Monday, April 21, The Columbia Journalism School (CJS) and The New York Times (NYT) joined together to deep dive and converse on the issues surrounding the threats against press freedoms for journalists. Various respected individuals, such as the Dean of CJS, Jelani Cobb and NYT Chairman and Publisher, A.G. Sulzberger, spoke on these global issues and how they have created change, specifically in the U.S. under the Trump Administration. During the opening hour and a half fireside chat between the two, the journalists worked to inform the public on how they plan to protect their journalists, whether as students or as professionals, to build their reporting skills without fearing for their safety.
“I think it is very important [for journalists to be protected] because different journalists could find new perspectives to see a story instead of having only one side to it. Journalists are typically the basis of information for readers, so it is imperative for them to have greater press rights. And the NYT is important for relaying information to the public because of their coverage and reliable news,” magnet senior Livie Duby said.
To begin, Sulzberger and Cobb dove into the reality of upcoming journalism. Sulzberger explained that through his leadership at the NYT, he urges journalists to bring truth to the public without fear of censorship, while Cobb desires to upgrade journalism education to become affordable for prospective students. Both individuals aim to create an environment where journalists can work collaboratively without censorship interfering with their duties.
During the first session of the event, Sulzberger explained how press freedom for journalists has changed since Trump’s first administration in 2016, in comparison to his administration after the 2024 election. While he revealed similarities between both presidencies, Sulzberger defended the idea that Trump has named the press the enemy of the people while also claiming that the NYT writes fake news, which shows his dislike of the press. Although Trump neglected news outlets during his 2016 presidency, Sulzberger and Cobb explained the need for extended protection for journalists facing threats.
In response to Trump’s actions against the press, the NYT acknowledges that other countries have faced these issues before. Sulzberger quickly dug into the struggles of other countries to pull lessons they had learned when experiencing censorship and safety threats against their publications country-wide. The NYT team, alongside representatives from the CJS, worked together to understand how countries such as Brazil and India overcame verbal and physical threats towards their journalists.
While discussing the impact of lacking press protection within these countries, Sulzberger discovered specific tools and regulations needed to further safety precautions in newsrooms. These regulations, for example, included safety protocols which led the NYT to now spend 10 times the amount of money on safety precautions in comparison to 2016, when Trump first took office. Cobb continued on this topic when he asked Sulzberger if the NYT changed its approach when interacting with Trump between his first and second election. Unsurprisingly, Sulzberger informed the audience on the various actions his team took to ensure the safety of his journalists after Trump became re-elected in 2024. These actions included physical security investments, cybersecurity regulations and war security teams.
“News outlets are competitors, right. We compete for stories. We compete sometimes for talent, but we actually have a really great record of not competing on this, on the cause of press freedom. You know when we [the NYT] were kicked out of China a few years back my first call was to the publisher of The Washington Post and The Wall Street Journal and for the first time in any of our organizations history we issued a joint statement to protest to moves and raise concerns about it,” Sulzberger said.
As seen through Cobb’s and Sulzberger’s initiatives to further protect journalists in the current press-threatening environment they currently reside in, they also communicated the importance of collaboration and resilience needed from journalists and their audiences. For instance, when the Associated Press (AP) did not receive the opportunity to report in the White House after Trump’s inauguration, since Trump set a guideline to which news sources could report in the Oval Office, the NYT immediately reached out to the AP and offered help. This advocacy, as explained by Sulzberger and Cobb, remains vital to ensuring that news outlets all receive the same opportunities in reporting.
As journalists throughout the globe continue to face physical and censorship threats, advocates such as Sulzberger and Cobb become necessary to seek change towards bettering the environment for future generations of journalists.
