Watch thefull video here.

Following the deadliest year on record for the press in 2024, CPJ asked Palestinian journalist Shrouq Al Aila, recipient of a 2024 IPFA Award, to reflect on her experience reporting from Gaza since October 7, 2023. Unable to leave Gaza, Al Aila’s remarks were read to attendees by Jon Williams, Fadi Mansour, Yesica Fisch, Humeyra Pamuk, and Rula Jebreal.Watch the tribute to Gazan journalists here.

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CPJ’s 2025 honorees are:

Dong Yuyu, China

Veteran Chinese journalistDong Yuyu is serving a seven-year sentence on espionage charges after he was arrested while having lunch with a Japanese diplomat in 2022. He was convicted by a Beijing court in November 2024 and filed an appeal the following month. As of September 2025, Dong’s appeal was still pending at the Beijing High Court — an unusually long delay. 

A long-time editor and columnist whose work is well known within China and beyond, Dong, 63, began working as a columnist for the state-run Guangming Daily in 1987. His writing is widely perceived as advocating for progressive reform in China, including support for the rule of law and constitutional democracy. Dong has also written for The New York Times’s Chinese-language website. Dong’s imprisonment underscores the growing trend of usingespionage andnational security charges to target journalists in China.

Elvira del Pilar Nole and Juan Carlos Tito, Ecuador 

For more than two decades, Ecuadorian journalistsElvira del Pilar Nole and Juan Carlos Tito operated Radio Selva from the small highland town of Baeza — its only radio station, providing vital, independent community news. But their investigations into drug gangs led to death threats, and forced the family to flee, first to Colombia and then to Canada, from where they continue to broadcast. 

The couple’s experience highlights the immense challenges facing journalists in Ecuador, where authorities and criminal groups are increasingly targeting reporters. They have joined a growing exodus of journalists — nearly 20 in the past two years — who have left the increasingly violent country for their safety. The police, who have been accused of collaborating with the gangs, offered Nole and Tito little protection from the death threats.

Bolot Temirov, Kyrgyzstan 

Kyrgyzstan’s seasoned investigative reporter,Bolot Temirov, runs Central Asia’s most prominent anti-corruption outlet, Temirov Live, from exile due to threats to his safety. From Europe, his YouTube-based outlet continues to publish investigations of top state officials, including the president, making his team a top target for authorities amid an unprecedented press freedom crackdown. 

Temirov was beaten in 2020, shortly after the outlet that he led at the time, Factcheck.kg, published a joint investigation with Bellingcat journalists into vast corruption by a shadowy Kyrgyz official. Their exposé fuelled anger over evidence of electoral fraud, leading to protests that swept the government from power in October 2020.

During a 2022 raid on Temirov Live’s offices, police are widely believed to have planted drugs on Temirov. Despite beingacquitted of the charges, after an astonishing Temirov Live investigation exposed the police’s actions, he wasexpelled from the country.

In January 2024, 11 current and former Temirov Live staff were arrested, a shocking step in a country previously seen as a haven for democracy in the region. Among them is Temirov’s wife, Makhabat Tajibek kyzy, the director of Temirov Live, who is serving a six-year sentence on charges of calling for mass unrest.

Sonia Dahmani, Tunisia

Sonia Dahmani, a lawyer, writer, and prominent media commentator known for her bold defense of human rights and civil liberties, is serving a nearly five-year sentence on multiple anti-state charges, after condemning racism in Tunisia. Her arrest in 2024 drew widespread international attention. She has become a symbol of the shrinking space for dissent in Tunisia, once a beacon of media freedom. Dahmani rose to fame for her sharp and outspoken commentary on radio and television,  where she addressed issues such as Tunisia’s political climate, the erosion of judicial independence, shrinking civil liberties, prison conditions, and migration policy. 

Her fearless media presence made her a powerful voice for accountability but also placed her at risk as authorities stepped up repression.

Gwen Ifill Press Freedom Award Winner

CPJ’sGwen Ifill Press Freedom Award is presented annually to an individual who has shown extraordinary and sustained achievement in the cause of press freedom.

Originally theBurton Benjamin Memorial Award, it was renamed in 2017 to honor Gwen Ifill, the veteran journalist and former CPJ board member who died in 2016.

David McCraw 

David McCraw serves as the lead newsroom lawyer for The New York Times and is the organization’s senior vice president and deputy general counsel. 

McCraw has worked at The New York Times for over two decades, establishing himself as a staunch advocate for press freedom, supporting journalists who deliver revelatory reporting. His fearless defense of the rights of a free press has strengthened the ability of news organizations to obtain and publish information critical to public discourse. 

Throughout his career, McCraw has supported Times journalists working in high-risk areas and has been responsible for crisis response when journalists have been kidnapped or detained abroad. By honoring McCraw, CPJ recognizes his tireless efforts to ensure our peers can continue to report the news.

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