McManus Says South Asian Journalists Must Speak Up for Justice: South Asia Monitor

Journalists are being murdered and targeted in South Asia, and Journalism Affiliated Faculty James McManus writes that journalists need to speak up loudly for justice and freedom.

McManus said 2024 was a tough year for journalists as 361 were incarcerated at one point, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists. He said more countries are adopting repressive authoritarian laws and practices designed to stifle the media.

Read McManus’ opinion piece on the South Asia Monitor.

In nearly all cases, governments that repress journalists enjoy impunity. Year after year, jailing journalists for reporting the truth, uncovering corruption and holding those in power to account bears minimal consequences. When governments suppress the media by blocking access to information and bringing bogus charges against reporters, it undermines the rule of law and weakens critically important political and legal institutions that protect individual rights for everyone.