The Jambar
Members of the Youngstown Press Club will observe World Press Freedom Day on May 3 by reading the names of 103 journalists killed while practicing the profession last year.
The annual event, which is part of a global recognition, will begin at noon in the Kirk Road Pavilion of the MetroParks Bikeway trailhead.
The number of journalists killed in 2024 was the highest since the Committee to Protect Journalists began tracking the numbers in 1992.
The committee is an independent nonprofit organization that promotes press freedom worldwide.
In the Austintown observance, several will read the names of journalists killed last year, including:
Mona Alexander
Jonathan Cambouris
Jordan Cohen
Lori Factor
JoAnn Kolarik
Dennis Mangan
Jim Michaels
George Nelson
Tony Paglia
Nick Rich
Chris Travers
Madison Tromler
Emily Webster Love
Ralph Zerbonia
In 1993, the United Nations General Assembly declared May 3 to be World Press Freedom Day to raise awareness of the importance of freedom of the press and to remind governments of their duty to respect it.
Since then, observances of that day have highlighted the right to free expression and emphasized the importance of press freedom.
However, that freedom is increasingly threatened in the face of multiple crises, media freedom, journalist safety, freedom of expression and other human rights.
The event is free and open to the public. For more information on World Press Freedom Day, visit yopressclub.com.
