Freedom of the Press Foundation (FPF) is thrilled to welcome award-winning journalist Azmat Khan as the newest member of its board of directors.
Khan is an investigative reporter with The New York Times Magazine, and the Patti Cadby Birch Assistant Professor at Columbia Journalism School, where she directs the Simon and June Li Center for Global Journalism.
Her multipart series in the Times, The Civilian Casualty Files, was awarded the 2022 Pulitzer Prize in International Reporting. Based on years of investigation, the series details how America’s campaign of so-called “precision strikes” has been marked by deeply flawed intelligence, rushed and often imprecise targeting, excessive secrecy — and the deaths of thousands of civilians, many of them children.
“Courageous accountability journalism in the public interest requires equally courageous defenders of the press who innovate to meet new threats,” Khan said. “For more than a decade, the Freedom of the Press Foundation has been at the forefront of this work, from developing encryption tools so that sources can securely communicate with journalists to probing the excesses of government secrecy. I'm honored to be joining an organization that so ambitiously fights for the public's right to know."
Khan's investigations — from Iraq, Syria and Afghanistan — have prompted widespread policy impact and won more than a dozen awards, including the Pulitzer Prize, two National Magazine Awards, two Overseas Press Club awards, the Polk Award, and the Hillman Prize.
“We are so excited to welcome Azmat to the Freedom of the Press Foundation’s board,” said FPF board President Rainey Reitman. “Azmat’s remarkable investigative journalism has changed how we think of data-driven war reporting. Her reporting has helped ignite vital national conversations and spur long-overdue policy proposals. Azmat epitomizes how independent journalism can hold governments to account.”
