The latest racket to capitalise on the “assault on press freedom” outrage fad has been kicked off seeing that the Committee to Protect Journalists and First Look Media’s Press Freedom Defense Fund Announce Legal Support to Defend Fearless Journalism.
And, surprise surprise…
The first recipients of this newly created campaign will be Rappler, the Philippine-based news organization, and its founder and editor, renowned journalist Maria Ressa.
But of course.
Any “press freedom defense fund” needs a postergirl (and girlettes) for a campaign to play the Victim Card.
The reality is that mainstream media had lost the confidence of a vast swath of its audience. Yet the latest CPJ brainwave describes Rappler as “a leading source of independent information and an inspiration to journalists around the world”.
Nice. Intellectual dishonesty seems to be the only real common denominator that binds the nebulous notion of “press freedom” and these “committees”.