Across the river from Washington, D.C. stands a memorial to journalists killed covering the news around the globe. Their fate and the work of a free press is of concern to a number of organizations that assist journalists worldwide, report contributing editors David Pitts and Deborah M.S. Brown.

In the midst of high-rise office buildings across the Potomac River from the monuments of Washington stands a steel and glass structure that looks like a whirlwind shooting up into the morning sun, its panels reflecting rainbow colors. It too, is a monument: a memorial to slain journalists.

Built by the Freedom Forum, a nonpartisan organization devoted to press freedom, the Freedom Forum Journalists Memorial commemorates the life and death of journalists around the world.

Some of the journalists listed on the memorial were killed covering wars, natural disasters or violent crimes; others fell ill while on assignment. Some were murdered to silence their reporting. Journalists who died as a result of accidents unrelated to an assignment are not listed on the memorial, nor are those who contributed to the violence that resulted in their deaths.

The Journalists Memorial stands in a courtyard called Freedom Park, a 1.5-hectare area located in Arlington, Virginia, a suburb of Washington, D.C. Each glass panel on the monument lists the name of the journalist, his or her news organization, the date of death and the country where the journalist died in the line of duty. Nearly 1,000 names are inscribed on the glass.

In May 1996, a ceremony was held to dedicate the memorial. Speaking in front of the glass panels, First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton paid tribute to the slain journalists by calling them "democracy's heroes," because "democracy depends on the free flow of information."

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Click here for a list of other organizations defending the rights of journalists around the world.

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Journalists have "inspired countless movements of liberation," and their work "sustained the fight against slavery, fascism, communism, and apartheid," the first lady continued. The purpose of journalism "is to report the truth about the world around us," and that often has proved a dangerous endeavor, she added.

In a letter, then-U.N. Secretary-General Boutros Boutros-Ghali commended the Freedom Forum for building the memorial. "The United Nations is committed to the unhindered flow of information and opinions in all parts of the world, both between and within nations," he said.

The Freedom Forum plans ceremonies on World Press Freedom Day in May each year to add the names of more journalists to the memorial. This year, the names of an additional 210 journalists who lost their lives will be added.

Of that total, 39 were killed or died in 1996, the rest in previous years. Their names, together with those of the 934 reporters currently listed on the memorial, are in a computer database which contains detailed biographical information on the journalists. It can be accessed at both the memorial site in Freedom Park and at Freedom Forum's website. The list is updated periodically.

In addition to the memorial, Freedom Park displays a number of icons of freedom, such as huge concrete chunks of the Berlin Wall, a ballot box from South Africa, and a replica of a boat used by two Cuban refugees -- husband and wife -- who risked everything to sail the lonely sea to freedom.

Next to Freedom Park, located within Freedom Forum headquarters, a so-called "newseum," will open in April 1997 and will feature interactive exhibits about the past, present and future of journalism, including simulations in which visitors can play the role of a TV news moderator.

Visitors will also be able to see news events that occurred in the month and year of their birth, thanks to a special "birthday database."

One of the major highlights of the newseum will be a 38.4-meter- long video wall that will feature every major satellite feed in the world to bring in up-to-the-minute news. The newseum will also house a 220-seat domed theater which will run programs about news, journalism and the role of a free press.

In an effort to focus attention on the plight of journalists worldwide, the Freedom Forum also organized in 1996 a series of regional media forums titled, "Journalists Under Fire: Media Under Siege."

The first such media forum in Hong Kong explored the future of a free press there as China assumes sovereignty, and focused on the working conditions of the press in Asia.

One of the 15 speakers scheduled to address participants at the second forum in London was Veronica Guerin, an Irish journalist who was shot to death in Dublin two days before she was due to appear. Guerin had been working on an expose of criminal elements in Ireland. Her murder was a tragic reminder that repressive governments are not the only threat to journalists. The European media forum also held a session in Dublin to discuss press coverage of the conflict in Northern Ireland.

The focus of the third media forum in Buenos Aires was the role of the press during the transition to democracy in the Americas. Although all countries south of the U.S. border, except Cuba, now have democratic governments, journalists still face roadblocks and risks in many countries. Panel discussions focused on these problems and looked at how to strengthen a free press in the region.

Difficulties and triumphs experienced by African journalists were discussed in the fourth media forum in Cape Town.

The forums concluded with a session discussing summary reports from the different regions, held at Freedom Forum headquarters.

Throughout these worldwide deliberations, the Journalists Memorial stood as a reminder that people put themselves in danger every day just to report the news. On a wall facing the memorial, the words of Thomas Jefferson sum up the ultimate challenge: "To pursue the freedom of the human mind...and freedom of the press, every spirit should be ready to devote itself to martyrdom."

Issues of Democracy
USIA Electronic Journal, Vol. 2, No. 1, February 1997