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This year has witnessed the death, abuse and incarceration of many journalists  merely for practicing their trade.  Today has been set aside to recognize press and media freedom and the risks journalists take worldwide to objectively report the news and what is happening in their communities and in the world.

World Press Freedom Day  was first proclaimed in December 1993 by the UN General Assembly, following  the 1991 recommendation of UNESCO’s General Conference. Today UNESCO celebrates the 2012 recognition of this day at a conference in Tunis.

World Press Freedom Day  provides an opportunity to:

• celebrate the fundamental principles of press freedom;
• assess the state of press freedom worldwide;
• defend the media from attacks on their independence;
• pay tribute to journalists who have lost their lives practicing their trade.

Recognition of the day and what it stands for can be found on the websites of many organizations and governments. Here are just a few:

• United Nations
  with links to
  –the Declaration of Windhoek
  –valuable UN and UNESCO resources on journalists and press freedom
   
• U.S. Department of State
  with links to
  –  emblematic cases of threats to journalists (www.humanrights.gov)
  – Country Reports on Human Rights Practices
  –USAID’s Media Sustainability Index
   
• Human Rights Education Associates
  with links to
  –education and training materials
  –organizations that protect press freedoms

Looking to tap UB’s resources for more information on press and media  freedom?  Try looking for law review and journal articles in familiar indexes such as LegalTrac, Index to Legal Periodicals and Books, and SSRN (Social Science Research Network).  Don’t forget to also search indexes in other disciplines, such as

Communication & Mass Media Complete (EBSCO)

Also try searching UB’s “search & discovery” EVERYTHING tool which simultaneously searches the UB Online catalog (BISON) as well as hundreds of commercials databases (Articles+). Here are just a few books available at UB:

Human rights and a changing media landscape

Freedom of the press: rights and liberties under the law

Freedom of Information: A Comparative Legal Survey (online book)