Detention of WSJ Reporter Evan Gershkovich Highlights Peril of Reporting in Hostile Nations

KQED's Forum

KQED

News, Politics, News Commentary

4.2 • 726 Ratings

🗓️ 2 May 2023

⏱️ 56 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

“Journalism is not a crime,” declared President Biden on Saturday at the White House Correspondents’ dinner. In his remarks, Biden demanded the immediate release of Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, who has been wrongfully imprisoned in Russia since March 29. The Russian government arrested Gershkovich for espionage, a charge that both the Wall Street Journal and the U.S. government have flatly denied. As of 2021, more Americans are being or have been held hostage by hostile governments than terrorist or militant organizations. We’ll talk about the perils facing journalists around the world. Guests: Joel Simon, executive director, Journalism Protection Initiative at the Newmark Graduate School of Journalism, City University of New York; former director, the Committee to Protect Journalists Michael Kimmage, professor and history department chair, Catholic University of America; his recent article for the Wall Street Journal is titled "Putin's Rogue State" Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	Support for Key QBD Podcasts comes from San Francisco International Airport. At SFO, you can shop, dine, and unwind before your flight. Go ahead, treat yourself. Learn more about SFO restaurants and shops at flysafo.com. Switch to Comcast Business Mobile and save hundreds a year in your wireless bill. Comcast Business, powering possibilities.
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0:32.1	From KQED.
0:37.1	The From KQED in San Francisco, I'm Mina Kim.
0:51.8	Coming up on forum, journalism is not a crime, President Biden declared, on Saturday at the White House Correspondence Dinner. In his remarks, Biden demanded the immediate release of Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, who has been declared wrongfully detained in Russia. On March 29, the Russian government arrested Gershkovich for espionage,
1:14.5	a charge that both the Wall Street Journal and the U.S. government flatly deny.
1:19.3	As of 2021, hostile governments are or have been holding more Americans hostage than terrorist or militant organizations.
1:22.1	We'll take a closer look at Gershkovich's situation and what it represents after this news.
1:35.5	Welcome to Forum. I'm Mina Kim. Last year when a prominent Russian opposition voice,
1:41.4	Ilya Yashin, was sentenced to prison for more than eight years
1:44.2	for criticizing the war in Ukraine. Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich covered the story.
1:49.9	He tweeted, reporting on Russia is now also a regular practice of watching people you know
1:54.9	get locked away for years. It is now Gershkovich, who has been wrongfully detained on false espionage charges, according to the U.S., making him the first accredited American journalist to be arrested on spying charges in Russia since the end of the Cold War.
2:11.1	We take a closer look at Gershkovich's arrest and what it says about the situation there.
2:16.2	And joining me now are two journalists who cover Russia.
2:19.7	Steve Rosenberg is Moscow correspondent for the BBC currently in Moscow now.
2:25.6	Welcome to Forum, Steve.
2:27.6	Thank you very much indeed.
	...

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