Ann Cooper
From his vantage point as director of the Committee to Protect Journalists, Joel Simon has worked tirelessly to get kidnapped or imprisoned reporters freed. He's campaigned globally for justice in cases of murdered journalists. In The New Censorship, he warns us of new threats -- like the insidious information management techniques of "democratators" Vladimir Putin and Recip Tayyip Erdogan. Simon's prescriptions for how to counter these new challenges are wise and insightful. He offers hope to all who care about maintaining the free flow of information in a world full of would-be censors.
Jon Lee Anderson
Fascinating and comprehensive, The New Censorship should become the bible for anyone seeking an honest, up-to-date grasp of the global state of press freedom. Tackling everything from China's internet firewall to the growth of jihadist terrorism and the new breed of authoritarians he calls Democratators, Joel Simon has produced a compelling inquiry into some of the most pressing challenges of today's world. Well-written and lucidly-argued, this is a must-read.
Tom Brokaw
Joel Simon is a warrior for press freedom and the place of journalists in every culture and country. Here he writes with characteristic passion and insight on the importance of fighting press censorship around the world, reminding us we have new tools, but old demons remain.
Jacob Weisberg
No one understands better than Simon the reasons that press freedom is now in decline nearly everywhere in the world. In The New Censorship, he brings us riveting and powerfully moving accounts from the front lines. For anyone who wants to understand the peril that independent media face around the world today, this is a distressing, essential piece of work.
Maziar Bahari
Journalists are increasingly, and at times tragically, becoming characters in their own stories. As the executive director of the Committee to Protect Journalists, Simon has the difficult task of advocating press freedom around the world and saving the many journalists whose lives are in peril. In his profound and entertaining book, Simon draws on years of experience dealing with censorship, its victims, and its perpetrators.
Lee C. Bollinger
While climate change, persistent poverty, and sectarian violence typically top the list of the world's most urgent challenges, the progress of future generations also will depend upon the success we have in ensuring free speech across the globe. Simon understands like few others that without a free press, modern societies will be severely stymied in solving their problems. Through insightful analysis and gripping stories relaying the experiences of frontline journalists, he offers a compelling portrait of the fight for free expression occurring around the world.
Rebecca MacKinnon
Media freedom is under attack all over the world as Simon shows us in often hair-raising detail. Yet while the diagnosis is frightening the prognosis need not be fatal. Fortunately, Simon offers a practical road map for how media freedom can and must be defendedand even expanded.