Australia’s largest newspapers blacked out their front pages on Monday to protest against government interference and excessive secrecy after police raids on journalists and new laws targeting whistleblowers.
The unprecedented action is part of the “your right to know” campaign led by Australia’s largest media groups, which is seeking to enshrine press freedom in law after what they say is 18 years of tightening regulation in the wake of the September 11, 2001 attacks.
The demonstration comes as evidence mounts of the erosion of media freedoms even in some liberal western democracies. Donald Trump’s public attacks on the press have been the most concerning development of recent years, according to global media campaign organisation Freedom House.