2025 in review: the deadliest and most economically fragile year for journalism
Summary. 2025 combined three mutually reinforcing trends: lethal violence against journalists reached a new high, the economic base of independent media deteriorated, and political pressure on the press spread to established democracies.
1. Violence
CPJ recorded 129 journalists and media workers killed, the highest figure since 1992, with Gaza as the epicenter. The strikes on the press tent next to al-Shifa hospital and on Nasser Hospital drew international attention.
2. Economics
RSF put the economic indicator of its index at a historic low. The freeze on funding for US international public media and the withdrawal of federal funding for public broadcasting hit hundreds of newsrooms.
3. Political pressure
The ban on the AP, the Pentagon’s new access rules, and the temporary suspension of Jimmy Kimmel’s show after the regulator’s intervention marked a year of unprecedented tension between the White House and the media. In Europe, the conviction of journalists in Georgia and Belarus — honored with the Sakharov Prize — and detentions in Turkey confirmed the use of imprisonment against the press.
4. Positive signs
The full application of the European Media Freedom Act and the collective response of Pentagon journalists, regardless of editorial line, show that frameworks and practices for defending the profession do exist.