill
McCarren, who has spent more than a decade tirelessly
working to support journalists in need. McCarren, in his previous
role as Club Executive Director, was a key player in ensuring the
freedom of Washington Post Tehran Bureau Chief Jason Rezaian from an Iranian prison in 2016.
McCarren also supported Rezaian and his wife Yegi as they recovered
and made a home in D.C. Rezaian, who has become a powerful press
freedom leader in his own right, will join the Center as the Chair
of the Advisory Board. Rezaian was recently named Director of Press
Freedom Initiatives at The Washington Post.
During the November 25 launch
event, McCarren and Rezaian will speak on the future of the Center
and the challenges facing journalists at a panel during the
event.
The National Press Club has worked for the release of detained
American journalists, including Evan
Gershkovich, Alsu Kurmasheva and Austin Tice. Partnering with families, news
organizations and government officials, the Club kept these
reporters in the spotlight while holding high-profile events and
private meetings to push for their release.
The Club has also aided journalists who have fled to the U.S.
after facing threats of death or detention in their home countries.
Since 2017, the Club has fought for Mexican reporter Emilio Gutierrez Soto to receive asylum in the
U.S., while assisting him along the way including helping to get
him out of prison/detention. The Club has also assisted
Mohammad Mosaed, Yalda Moaiery, and
dozens of others.
The National Press Club has pledged $500,000 toward the Center, a record gift in the
Club's 117-year history. The National Press Club Journalism
Institute, which will continue to lead the Club's training program,
will be the fiscal sponsor of the Center and has contributed an
additional $100,000 toward the
Center.
Registration
This event is open to working press. Press must register to attend
at wmccarren@press.org. Attendance by others is invitation
only.
Founded in 1908, the National Press Club is the world's leading
professional organization for journalists. With 3,000 members
representing nearly every leading journalism organization, the Club
is a leading voice for press freedom in the U.S. and worldwide.
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SOURCE National Press Club
