Vol. 53, No. 4 Fall 2025
Thumbnail summaries of this issue’s major articles:
CPJ’s 2025 Press Freedom Award to Sonia Dahmani
Sonia Dahmani, a Tunisian lawyer, writer, and prominent media commentator known for her bold defense of human rights and civil liberties, is serving a nearly five-year sentence on multiple anti-state charges, after condemning racism in Tunisia. Her arrest in 2024 drew widespread international attention. She has become a symbol of the shrinking space for dissent in Tunisia, once a beacon of media freedom.
Study: Falloff in Independent Female Filmmakers Alarming
The latest study considering the employment of women working behind-the-scenes in independent film in 2024-25 gives reason for concern, says a new report from the Center for the Study of Women in Television and Film. “Perhaps an early indicator of the changing political, social, and business environments, gender inequality at high-profile film festivals in the U.S. widened in 2024-25,” says Martha Lauzen, the Center’s executive director. “The study found that fests streamed and/or screened almost twice as many narrative features directed by men as by women over the last year. The festivals considered featured an average of 13 films directed by men and 7 by women. In 2023-24, the ratio was 11 to 7.”
Legends and Legacies: Women Journalism Trailblazers Remembered
Obituaries all over the United States have been brightened in 2025 by the stories of women who became legends in their newsrooms and attracted followings among readers, viewers and listeners. Media Report to Women pays tribute to some of the best in this issue.
Argentine Women Journalists Face a Firehose of Harassment and Violence
A survey conducted by the Argentine Journalism Forum (FOPEA, for its initials in Spanish) reveals a worrying scenario in the profession: women journalists in Argentina face various forms of violence in the exercise of journalism, with significant impacts on their mental health, their professional development and even freedom of expression in the country. Researchers for the study “Periodistas Amenazadas: investigar para protegerlas” (Threatened Journalists: Investigate to protect them) interviewed 215 women journalists from all Argentine provinces and found that 70% reported having been victims of psychological violence within the scope of their profession.
Indian Women Journalists Confront Taliban Foreign Minister
They weren’t having it. Three days after being excluded from a press conference with Taliban’s foreign minister during his visit to India, women journalists took their seats in a powerful show of force to show him how women perform crucial roles in a democracy. The exclusion of female journalists in deference to a foreign official whose government refuses to allow women to pursue education and restricts them socially and professionally was regarded as an affront to the democratic principles India espouses. The Press Club of India condemned the move. The Editors Guild of India called the decision “blatant gender discrimination on Indian soil.” Subsequently, a press conference with Muttaqi was arranged.
Research in Depth: Toward a Global History of Women in Journalism by Margaretha Geertsema-Sligh
Research in Depth: Sex Sells, but Who Pays? Charting UK Boundaries for Sexual Imagery in Ads by Alexandros Antoniou
Plus News Briefs and Book Reviews!