Members of the Youngstown Press Club will observe World Press Freedom Day on May 3 by reading the names of 99 journalists killed during the past year while practicing their profession.
The event, which is part of a global recognition, will begin at noon in the Mahoning County Courthouse rotunda, 120 Market St., Youngstown 44503.
The featured speaker will be Judge Theresa Dellick of Mahoning County Juvenile Court.
Dellick and members of the Youngstown Press Club will read the names of journalists killed last year. The number of journalists killed last year in connection with their occupations far surpassed the 67 slain in 2022 and the 45 killed in 2021.
Youngstown Press Club members scheduled to read include: Lori Factor, Chelsea Simeon, Tony Paglia, Aundrea Cika Heschmeyer, George Nelson, JoAnn Kolarik, Brenda Linert, Jordan Cohen, Adam Earnheardt, Ernie Brown, Emily Webster Love, Ralph Zerbonia, India Gatts, Dennis Mangan, Chris Cerenelli, Karen Kastner and Michele Gatts.
“The world has become an increasingly dangerous place for journalists who are striving to share the truth with their audiences. For far too many, journalism has become a deadly endeavor. We remember these journalists in hopes that their untimely deaths were not in vain,” said Diane Laney Fitzpatrick, executive director of the Youngstown Press Club.
At least 95 journalists and media workers have been killed in the Israel-Gaza war since that conflict began on Oct. 7, according to preliminary figures from the Committee to Protect Journalists.
The committee is an independent non-profit organization that promotes press freedom worldwide.
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 remind governments of their duty to respect it.
Since then, the annual observances of that day have highlighted the right to free expression and emphasized the importance of press freedom.
However, in the face of multiple crises, media freedom, journalist safety, freedom of expression and other human rights are increasingly threatened.
The Youngstown Press Club was re-established in 2018 to promote journalism and related professions in the Mahoning Valley.
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