Anjana Dasam

I traveled to Santiago, Chile, to attend and participate in UNESCO’s World Press Freedom Day. I had the opportunity to attend several conferences with inspirational speakers and journalists, like Nobel Peace Prize winner Maria Ressa. Discussions of journalists all over the world risking their lives to tell the truth to the public really inspired me as a young journalist looking to pursue a career in reporting on social justice issues. I also gave a report at the conference alongside a former Newhouse professor, Hanayo Oya, current professor Benjamin Tetteh, and other students at Fresno State. We each spoke with journalists across the world about what press freedom means in their country. Collaborating with other students and professors was one of the main highlights of this experience, along with visiting a new country and its culture.

I was most surprised to learn about the number of journalists that either died reporting the truth or were held captive. I knew that there were cases where journalists were imprisoned or put in dangerous situations, but I’ve learned that it’s a prominent and consistent issue around the world. It really revealed a lot about what societies around the world do to protect themselves and prevent journalists from reporting on the justice needed. This is a pressing issue, especially now with the Palestinian genocide where many journalists there are killed while trying to show the reality of the war. After my time in Chile, I have taken an interest in international journalism. Attending this conference showed me what international journalism truly means and has inspired me to pursue this career. I hope to attend more conferences in the future with journalists as hearing their speeches truly resonated with me and motivated me to not give up in this career.