The National Press Club

The National Press Club and 46 other journalism organizations joined in a letter Monday to the Pentagon urging greater openness in its court martial proceedings in general and particularly in the case of Bradley Manning, the Army private accused of releasing classified information to the Wikileaks organization.

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National Press Club President Theresa Werner expressed outrage about the deaths of two journalists Feb. 22 during a shelling in the Syrian-opposition stronghold of Homs.

American journalist Marie Colvin, working for the Sunday Times of London, and Remi Ochlik, a French photojournalist, were both killed in the attack, according to media reports citing a French spokeswoman. Shells hit a building Syrian rebels had turned into an impromptu press center, according to reports quoting a message to Sunday Times employees from owner Rupert Murdoch.

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The revolutions sweeping the Middle East and North Africa have brought the promise of more open and accountable governments and societies but that outlook has dimmed, as autocratic regimes in the region have responded to the so-called “Arab Spring” by clamping down hard on reporters and citizens communicating on the web, a panel of experts said a National Press Club Freedom of the Press event Feb. 14.

“Wait a few more years before you call it ‘spring,’” said a skeptical Abderrahim Foukara, Washington bureau chief of Al Jazeera Arabic, one of the panelists.

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The National Press Club's Press Freedom Committee plans to host a panel to examine the latest Mideast trends on repression of expression on Tuesday, Feb. 14, from 9:30 to 11 a.m. in the NPC's First Amendment room.

With a violent crackdown raging in Syria and the future of countries from Libya to Egypt still uncertain, the Mideast remains a top focus of world news. But more than a year after the start of the Arab Spring, reporters and citizens trying to document these events remain under siege.

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The NPC's Press Freedom Committee hosts a panel to examine the latest Mideast trends on repression of expression on Tuesday, Feb. 14, from 9:30 to 11 a.m. in the Press Club’s First Amendment room.

With a violent crackdown raging in Syria and the future of countries from Libya to Egypt still uncertain, the Mideast remains a top focus of world news. But more than a year after the start of the Arab Spring, reporters and citizens trying to document these events remain under siege.

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The NPC's Press Freedom Committee hosts a panel to examine the latest Mideast trends on repression of expression on Tuesday, Feb. 14 at 9:30am in the National Press Club’s Fourth Estate Restaurant.

More than a year ago, uprisings in several Mideast countries triggered what has come to be called the Arab Spring. But when it comes to freedom of the press and the Internet, it has been a chilling period in many parts of the region. Reporters and citizens have been spied on, beaten, imprisoned and even killed merely for telling the truth about what is happening in their countries.

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A “perfect storm” of repression has raged against photojournalists in the United States in recent years, according to an accomplished news photographer who has become an attorney representing his former colleagues.

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National Press Club President Mark Hamrick expressed outrage Friday about the president of Ecuador’s systematic and relentless attacks on the press.

Angry over a piece that was critical of him, the Ecuadoran president Rafael Correa has won court rulings-- under questionable circumstances-- that could result in the shuttering of one of Latin America’s most esteemed newspapers and the imprisonment of its journalists.

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National Press Club President Mark Hamrick joined with other journalism leaders to urge Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to take action against Ethiopia for imprisoning a journalist.

Hamrick is one of five people who signed a letter published in the current issue of The New York Review of Books on behalf of Ethiopian journalist Eskinder Nega.

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The National Press Club called on Nov. 28 for the Indian government to investigate charges that reporters were beaten in Indian-controlled Kashmir and to prevent such attacks from happening again.

The Associated Press reported that four journalists were beaten while covering a protest in that region on Nov. 25. One of them, Umar Meraj, an AP cameraman, said he was attacked with rifle butts, batons, fists and kicks. The AP said local journalists and non-governmental organizations have repeatedly reported harassment and assaults by police in the territory.

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