A former manager of Austria’s respected Die Presse newspaper, Fritz became IPI’s director designate in 1992. In 1993, as the director, he successfully moved its headquarters from London to Vienna. In March 2000, he was awarded the professional title of “Professor” by the Austrian Federal Ministry of Science and Research. Fritz stepped down as director of IPI at the end of 2007, after 15 years heading the organization.

Educated in both Vienna and the United States, Fritz’s early career was with an Austrian youth organization. In 1970, he joined the Austrian Economic League where, among other duties, he edited its magazine. From 1975 to 1991, he managed the daily newspaper Die Presse and from 1975 to 1983 was also managing director of Austrian Cable Television. In 1977, he co-founded Radio Adria, a radio station for German-speaking tourists in northern Italy, with his wife, Brigitte.

Respected across the globe

IPI members remembered Fritz’s dedication to IPI and the cause of press freedom as well as his success in ensuring the organization’s stability.

Simon Li, former assistant managing director of the Los Angeles Times and a former IPI vice chair, said: “We owe a debt of gratitude to Johann Fritz for putting an elaborate support structure for IPI in place in Austria, which kept the organization healthy for so long. Despite the disruptions to the basic foundations of the media world, he left the organization with more than adequate financial reserves, which has helped the organization survive and continue to fulfil its 71-year-old mission.”

Philip Mathew, editor of India’s Malayala Manorama and a former IPI vice chair, added: “He was a real dynamic personality, an absolute go-getter, and a tough task master. He didn’t believe in compromises and was a perfectionist!”

Bang Sang Hoon, publisher of South Korea’s Chosun Ilbo and a former IPI vice chair, commented: “I will always cherish Johann’s spirit, as he was a pioneer in protecting the freedom of press all over the world, including Korea. His visit to Seoul back in 2001 deeply impacted and helped support Korean media during difficult times. Johann will forever be remembered as the leading guardian of the freedom of press. His presence will always be missed among us.”

Passionate defender of press freedom

During Johann Fritz’s 15 years leading the organization, IPI held a historic World Congress in Cape Town in 1994 just months before the first post-apartheid elections in South Africa. He also oversaw the 50th anniversary of IPI in 2000 in Boston with the first 50 World Press Freedom Heroes being honoured at a ceremony at Faneuil Hall. Another award created during Johann Fritz’s time as director was the IPI Free Media Pioneer Award, which has been awarding trailblazing media or press freedom organizations that have opened up new frontiers for the free flow of news and information in their countries since 1996.

In 2006, IPI was awarded the News and Documentary Emmy for its press freedom work alongside Reporters Without Borders and the Committee to Protect Journalists. Johann Fritz was in New York to receive the Emmy on behalf of IPI.

In a publication marking his 15 years at IPI, he wrote: “To conclude on a personal note: Over the years I have become more and more wrapped up in my job. It has truly turned into a mission. I am one of the fortunate people who are absolutely involved, but at the same time I have gone through a process of learning. There might be no harm in dreaming of a perfect world, but my mission is to do what is practicable.”

In an essay about “what press freedom means to me” Fritz said: “A free flow of information and opinions is society’s oxygen. We need it to stimulate thought and debate; we need it to evaluate the performance of our representatives; and we need it to expose human rights violations and abuse of power.”

“Johann Fritz will always be an integral part of IPI’s history, and the organization owes him an immense debt of gratitude. I had the privilege of working with Johann for seven years and I will always remember his perseverance and dedication to IPI’s mission”, current IPI Executive Director Executive Director Barbara Trionfi said.

Source: Newspot

This impunity encourages further attacks and inspires other states to follow suit. An urgent, collective response is needed to stop a global domino-like erosion of the acceptance of press and media as a fundamental right that underpins our democracies.

Brutal crackdowns on the press are unfolding openly across the globe. These include the vicious attacks on media in Belarus and Myanmar, where journalists face extreme harassment, detention, and violence for reporting on pro-democracy movements. IPI members demand the immediate release of all journalists held by the Belarusian regime and Myanmar’s military junta, in addition to the freeing of every other journalist jailed across the globe. The IPI network also condemned China’s ruthless campaign to eradicate press freedom in Hong Kong, and called on Beijing to stop trampling the rights of Hong Kong’s residents to independent news.

The lack of repercussions for these and other attacks on the press reflects a wider atmosphere in which authoritarian forces feel emboldened to target journalists. Symbolic of this impunity is the 2018 murder of Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi. October 2 marks the third anniversary of this heinous act, for which Saudi Arabia has suffered no meaningful consequences. This is unacceptable.

IPI members warn that unless action is taken to hold those responsible for press freedom violations to account, this repressive trend will only gain steam, jeopardizing the future of independent news and, by extension, democracy across the globe.

Already, tactics and methods for undermining press freedom are being shared and copied by governments. This includes not only violence and jailings, but also alternative methods such as surveillance. IPI members strongly condemn the abuse of spyware such as the Israeli company NSO’s Pegasus tool, which authorities from Mexico to Hungary to Azerbaijan to India have used to intrusively surveil journalists. Independent judicial authorities must carry out immediate investigations to uncover the extent of this surveillance and ensure it is not repeated. IPI members also express alarm about efforts by governments to undermine forms of digital communication, such as end-to-end encryption, that are essential for journalistic security and confidentiality.

Another tactic is economic pressure. The insidious model of “media capture”, which involves the misuse of state resources to manipulate the media market against independent journalism, is spreading. The IPI network, while welcoming steps in the right direction, calls for further action by the European Union to stop the media takeover in Hungary and Poland as well as Slovenia, where the national news agency is being deliberately starved of resources with the aim of forcing the agency to submit to greater government control.

IPI members also expressed grave concern over several new legal and regulatory measures that would hamper independent journalism. These include South Korea’s proposed “fake news” law, which would open media up to being sued for punitive damages for allegedly false reports, as well as Pakistan’s PMDA legislation, which would dramatically expand state regulatory control over the media. Another key concern are existing laws or new proposals to increase online censorship and control over social media platforms, such as in Turkey.

Some members representing Nigeria are Raheem Adedoyin whose appointment to the Executive Board of the respectable body will be ratified at the congress, Folu Olamiti member of the IPI Board of Trustees Nigeria Chapter and Chairman of the Church of Nigeria Advent Cable Network Nigeria Television ACNNTV and Dapo Olorunyomi Chairman/ Chief Executive Officer of  Premium Times. He is also one of the panelists at the congress.

This year Congress is coming two years after the last one that was held in Geneva.  Last year’s congressional could not hold because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Some of the topics to be discussed are: Innovation in Distribution of News on Messaging Platforms; Think Globally, Report Locally: The Future of News is Local.