‘We are a vital pillar in society’: Christiane Amanpour on the threat to journalism - speech extract | Christiane Amanpour

Lately, I feel like I’m caught in an Armando Iannucci theatre of the absurd. Somewhere between the Death of Stalin, which raised bending the knee to an art form, and the cynical hubris of Veep. Frankly, I would even go so far as to toss in some Kafka and Orwell to describe our world today.

This is a perilous moment for journalists, including here in the US. In November 2016, shortly after an unprecedented presidential victory, I warned against the threat of an unprecedented crackdown on the press. You know, like what autocrats and illiberal democrats do abroad.

America is meant to be the land of the free and the home of the brave, right? Driving down the highway recently, I glanced out the window to see a huge FREEDOM REIGNS inscribed on the gateway to acres of empty space. Well, looking at that sign, I thought: my freedom and your freedom are not mutually exclusive.

Most recently we’ve been unpleasantly reminded of our freedom and right to work in a safe, professional and respectful environment, even when invited into the Oval Office.

I was horrified watching the drubbing afforded by a president to a female reporter. And his use of a farmyard epithet against another. Yet despite this mistreatment of the press, the need for real journalism that holds power accountable remains as vital as ever, if not more so. I believe an attack like that on one should be considered an attack on all.

I believe collective action in solidarity would have been appropriate in that case, just like everyone has just done when strong-armed by the Pentagon.

We need to be kind to one another in the face of cruelty and contempt … and unveiled threats. We cannot let them fight their culture wars over the carcass of our profession.

Understand that only a strong vibrant and independent press can ensure a healthy democracy. We are a vital pillar of civil society and killing us off will not make any nation great again.

Many put their lives at risk to keep the outside world informed. Nowhere is this more evident than in Gaza. In the past year, more than 60 journalists and media workers have been killed in Gaza. Globally, last year was the deadliest for journalists that the CPJ, the Committee to Protect Journalists, has ever documented – and this year’s death toll is almost as high.

We, the independent foreign press, Israelis and all of us, are still not allowed into Gaza to report the facts on the ground, and help our Palestinian colleagues … think about that for a moment.

This is not a political statement. This is about journalism, our job. It is imperative that we cover every side of all these stories. It is untenable and unacceptable that a democracy is preventing us from going in and reporting the news. We have to keep lobbying for access.

These statistics tell a story, an important story, but they cannot capture the full tragedy that war and repression visit upon an individual journalist, their family, their colleagues and their employer.

Later this evening we will hear from news organizations that have lost reporters to the war in Gaza. We will hear about the plight of journalists there in the words of a reporter on the ground. We will pay tribute to them and to all the brave men and women who have been killed or injured around the world.

Their stories remind us that attacks on the press have a profound and lasting impact – not just on individuals, or their families, but on society as a whole.

There was a time when we could rely on the United States government to defend press freedom abroad. Now it won’t even defend it at home. The CPJ has documented the administration’s use of lawfare, funding cuts, denial of access, smearing, and even deportation to intimidate journalists and news organizations. It has advocated for those who have been targeted and supported their families.

CPJ highlighted the case of Mario Guevara, a Salvadorian journalist who was snatched off the street by police in metro Atlanta as he was live-streaming a No Kings protest. He was later handed over to ICE and deported without due process. The CPJ has stood by those organizations such as the Associated Press and the New York Times which have resisted the administration’s pressure and intimidation.

Foreign journalists working in the US are vulnerable. Immigration and Customs Enforcement has swept up journalists from the UK and Turkey for criticising US foreign policy. It stopped an Australian journalist from entering the country and searched his electronic devices.

Even US journalists have been targeted. Thankfully, many have resisted. As I mentioned, defense reporters chose to lose their work spaces in the Pentagon rather than comply with a ban on publishing information not officially released by the department.

As I noted, White House reporters too have been in the crosshairs. The absurdity of the administration’s attempts to punish reporters for ignoring its wishes were summed up in this tweet from longtime media reporter Paul Farhi: “White House bans White [House] press from, yes, White House press offices.”

Such petty retaliation and bullying by government officials is not unique to this administration, though it’s probably more intense now, but this is something US reporters generally encounter abroad. Now they have to contend with it at home. We all need to stand together and make ourselves heard and seen and felt in this fight.

This week, we heard that the National Book award for non-fiction was given to Omar El Akkad for his book on the Middle East. I feel the title is relevant for all the crises and moral injustices we confront today: one day, everyone will always have been against this.

• Christiane Amanpour is the chief international anchor for CNN and host of CNN International’s nightly interview program Amanpour, CNN’s The Amanpour Hour on Saturdays and Amanpour & Company on PBS and a press freedom advocate. This piece is adapted from the opening speech Amanpour delivered at the Committee to Protect Journalists Gala