Speaking Up for Press Freedom
Letter to Pacifica Executive Director Stephanie Wells
Dear Stephanie Wells,
We are members of the national Pacifica community who see a pressing need to form one cohesive media coalition to address the real, serious, and multiplying threats to our ability to inform and educate the public.
May 3 is celebrated every year as World Press Freedom Day, but the importance of practicing press freedom in a country surpasses just one annual occasion. The mass media has a powerful influence on political reality, as it shapes public opinion and lays the foundations of political beliefs – sometimes referred to as the fourth estate. In democratic countries the media plays a crucial role. The relationship between politics and the mass media is closely related to the debate about freedom of speech. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights, adopted by the United Nations in 1948, reads: “Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes freedom to hold opinions without interference, and impart information and ideas through any media regardless of frontiers.” In the specific case at issue in the U.S., we are talking about freedom of the press, a component of the First Amendment and other guarantees.
The first weeks of Donald Trump’s second term as president have been tumultuous for journalism as his administration and political allies have conducted a rapid series of attacks on press freedom that constitute a ferocious assault on every American’s First Amendment rights. Donald Trump appointed Brendan Carr, author of the FCC chapter of Project 2025 – the conservative campaign plan to reshape the government – to serve as chairman of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), which has broad jurisdiction over broadcasting and telecommunications. Carr has wasted no time enacting a political campaign of investigations and explicit threats against media organizations. This has included attacking broadcast corporations that have Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) programs. As Free Press Co-CEO Jessica J. González has written: “This is part of their desperate attempt to maintain white dominance. Let’s be clear-eyed about what attacks on DEI really are: an attempt to legitimize discrimination against people of color, women, people with disabilities, religious minorities, LGBTQIA+ people and others who have faced bigotry in the United States.”
To recognize the value of free press principles and honor the efforts of journalists, we are asking you to have the Pacifica Foundation join in coalition with other media outlets to defend the nonpartisan value of press freedom against an onslaught intended to vitiate the public’s First Amendment rights – to prevent repression and harassment of journalists, state monopoly, and censorship in the media. We seek to work with Management in drafting a letter to potential allies (including, but not limited to, NPR and PBS) to join Pacifica’s efforts to protect public and community media. This would be aimed at building a coalition with a broad range of media outlets and media advocacy organizations.
In democratic countries, the freedom of the press is guaranteed by law. The absence of interference from the state in the freedom of communication and expression is a mandatory aspect of democracy. We the below signatories urge Pacifica to no longer be a passive observer, but an active player. Press freedom is everyone’s freedom, because everyone needs access to reliable information from a plurality of transparent sources. That’s the essence of press freedom, and without it, democracy just doesn’t work. Donald Trump wants to make this about him versus the press. This fight is about Donald Trump versus every American’s First Amendment rights.
We offer you support in organizing a Pacifica network-wide plan toward remedying these recent developments.
Thank you for all that you do in the fight for justice.
In solidarity,
Ad Hoc Working Group to Defend Public and Community Media
List in formation:
(Note: Listed radio stations and organizations are for identification only; list alphabetical by last name)
Betty Davis, WBAI
Joan De Lorenzo, WBAI
Bella De Soto, KPFK
Eleanor Elizabeth Forman, WBAI
Sally Gellert, WBAI
Dr. Thomas Halle, KPFK
Sheila Hamanaka, WBAI
Peggy Heinkel-Wolfe, Community Media Assistance Project; Modesto, CA
Bob Lederer, WBAI
Alejandrina Murphy, WBAI
Michael Novick, KPFK
John Riley, WBAI
Mimi Rosenberg, WBAI
Kirby Washington, KPFK
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