[Congressional Record Volume 168, Number 176 (Tuesday, November 15, 2022)]
[Senate]
[Pages S6700-S6701]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                              JOURNALISTS

  Mr. BROWN. Madam President, I ask my colleagues to join me today in 
honoring journalists. A free, independent media is vital to our 
democracy. It is enshrined in our Constitution. We depend on reporters 
around the world to both tell the stories that have an impact on our 
day-to-day lives and dig for those stories that might not be told 
otherwise.
  Journalists are generally tenacious and dedicated. They ask the tough 
questions. They challenge special interests. They connect us with our 
communities and our world. They put themselves in harm's way to tell 
the unvarnished truth, unfiltered by government propaganda, at a time 
when the world needs it more than ever, and too often, that comes at a 
cost.
  Increasingly, journalists find themselves under attack, arrested, or 
targeted for simply reporting facts. Some even make the ultimate 
sacrifice to reveal the truth.
  In March, I spoke on this floor about three talented, brave 
journalists who were killed while reporting on Vladimir Putin's brutal 
invasion of Ukraine. Since then, at least nine other journalists have 
been killed in Ukraine, journalists who were covering this war.
  In May, Palestinian-American journalist Shireen Abu Akleh was killed 
while reporting on an Israeli military raid in Jenin in the West Bank. 
This danger is not something American journalists are immune from.
  In September, Jeff German, a reporter with the Las Vegas Review-
Journal, was murdered--was murdered--for his investigative reporting 
here in the United States of America.
  These are only a few of the journalists who lost their lives this 
year while trying to uncover the truth.
  Since Mahsa Amini's death on September 16, Reporters Without Borders 
has found that ``at least 42 journalists have been arrested throughout 
Iran.'' The Committee to Protect Journalists reports that since the 
beginning of 2022--fewer than 11 months--60 journalists--6-0 
journalists--have been killed.
  Politicians in this country throw around all kinds of incendiary 
language describing journalists, making fun of them, demeaning them, 
contributing to this view too often that could lead to the injury or 
attacks or even murders of journalists.
  We remember those who lost their lives. We recognize their unwavering 
commitment to the democratic ideals of truth and accuracy and 
transparency, a commitment so strong that they put their lives on the 
line--often putting truth before personal safety--to cover floods and 
hurricanes and the important stories from global war zones. We have a 
better understanding of what is happening in the world today because of 
journalists, because of journalism.
  Our thoughts are with the families and the friends and the colleagues 
whose loved ones were killed in search of truth, but thoughts and 
prayers aren't enough. We need to support efforts here and abroad to 
hold those who kill or even threaten journalists accountable.
  That is why the work of organizations like Reporters Without Borders 
and the Committee to Protect Journalists--why organizations like that 
are

[[Page S6701]]

integral to ensuring our basic right to freedom of the press.
  Earlier this month, we commemorated the International Day to End 
Impunity for Crimes Against Journalists. Attacks and threats against 
journalists are attacks and threats against all of us, attacks and 
threats to freedom of speech and expression itself.
  I have called for the release of journalists unjustly detained in 
Egypt, Morocco, and elsewhere. I will keep calling for justice.
  We honor the memories and the work of journalists best by defending 
the freedom of the press, defending the right to free speech, 
protecting journalists in their pursuit of the truth, and holding the 
regimes--no matter where they are--that attack journalists accountable. 
Today, we recommit ourselves to that fight.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Ohio.

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