Miller calls for press freedom during the pandemic in CNN op-ed
In honor of World Press Freedom Day, NLP’s founder and CEO, Alan C. Miller, wrote an op-ed for CNN about why we must allow journalists to do the hard work of keeping the public safe and informed during this pandemic.
“Perhaps we shouldn’t be surprised by attacks on press freedoms and journalists around the world amid the Covid-19 pandemic,” writes Miller. “We’ve seen this pattern before: A crisis engulfs a nation, and its government moves to curtail,
manipulate or shut down news coverage. But just because we’ve seen this pattern before doesn’t mean that we should pay less attention to it now. In fact, now is a time to be especially vigilant.”
He continues, “The enormous challenges and high stakes of this pandemic have created an urgent need for independent, timely and credible information. Moreover, the daily onslaught of misinformation has made this literally a matter of life and death. Yet many repressive regimes and autocratic leaders are seeking to restrict the press — even as journalists are working to hold governments accountable for their response to this pandemic and to report on the growing public health crisis and the concomitant financial toll.”
Read the full piece on CNN.com.