Why Time put WSJ’s Gershkovich on its cover

Sam Jacobs, the editor in chief of Time magazine, writes about why it put jailed Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich on its cover.

Jacobs writes, “Gershkovich saw reporting in Russia as a calling, one made all the more important because the freedom of Russian journalists had been almost entirely curtailed. That silencing is only one example of the pressures the press has faced in the past decade. Six years ago, we recognized the courage and threat that journalists like Maria Ressa of the Philippines’ Rappler face by selecting as Person of the Year a collection of reporters and editors under fire—a group we called the Guardians. Their courage has not relented, but neither have the threats: according to a December 2023 report from the Committee to Protect Journalists, Gershkovich was one of 320 journalists around the world who are imprisoned for their work. That is the second highest number since the organization began counting in 1992.

“At TIME, we hope our journalism leads to action. We set out to tell the story of Gershkovich’s arrest and imprisonment, and its impact on his family, friends, and co-workers in the hours and months to follow. We know that hundreds of people are fighting today to free Gershkovich. In October, he turned 32 in his jail cell. And on March 29, it will have been a full year since his arrest on false charges of espionage. We join the journalists and their supporters at the Wall Street Journal, as well as our colleagues across our industry, in calling for his release. We look forward to the day when Gershkovich is free, back with his friends and family, back doing the work he loves.”

Read more here.