Press Club to Read Names of Journalists Killed in Past Year

YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio – Members of the Youngstown Press Club will observe World Press Freedom Day on May 3 by reading the names of 99 journalists killed during the past year while practicing their profession.

The event will begin at noon in the Mahoning County Courthouse rotunda, 120 Market St.

The featured speaker will be Mahoning County Juvenile Court Judge Theresa Dellick.

Dellick and the following members of the Youngstown Press Club will read the names of journalists killed in the past year: Lori Factor, Chelsea Simeon, Tony Paglia, Aundrea Cika Heschmeyer, George Nelson, JoAnn Kolarik, Brenda Linert, Jordan Cohen, Adam Earnheardt, Ernie Brown, Emily Webster Love, Ralph Zerbonia, India Gatts, Dennis Mangan, Chris Cerenelli, Karen Kastner and Michele Gatts.

“The world has become an increasingly dangerous place for journalists who are striving to share the truth with their audiences,” said Diane Laney Fitzpatrick, executive director of the Youngstown Press Club. “For far too many, journalism has become a deadly endeavor. We remember these journalists in hopes that their untimely deaths were not in vain.”

At least 95 journalists and media workers have been killed in the Israel-Gaza war since that conflict began Oct. 7, according to preliminary figures from the Committee to Protect Journalists.

The committee is an independent nonprofit organization that promotes press freedom worldwide.

In 1993, the United Nations General Assembly declared May 3 to be World Press Freedom Day to raise awareness of the importance of freedom of the press and remind governments of their duty to respect it.

Published by The Business Journal, Youngstown, Ohio.