“The media is under threat worldwide, vigorously being attacked.”
Bangladeshi photojournalist Shahidul Alam delivered this warning while accepting the Committee to Protect Journalists’ 2020 International Press Freedom Award. Alam founded the Drik Picture Library and Pathshala Media Institute to expand opportunities for photographers from Bangladesh and other communities often excluded from international coverage. In 2018, police detained him after he discussed student road-safety protests and posted video commentary online. He spent 102 days in custody and later described beatings and intimidation. His sentence places that experience within a global pattern: authorities, political groups, commercial interests, and online mobs can all make independent reporting more dangerous.
A worldwide threat demands more than a worldwide slogan. Newsrooms should document each attack precisely, recording who was targeted, what reporting preceded it, which institution acted, and whether investigators or courts responded. Editors must distinguish verified evidence from allegations while avoiding language that minimizes intimidation simply because no physical injury occurred. Digital harassment, equipment seizure, surveillance, legal pressure, and financial retaliation can all interrupt reporting. Consistent case records make comparisons possible and help the public see whether separate incidents form a broader campaign against scrutiny.
Alam’s work also demonstrates the importance of visual evidence. Photographs can make distant events immediate, but an image still requires provenance, context, and ethical judgment. Reporters should preserve original files, captions, timestamps, and editing histories while confirming who or what appears in the frame. Vulnerable subjects should understand foreseeable publication risks whenever consent is possible. Cropping or color correction must not create a false impression, and archival images should not be presented as current scenes. Careful verification protects both the people photographed and the credibility of the story.
Solidarity becomes meaningful when it changes material conditions. Professional organizations can provide legal representation, emergency grants, secure equipment, temporary relocation, translation, and rapid publication support. International attention may deter abuse, but affected reporters and their families should guide publicity when visibility could increase danger. Journalism schools and archives can preserve work that authorities attempt to erase, while collaborative investigations keep reporting alive if one person is detained. Alam said that imprisoned journalists felt they were not alone when others acted on their behalf. The quote remains relevant because press freedom is not defended once at an awards ceremony; it is maintained through patient verification, shared resources, institutional pressure, and audiences willing to protect the people who gather public evidence. A strong response treats every attack as both an individual injustice and a warning about the public’s ability to know what power is doing.
Alam spoke the line in his 2020 CPJ award address after recounting detention, alleged abuse, and the international campaign that supported him and fellow journalists.
Credible coverage of press attacks identifies the reporting involved, actors, evidence, legal process, digital tactics, and institutional response without overstating uncertain claims.
Legal aid, emergency funding, secure tools, source protection, collaborative publishing, and durable archives turn symbolic solidarity into practical defense of journalism.
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