Staff photo / Bob Coupland Chelsea Simeon with WKBN and a member of the Youngstown Press Club, reads the names of journalists worldwide who were killed while doing their jobs in 2025. The press club marked World Press Freedom Day Sunday at the Butler Institute of American Art in Youngstown where local press club members read the 129 journalist names who were killed while performing their jobs.

YOUNGSTOWN — Last year, 129 journalists worldwide were killed while doing their jobs.

The Youngstown Press Club remembered those journalists during a local World Press Freedom Day event on Sunday at the Butler Institute of American Art. This was the sixth year for the local remembrance.

A sign at the event read “Journalism is not a crime. Support press freedom worldwide and stand up for our own local journalists.”

The names of the 129 journalists killed in work-related violence were read aloud by press club members who said the total who died was the highest ever since the Committee to Protect Journalists began tracking the deaths in 1992.

The majority of the names read were journalists who were killed in Israel, Gaza and the Occupied Palestinian Territories.

Diane Laney Fitzpatrick, executive director of the Youngstown Press Club, said the names are read at each year’s event of journalists killed in the previous year. The names and information when each journalist was killed are provided by the Committee to Protect Journalists, which also identifies and records attacks on journalists and reports actions by the government to impede a free press.

“There were none from the United States this past year. There were two U.S. journalists killed two years ago. What is most meaningful with the reading of the names is that it is not just that many names to read, but also how they died and where they died, which really puts it into perspective of what is going on in the world. There were many more in Sudan. This shows how many different areas of the world are dangerous assignments,” Fitzpatrick said.

She said journalism often is overlooked as a profession of people often having to work in dangerous conditions.

“We hope people here will walk away from this with a better understanding of how important the work is that journalists are doing and how precious our freedom of the press is and how we need to protect it better,” Fitzpatrick said.

She said press club members include journalists, as well as those working in public relations and marketing. Fitzpatrick said name readers also included college students studying to be in different journalism fields.

“This is a very meaningful event so we never have a problem with people wanting to be part of this. It is a meaningful part of our mission to raise awareness,” she said.

Emily Webster Love, a journalist and writer in the Mahoning Valley, was among those who participated Sunday.

She said was originally going to be a reader, but instead was asked to give the introduction about the event.

“We do this every year. It is important that we recognize those people who, while doing their jobs, risk their lives and get shot. All they are doing is their jobs and we need to bring what is happening to people’s attention,” Love said.

Karen Kastner, a journalist and college English professor, said she wanted to do her part to recognize those who were doing their jobs as journalists for the freedom of the press.

Participants in Sunday’s event said it is important to support journalists at all levels — whether locally or worldwide — especially those in dangerous job situations.

In 2025, in addition to the 129 killed, there were also 338 journalists imprisoned and 88 missing.

“This annual event informs us about continued violations against a free press,” Love said.