Wednesday, May 01, 2002
51 journalists who died covering the news in 2001 to be added to Journalists Memorial
Ceremony takes place on World Press Freedom Day, May 3, at 10 a.m.
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ARLINGTON, Va. — The names of 51 journalists who died covering the news in 2001 will be added to the Freedom Forum Journalists Memorial on May 3, World Press Freedom Day.
The memorial, located in Freedom Park, now pays tribute to 1,446 reporters, editors, photographers and broadcasters killed while on assignment. The year 2001 had the most deaths related to journalism since 1995, when 69 journalists died. The leading cause of death for the journalists killed in 2001 is assassination and/or murder.
Paul E. Steiger, managing editor and vice president of The Wall Street Journal, will speak at the 10 a.m. ceremony in Freedom Park, followed by the reading of names being added to the memorial this year. The ceremony will be attended by friends, family members and colleagues of journalists honored on the memorial, as well as representatives of the news organizations for which the slain journalists worked.
"There were nearly twice the number of journalist deaths in 2001 as there were in 2000,” said Peter S. Prichard, president of the Freedom Forum and Newseum. “The rededication ceremony reminds us that reporting the news can be difficult, dangerous and deadly, particularly for those reporters covering conflict.”
Central Asia, Latin America and India and were among the deadliest areas for journalists in 2001: Almost one-half of the journalists being added to the memorial were slain in those countries.
Two of the journalists being added to the memorial died as a result of terrorist attacks on America. William Biggart, a free-lance news photographer, rushed to the scene with his camera shortly after hearing about the World Trade Center attacks, and his body was found on Sept. 15 in the rubble at Ground Zero, near the bodies of several firefighters. Robert Stevens, a photo editor at the tabloid newspaper The Sun, died of inhalation anthrax in Boca Raton, Fla. The source of the anthrax has not yet been determined.
Journalists’ names are added each year to the glass panels of the monument, which stands at the apex of Freedom Park, adjacent to the Newseum and Freedom Forum World Center at 1101 Wilson Blvd. in Arlington, Va. (See the list of the names of the 51 journalists who died in 2001.) To view a database listing the 1,446 memorialized journalists, their affiliations and the circumstances of their death, visit the Newseum online.
World Press Freedom Day was established by the General Assembly of the United Nations on Dec. 20, 1993, on a recommendation by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). Every year, May 3 is a day to remember and celebrate the fundamental principles of press freedom. It serves as an occasion to inform citizens of press freedom violations — a reminder that in dozens of countries around the world, publications are censored, fined, suspended and closed down, while journalists, editors and publishers are harassed, attacked, detained and murdered.
The Newseum in Arlington, Va., closed on March 3, 2002. This decision signals the next stage of the Freedom Forum’s plan to relocate to Washington, D.C., in 2006. The Freedom Forum, which funds and operates the Newseum, is a nonpartisan foundation dedicated to free press, free speech and free spirit for all people. The foundation focuses on three main priorities: the Newseum, First Amendment issues and newsroom diversity.
The new Newseum will be located at Pennsylvania Avenue and Sixth Street, N.W., between the U.S. Capitol and the White House and across the street from the National Gallery of Art. The 555,000-square-foot complex will include the Newseum, the Freedom Forum’s headquarters and international conference center, restaurant and retail facilities, and approximately 100 housing units.
Adjoining the Newseum in Arlington is Freedom Park, which will remain open indefinitely. Freedom Park, which is dedicated to the spirit of freedom brings that spirit to life with symbols of the worldwide struggle for liberty, including the largest display of original Berlin Wall pieces outside of Germany; the Freedom Forum Journalists Memorial; numerous icons representing historic moments in the pursuit of freedom; and a tribute to pioneers of news. Designed by Ralph Appelbaum Associates, Freedom Park is a cooperative effort of the Freedom Forum, Westfield Realty Co., the Rosslyn community and Arlington County, Va. Freedom Park opened on July 4, 1996. The park is open daily, dawn to dusk. Admission is free.
Beginning May 3, free, 30-minute guided tours of Freedom Park will be offered to the public. Weather permitting, the tours will be offered daily on the hour, beginning at 11 a.m., noon, 1 p.m. and 2 p.m.
For additional background information about the Freedom Forum Journalists Memorial — including the criteria for selection — or to arrange coverage of the rededication ceremony or to schedule interviews contact Mike Fetters at 703/284-2895.
Related
Journalists in peril
Preliminary list of journalists who died in the line of duty in 2001.
11.20.01
Memorial adds names of 51 journalists killed in 2001
Somber remembrance on World Press Freedom Day of those who died covering the news.
05.03.02
