Skip to main content
  • Home
  • About
  • Faculty Experts
  • For The Media
  • ’Cuse Conversations Podcast
  • Topics
    • Alumni
    • Events
    • Faculty
    • Students
    • All Topics
  • Contact
  • Submit
Media, Law & Policy
  • All News
  • Arts & Culture
  • Business & Economy
  • Campus & Community
  • Health & Society
  • Media, Law & Policy
  • STEM
  • Veterans
  • University Statements
  • Syracuse University Impact
  • |
  • The Peel
  • Athletics
Sections
  • All News
  • Arts & Culture
  • Business & Economy
  • Campus & Community
  • Health & Society
  • Media, Law & Policy
  • STEM
  • Veterans
  • University Statements
  • Syracuse University Impact
  • |
  • The Peel
  • Athletics
  • Home
  • About
  • Faculty Experts
  • For The Media
  • ’Cuse Conversations Podcast
  • Topics
    • Alumni
    • Events
    • Faculty
    • Students
    • All Topics
  • Contact
  • Submit
Media, Law & Policy

‘Assaults on Press Freedom, Here and Abroad, Endanger Democracy’

Monday, May 3, 2021, By Lily Datz
Share
S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications
Roy Gutterman

Roy Gutterman

Roy Gutterman, associate professor of newspaper and online journalism and director of the Tully Center for Free Speech in the Newhouse School, wrote an op-ed for Syracuse.com: “Assaults on press freedom, here and abroad, endanger democracy.” Gutterman is an expert on communications law and the First Amendment.

Gutterman writes that in 1991, a group of international journalists and press freedom activists joined together to write the Declaration of Windhoek on Promoting an Independent and Pluralistic African Press, which outlined principles of press freedom for media, governments and citizens across the globe. Gutterman says that the declaration came at a time where emerging democracies were in need of free press ideals, as America was setting the standard. The document is celebrated each year on UNESCO’s World Press Freedom Day, May 3.

Now, 30 years later, Gutterman says that these issues regarding freedom of the press are now hitting much closer to home, not only in seemingly “far-off places.” “As much as our First Amendment is a symbol and statement to the world about the constitutional and legal protection afforded to the press and speech, anti-press political rhetoric over the past few years sought to minimize the protections and diminish the role of the institutional press,” Gutterman writes.

Part of Gutterman’s mission in leading the Tully Center for Free Speech is to uphold the work of journalists who risk their lives in the name of free speech. Gutterman says that this week the Tully Center will give an award to Igor Rudnikov, a Russian journalist who survived an assassination attempt and was jailed for over a year for running a newspaper that was critical of Russian leadership. It is people like Rudnikov, Gutterman writes, that uphold the original principles of the Windhoek Declaration and are dedicated to telling the truth.

To read his essay in its entirety, visit Syracuse.com.

Syracuse University media relations team members work regularly with the campus community to secure placements of op-eds. Anyone interested in writing an op-ed should first review the University’s op-ed guidelines and email media@syr.edu.

  • Author
  • Faculty Experts

Lily Datz

  • Roy Gutterman

  • Recent
  • Maxwell Welcomes International Professionals for Anti-Drug Trafficking Program
    Monday, August 25, 2025, By Jessica Youngman
  • Call for Focus Group Participants for Bird Library Assistive Technology Room
    Monday, August 25, 2025, By Cristina Hatem
  • Syracuse Views Fall 2025
    Monday, August 25, 2025, By News Staff
  • University’s Human Dynamics Programs Realign to Strengthen Collaboration and Community Impact
    Monday, August 25, 2025, By News Staff
  • Falk College of Sport Driving Innovation and Excellence in Sport-Related Industries (Podcast)
    Monday, August 25, 2025, By John Boccacino

More In Media, Law & Policy

Maxwell Welcomes International Professionals for Anti-Drug Trafficking Program

Twenty distinguished leaders from around the world will soon convene at the Maxwell School for an intensive, three-week academic program to cultivate technical expertise and deepen engagement to combat the production, trafficking and use of illicit drugs. The school’s Executive…

NASCAR Internship Puts Jenna Mazza L’26 on the Right Track to Career in Sports Law

A lifelong NASCAR fan, Jenna Mazza L’26 has a photo of herself at age 4 standing with legendary driver Jimmie Johnson’s diecast car. So, imagine her elation when she had the opportunity to take a photograph with Johnson himself this…

New $1M Gift to Build Bridges and Create Global Map to Enhance Democracies

With a new $1 million gift from The Reynolds Foundation, researchers at the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs hope to create a new global map, one that provides a clear pathway to strengthening democracy and freedom throughout the…

Professor Anthony Adornato Trains Journalists in Kosovo Through Fulbright

For Associate Professor Anthony Adornato, a recent Fulbright experience brought him back to his journalism roots. The former television anchor and reporter returned from a three-week Fulbright Specialist experience in Kosovo, where he trained journalists at the country’s public service…

Syracuse University and University of Bergen Host Transatlantic Alliance for Law, Outreach and National Security Conference

The Syracuse University Institute for Security Policy and Law (SPL) and the University of Bergen Faculty of Law recently hosted a group of national security scholars from 16 universities and 12 states at the first Transatlantic Alliance for Law, Outreach…

Subscribe to SU Today

If you need help with your subscription, contact sunews@syr.edu.

Connect With Us

  • X
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Youtube
  • LinkedIn
Social Media Directory

For the Media

Find an Expert Follow @SyracuseUNews
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Youtube
  • LinkedIn
  • @SyracuseU
  • @SyracuseUNews
  • Social Media Directory
  • Accessibility
  • Privacy
  • Campus Status
  • Syracuse.edu
© 2025 Syracuse University News. All Rights Reserved.