CPJ welcomes Katherine Jacobsen as U.S. and Canada program coordinator
New York, August 30, 2021–The Committee to Protect Journalists is pleased to announce that Katherine Jacobsen has been named U.S. and Canada program coordinator. Jacobsen will lead CPJ’s work reporting on press freedom in the United States and Canada and head advocacy efforts to improve press freedom in both countries.
“I’m delighted that Katherine will be guiding CPJ’s work in the U.S. and Canada at a time of emerging and new threats to press freedom in both countries despite their reputations as global press freedom leaders,” said Carlos Martinez de la Serna, CPJ program director. “She has already played a key role in shaping our work in the United States and Canada and her editing and global reporting experiences give her a unique vantage point to probe press freedom violations and advocate for change.”
Since 2019, Jacobsen has worked as CPJ’s U.S. researcher, reporting on issues including press freedom violations during the Black Lives Matter protests in the U.S. and the Capital Gazette shooting trial proceedings. She has also recently worked on advocacy efforts with Canadian journalists denied access to report on anti-logging protests. She first joined CPJ in 2017 as the news editor. Previously, Jacobsen reported for The Associated Press in Moscow, where she covered nuclear waste dumping, climbing HIV rates among drug users, and Russia’s air campaign in Syria. As a reporter in Ukraine, she covered the Maidan protests, Crimea’s annexation, the separatist takeover of Donetsk, and reform efforts in Kiev for outlets including Businessweek, U.S. News and World Report, Foreign Policy, andAl-Jazeera English.
“I’m excited to take my work to the next level at CPJ and to find ways we can best serve journalists in the U.S. and Canada as they continue to confront myriad challenges from warrantless searches at borders, to dangers while covering protests, to mental health concerns,” said Jacobsen. “I’m looking forward to working with journalists, civil society leaders, and policymakers on all levels to ensure journalists can do their jobs without fear.”
Read more of CPJ’s reporting on the U.S. and Canada on our website, as well as on the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker, of which CPJ is a founding member. Find a full list of CPJ staff here.