Today is World Press Freedom Day, a celebration the United Nations established more than 30 years ago to remind the world that a functional, ethical society needs a free press to survive.
That focus feels more essential than ever. Attacks against the press have proliferated. And funding for public media funding — the stuff that helps kids learn to read and adults know what the hell is happening in the world — is also under fire.
It’s almost as if certain powerful people prefer that you have to take their word, and their word only, for what they’re doing. That’s a position that Phoenix New Times disagrees with. We exist to push back on easy narratives and to dredge up new information for you and the people of Arizona.
Today, I’m asking you to stand up for a free press and to celebrate World Press Freedom Day with us. Here are a few ways you can do that:
Post on social media using the hashtags #WorldPressFreedomDay or #WPFD2025 (and tag us so we can share, too: @phoenixnewtimes). Let your friends and family know that press freedom is worth standing for.
Forward this email to a friend (or a few) and let them know why you read our work and encourage them to tune in, too. The more people pay attention, the stronger our work becomes.
Call an elected official and add your voice to their decision-making. One politician’s office, one issue, one phone call. It goes further than you think.
Contribute financially to a news outlet or a few of your choice, if you have the means to do so. Your direct support makes news outlets less dependent on the whims of tech algorithms and the powerful and wealthy.
However you celebrate, thank you. We can’t do this work without people supporting us. To a free press, now and always.
