TRANSCRIPT:
World Press Freedom Day was first proclaimed by the United Nations General Assembly in December 1993.
Freedom of the press is a fundamental right which allows individuals and organisations to express, publish, and share information without government censorship or interference.
This year the theme for Press Freedom Day is focused on the climate - which for Zambian journalist Kathy Short means highlighting the record drought which has struck southern Africa.
"Journalism in the face of the environmental crisis. We are living in that reality in many parts of the world as millions of people are impacted by climate change. Here in Zambia, we are experiencing the worst drought in 20 years. Giving journalists like me an opportunity to write more about environmental stories."
But increasingly, environmental journalists are under threat.
The United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres says journalists trying to bring attention to the climate crisis are increasingly under attack.
"Media freedom is under siege... Dozens of journalists covering illegal mining, logging, poaching and other environmental issues have been killed in recent decades. In the vast majority of cases, no one has been held to account... Legal processes are also misused to censor, silence, detain and harass environmental reporters, while a new era of climate disinformation focuses on undermining proven solutions, including renewable energy."
Environmental journalists aren't the only ones at risk from censoring tactics and physical harm.
According to new data from Reporters Without Borders, the ability of the press to freely publish news is being increasingly threatened by authorities around the world.
In 2023, 460 journalists from 62 countries were provided with financial assistance for relocation by Reporters Without Borders after becoming unsafe in their role.
Managing Editor of Digital Content at the Council on Foreign Relations, Robert McMahon, says journalists are facing an 'exile phenomenon'.
"You could probably guess some of the countries these journalists were exiled from Russia, certainly Myanmar, Iran, Afghanistan, just to name a few. We've seen Russia in particular go after journalists seeking to report the truth about its invasion of Ukraine. But again, we're seeing it with journalists leaving Myanmar, which is one of the undercover stories of the year. Some of those journalists have been able to relocate to Thailand, for example. We're seeing it Hong Kong, Jimmy Lai is in a prison. So it's a problem of not only relocating journalists whose media organisations have basically been snuffed out, or sometimes they're able to port over the semblance of their media organisation, but then it's supporting them and protecting them, and it just speaks to a very chilling period right now."
UNESCO has awarded its world press freedom prize this year to all Palestinian journalists covering the war in Gaza, where Israel has been battling Hamas for more than six months, and journalists are increasingly at risk.
The New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists says that at least 97 members of the press have been killed since the war broke out in October, 92 of whom were Palestinians.
Israel has now reportedly introduced a law allowing foreign broadcasters to be banned on national security grounds, after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed to shut down Al Jazeera's operations in Israel, calling it a "terror channel" that spreads incitement.
UN spokesperson Stephane Dujarric says that should not be happening.
"Any limitation on the right of journalists to operate anywhere in the world is of deep concern."
White House spokesperson Karine Jean-Pierre says they are checking those reports.
"We believe in the freedom of the press. It is critical. It is critically important. And the United States supports the critically important work journalists around the world do. And so, and that includes those who are reporting in, in the conflict in Gaza. So we believe that work is important. The freedom of the press is important. And if those reports are true, it is concerning to us."
In the Asia Pacific region, 26 of the 32 countries and territories have seen their scores fall in this year's World Press Freedom Index - including Australia, which has fallen from 27th to 39th.
The current focus of press freedom in Australia is Julian Assange, who is fighting extradition on charges of violating the United States' Espionage Act by obtaining and publishing classified Army intelligence documents.
Politicians, including Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Opposition leader Peter Dutton, have criticised the prosecution, suggesting it poses a grave threat to freedom of the press by treating journalistic practices as crimes.
Independent MP Andrew Wilkie has told SBS News he should not be made an example of.
"It is that day of the year we reflect on the importance of press freedom and take the opportunity to call out places and incidents where that freedom isn't been enjoyed or exercised and there's no better example than the continuing incarceration of Julian Assange. The Australian Government, I understand, is working hard to secure Julian's release, for the US to drop the attempts to extradite him to the US to face espionage charges. All I can do is to take every opportunity to keep pressing the Australian government to keep working to achieve that goal."
