A poignant remembrance service will be held in London this week to commemorate reporters, photographers and other media workers killed bringing the news from around the world.
The service at St Bride's, Fleet Street – known as the Journalists' Church – on the evening of 12 November will remember the men and women who have died 'on the frontline.'
St Bride's has titled this year's service 'Valiant for truth', the name of a character from John Bunyan's Pilgrim's Progress "whose wounds are witness to his courage and steadfastness in dark times and who passes his sword on to those who will succeed him."
Taking part will be Roula Khalaf, Editor of The Financial Times, Esme Wren, Editor-in-Chief, Channel 4 News; Caroline Gammell, Assistant Editor of The Independent; and Jodie Ginsberg, President of the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ).
The service comes days after Donald Trump's resounding election victory. In the wake of this, the CPJ has called on the new administration "to recognise the free press and the factual information that journalists provide as an essential component of democracy, stability, and public safety."
CPJ's board of directors stated that it "stands firmly in defence of a robust press" that can hold power to account.
They add: "The fundamental right to a free press, guaranteed by the First Amendment of the US Constitution, must not be impaired. Legal persecution, imprisonment, physical violence, and even killings have sadly become familiar threats for journalists across the world.
"They must not now also become commonplace in the United States, where threats of violence and online harassment have in recent years become routine."
Reporters Without Borders, an international non-profit organisation that lobbies for press freedom compiles an annual index assessing press freedom around the world. It places the US at 55th on the list of countries – down from 44th last year – and the UK at 23rd up from 26th last year. The list is topped by Norway, Denmark and Sweden.
The charity estimates that 48 journalists have been killed at work this year, and 575 are currently in detention across the world.
The safety and importance of a free media was one of the themes of the recent Global Day of Prayer for the Media. More than 2,000 Christians from 25 countries joined in the live-streamed 24-hour marathon. In the UK, the event was strongly supported by the Christians in Media network.
Prayer topics on the day included: "For strength and wisdom for journalists who face persecution in many parts of the world, as they seek to bring truthful facts and information" and that "media around the world be raised to its highest purpose, to be a vehicle for good, for edification and truth, for dignity and courage, and the flourishing of your world."
St Bride's Church has long been a place where journalists' lives and service have been remembered. The church's Journalists' Altar carries photographs of the many reporters and photographers who have died seeking to report from war zones, or under repressive regimes.
The church has a Journalists' Prayer used at many services. It reads:
Almighty God, strengthen and direct, we pray, the will of all whose work it is to write what many read, and to speak where many listen. May we be bold in confronting evil and injustice, and compassionate in our understanding of human weakness, rejecting alike the half-truth that deceives, and the slanted word that corrupts. May the power that is ours, for good or ill, always be used with honesty and courage, with respect and integrity; so that when all here has been written, said, and done, we may, unashamed, meet Thee face to face, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Rev Peter Crumpler is a Church of England minister in St Albans, Herts, UK, and a former communications director with the CofE.
