Today hundreds of newspapers across the United States, led by The Boston Globe,
published editorials challenging attacks on press freedom. These
stressed the essential role of journalism and news outlets in
undergirding American communities, our politics and policymaking, and
the nation as a whole. They issued a powerful call to action for
citizens to rise in defense of a free press.
For the last 22 months PEN America has been at the forefront of mobilizing writers and readers across the country as a force in defense of press freedom, truth, and open discourse as they have come under new threats here at home. Today I am proud to announce the formal launch of PEN Across America, a national initiative that has already engaged PEN America Members and allies in 22 American cities—including Detroit, MI; Birmingham, AL; Dallas, TX; Pittsburgh, PA; New Orleans, LA, and elsewhere—in programs, events, campaigns, and advocacy on press freedom and free expression, working with support from staff in our offices in NYC, Los Angeles, and Washington, D.C. Piloted beginning in September 2017 as the PEN America Press Freedom Incentive Fund, this effort has included more than 30 separate events and initiatives, with plans for dozens more in the coming months. The details on our activities can all be found here.
For the last 22 months PEN America has been at the forefront of mobilizing writers and readers across the country as a force in defense of press freedom, truth, and open discourse as they have come under new threats here at home. Today I am proud to announce the formal launch of PEN Across America, a national initiative that has already engaged PEN America Members and allies in 22 American cities—including Detroit, MI; Birmingham, AL; Dallas, TX; Pittsburgh, PA; New Orleans, LA, and elsewhere—in programs, events, campaigns, and advocacy on press freedom and free expression, working with support from staff in our offices in NYC, Los Angeles, and Washington, D.C. Piloted beginning in September 2017 as the PEN America Press Freedom Incentive Fund, this effort has included more than 30 separate events and initiatives, with plans for dozens more in the coming months. The details on our activities can all be found here.
In
order for journalists and editors to remain focused on their critical
role as dispassionate and dogged searchers for truth, it falls to the
rest of us to fend off attacks and threats that are making their work so
much more difficult and even dangerous. We have had the luxury in this
country to take for granted an intrepid and robust press corps. No more.
If the news media is to survive intact serving communities and holding
the powerful accountable, it will be because we as citizens took a stand
and recognized in time that journalism is worth fighting for.
Our work, including particularly through PEN Across America, would not be possible without the dedicated support of members and allies like you. If you'd like to be involved in a robust defense of press freedom in your community, please contact us. If you haven't yet done so, I urge you to subscribe to PEN America's Daily Alert on Rights and Expression, a must-read update on developments threatening our right to speak, listen, access information, and carry out the obligations of an informed public.
Our work, including particularly through PEN Across America, would not be possible without the dedicated support of members and allies like you. If you'd like to be involved in a robust defense of press freedom in your community, please contact us. If you haven't yet done so, I urge you to subscribe to PEN America's Daily Alert on Rights and Expression, a must-read update on developments threatening our right to speak, listen, access information, and carry out the obligations of an informed public.
Yours in solitude,
Suzanne Nossel