WSJ editor honors Evan Gershkovich at First Amendment Awards

Evan Gershkovich was arrested and jailed in Russia for seeking and reporting the truth. His Wall Street Journal colleague, Paul Beckett, called it an assault on journalism around the globe. 

“We have learned that an attack on one reporter in one far off place, it's really an attack on all of the freedoms that all of us enjoy every day, to do our jobs, to bring trustworthy information to our audiences,” Beckett said during the First Amendment Awards on March 9 in Washington. Beckett, assistant editor at the Wall Street Journal, accepted a First Amendment Award on Gershkovich’s behalf. 

Gershkovich was arrested on March 29, 2023, while reporting on the Russia-Ukraine war and remains in jail on bogus espionage charges. 

Beckett described Gershkovich as an “excellent reporter” and “extraordinary young man,” and asked those in attendance at the Watergate Hotel to help support his release in any way they can. 

“We fear that there will be others because reporting as we know it in today's Russia is considered a crime,” Beckett said. 

Watch his full speech below:

(Photo: BP Miller / Chorus Photography)