@WilliamsJon profile picture
Jon Williams @WilliamsJon

Executive Director @rorypecktrust, non-profit protecting independent journalism across world. Board @pressfreedom. Ex MD @rtenews, Foreign Editor @abc & @bbc

Joined April 2008
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  • Followers 46,158
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Jon Williams@WilliamsJon
2 Apr 2024
Thrilled to be joining @rorypecktrust. Values & purpose matter. @ClothildeR leaves big shoes to fill. Sadly, as #RPT approaches 30th anniversary, it’s vital work more need than ever. Excited to join the team supporting freelance journalists around the world. 1/3 #pressfreedom
Rory Peck Trust
@rorypecktrust
2 Apr 2024
📢 Announcement The Trustees of the Rory Peck Trust have appointed @WilliamsJon as its new Director. Jon, former Managing Director of RTÉ News and Current Affairs, will join the Trust in mid-April.
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Truth doesn’t arrive on its own. Every story is the result of a decision to go, to stay and bear witness. On World #PressFreedom Day, being there matters. Truth matters. Journalism matters. #WPFD26
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RSF’s World #PressFreedom Index for 2026 is out - for the first time more than half the world lives in a place where climate for media freedom is “very serious”. < 1% in a country where the situation is classed as good.
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While global score is at lowest in 25 years, UK up two places to 18, while Ireland one of just 7 countries in the world where media freedom classed as good. USA fallen 7. #Syria offers hope- up 36 places since fall of Assad. rsf.org/en/index

Index

RSF's World Press Freedom Index aims to compare the level of press freedom enjoyed by journalists and media in 180 countries and territories.

rsf.org
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How we chose the sculpture that will be the UK’s first permanent memorial to journalists killed in service of the truth. #journalismmatters thetimes.com/article/b1b1f58…

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Telling the truth can get you killed. That’s why we’re building a memorial to journalists killed on the frontlines of the fight for truth. Tonight unveiled Woolfgang Buttress’s winning design: ‘End of Copy, Words of Light’.
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16 UK journalists have been killed since 2000. They deserve to be remembered properly, publicly & permanently. Journalism matters. Truth matters. And those who die protecting must not - and will not - be forgotten
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Jon Williams retweeted
Rory Peck Trust
@rorypecktrust
Apr 18
We’re in Perugia for #IJF26. As well as our final safety clinics with @ACOSalliance, today at 1130 CET @williamsjon will be is discussing how funders are approaching safety and sustainability in the Palazzo dei Priori. Watch live or on demand here: journalismfestival.com/progr…

How funders are approaching safety and sustainability

Journalists reporting in conflict zones and high-risk environments face escalating threats, including physical danger, digital surveillance, legal risk and trauma. While safety is often framed as an...

journalismfestival.com
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Kuwait: Release journalist Ahmed Shihab-Eldin from detention cpj.movements.mov/pet/kuwait…

Kuwait: Release journalist Ahmed Shihab-Eldin from detention | SIGN NOW

An award-winning Kuwaiti-American journalist has been detained since March 3 for sharing publicly available, CNN-verified footage. Journalism is not a crime.

cpj.movements.mov
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Shelly Kittleson is as doing vital work as a freelancer in the Middle East - we echo calls for her safe and immediate release.
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Deeply concerned at the killing of 3 journalists by the IDF in #Lebanon. #Israel targeted one of the three-Ali Shoaib of Hezbollah-affiliated Al-Manar TV-who it accused of being a Hezbollah agent. Fatima Ftouni & freelancer Mohamad Ftouni were also killed in the attack.
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It’s the same old story: journalists smeared, allegations of terrorism but no hard evidence. Journalists are civilians, protected by international law. Targeting them is a war crime. #Israel killed >200 members of the media in #Gaza. It must not be allowed to do so in Lebanon.
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The annual ‘Murphias’ are out: The who’s who of Irish hospitality in London. thetimes.com/article/8aeaa80…
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“Get used to it”. We remember what happened when not enough reporters challenged an Administration starting a war in the Middle East. @jaketapper calls out WH/DoD gaslighting of media. #PressFreedom is your freedom! cnn.com/2026/03/08/politics/…

‘Get used to it’: Jake Tapper responds to Trump admin’s criticism of Iran war coverage | CNN...

Responding to Trump administration criticism of CNN’s coverage of US military deaths in the war with Iran, Jake Tapper says, “It is the news media’s responsibility to cover this war, not to cheerlead...

cnn.com
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We should all fight for our right to be informed. Proud to support our friends in @FPAIsPal and demand that international journalists be allowed independent access to #Gaza. PressFreedom is your freedom. #letusin
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The 20 year sentence passed on #JimmyLai is a shameful assault on truth. He & Apple Daily represented #hongkong’s independence- the sentence condemns him to likely die in jail. His crime? Journalism. #pressfreedom
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Time to sanction those who put #JimmyLai in jail. UK needs constructive, meaningful relationship with #China. But UK Government’s first duty is to protect UK citizens. Time to defend #pressfreedom. #journalismisnotacrime thetimes.com/comment/columni…

Hong Kong judges who found Jimmy Lai guilty must face sanctions

The British-Sino Joint Declaration has been trashed by the Chinese authorities yet no individual has been singled out on the UK sanctions list

thetimes.com
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Happy birthday @rte: 100 years today since 2RN first went on air. Radio a great Irish success story: local & national, public & commercial, all telling #Ireland’s story & creating a shared experience. Lá breithe sona daoibh. irishtimes.com/culture/tv-ra…

RTÉ radio at 100: Brendan Balfe on a century of Irish broadcasting

On January 1st, 1926, Douglas Hyde opened 2RN above a small post office on Little Denmark Street in Dublin

irishtimes.com
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So grateful to team @bbcnews for the thought, creativity & integrity invested in ‘The Firing Line’ - terrific showcase for courage & bravery of freelancers, and for the work of @rorypecktrust. Catch it on BBC News channel this weekend or via iPlayer bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/m0…
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Today @BBCFooC is 70: seven decades of stories from BBC’s correspondents. Only once has it been used to deliver a message to one of our own: 18 years ago, I dared to dream he would hear it. He did—and a month later, he walked free. Happy birthday FooC. news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/programm…
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It was great to talk to @BeebRoger - about @rorypecktrust, about the vital contribution of freelancers, and why for all its critics, #journalismmatters. Oh - and why we get the DGs and News Directors we deserve. Listen here: open.spotify.com/episode/26h…

Jon Williams, ex-BBC Foreign News Editor, on Freelance Journalism, Media Challenges, and Lawsuits

Roger Bolton's Beeb Watch · Episode

open.spotify.com
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