The main offenders are authoritarian leaders who are increasingly emboldened in their crackdown on the media.

They almost never face justice for their efforts to silence journalists.

IPI says the pandemic is accelerating those negative trends as governments use the public health crisis to restrict press freedom, and the Institute warns new censorship rules could become the permanent norm.

On World Press Freedom Day, an in-depth discussion on the importance of open and free media.

Presenter: Hashem Ahelbarra

Guests:

Pauline Ades-Mevel – Editor-in-chief and spokeswoman at Reporters Without Borders

Tom Grundy – Editor-in-chief and founder of Hong Kong Free Press

Mohamed Elmasry – Chair of the journalism programme at the Doha Institute for Graduate Studies