The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) marked a landmark evening at its 35th annual International Press Freedom Awards (IPFA) in New York, celebrating five journalists whose courage and commitment to truth-telling have come at extraordinary personal cost. The event raised a record-breaking $2.925 million to bolster CPJ’s global efforts to defend reporters working under threat.
Christiane Amanpour
This year’s honorees include: Dong Yuyu, a respected Chinese journalist imprisoned on espionage charges; Elvira del Pilar Nole and Juan Carlos Tito, a married reporting team from Ecuador now living in exile in Canada; Bolot Temirov,a leading investigative journalist from Kyrgyzstan; and Sonia Dahmani, a Tunisian lawyer, writer, and outspoken media commentator currently jailed for her reporting.
Christiane Amanpour, CNN’s Chief International Anchor and a longtime CPJ advocate, hosted the evening, praising the honorees’ resilience.
“By honoring these five journalists, we highlight the courage of thousands more who confront repression and censorship every day,” Amanpour said.
For the first time in award history, none of the recipients could attend the ceremony in person. Dong and Dahmani remain behind bars, Temirov continues his work from an undisclosed location in Europe, and Nole and Tito are unable to travel while awaiting asylum decisions.
Jodie Ginsberg
“This is not a drill,” said CPJ CEO Jodie Ginsberg, urging the global journalism community to unite against rising threats to press freedom both in the U.S. and abroad. “In this critical moment let us be half as brave as our colleagues who risk everything to report the truth.”
Throughout the evening, prominent journalists and media leaders paid tribute to each awardee. Juan Arredondo presented the award on behalf of Dong Yuyu, whose seven-year prison sentence was upheld last week. Garry Pierre-Pierre honored Nole and Tito, describing their harrowing flight from Ecuador’s escalating political and criminal violence. Katharine Viner of The Guardian recognized Temirov’s continued investigations into high-level corruption despite his exile and the recent designation of his media outlet as “extremist.” Ayman Mohyeldin presented the award for Dahmani, noting that her imprisonment reflects Tunisia’s alarming retreat from press freedoms won during the Arab Spring.
The evening also featured a moving reflection from Palestinian journalist Shrouq Al Aila, a 2024 IPFA honoree, whose statement from Gaza described journalism as a force for renewal even in the aftermath of devastating loss.
David McCraw and Christiane Amanpour
CPJ’s board awarded the 2025 Gwen Ifill Award to David McCraw, senior vice president and deputy general counsel of The New York Times. Accepting the honor, McCraw underscored the essential role of independent journalism: “There are things worse than fighting and losing,” he said. “Independent, fact-driven journalism still matters.”
Chaired by Almar Latour, CEO of Dow Jones and Publisher of The Wall Street Journal, the benefit dinner drew leaders across media and philanthropy. Funds raised will directly support CPJ’s mission to champion press freedom and provide critical assistance to journalists facing danger worldwide.