Although it’s a cornerstone of democracy, freedom of the press is being infringed upon in the United States and abroad, First Amendment activists said Thursday.

More than 220 people turned out for a freedom forum titled “Attacks on the Press — Not Just Abroad” Thursday night. Three journalists discussed dangers facing press freedom.

Terry Anderson, a former Associated Press correspondent who was imprisoned by Shiite Muslims in Lebanon for nearly seven years, began by commenting on the importance of the freedoms Americans take for granted.

“Free press is vital to our society,” Anderson said. “It’s vital to any free society.”

This freedom isn’t free, he said. There are always those seeking to limit freedom.

He said the Bush administration is infringing on freedom of information in the name of security. Freedoms, Anderson said, make him feel secure, not government denying him knowledge. Government censorship of information is dangerous to society.

Ann Cooper, executive director of the Committee to Protect Journalists, continued with examples of attacks on the press around the world. The war in Iraq was a primary example of dangers faced by the press. Of 36 journalists killed last year, 13 died in Iraq, she said.

Another issue Cooper raised was the misuse of shifted media attention during the first week of war in Iraq. Fidel Castro took advantage of the world’s diverted focus to imprison political dissidents, including 29 journalists, who provided the only accounts of life under Castro’s dictatorship.

Larry Heinzerling, deputy international editor for World Services at the Associated Press, commented on the collection and distribution of news, which are fundamentals of the First Amendment, Heinzerling said.

“We are making some progress in distribution, but we still have problems,” he said.

AP articles must go through a governmental news agency before being redistributed to the Chinese media. When news is filtered through government agencies, news is distorted in the government’s favor, he said.

The panel fielded questions on topics such as the effects of the U.S. military shutting down a Fallujah newspaper and recent exposures of fictitious and plagiarized stories by reporters.

The panelists agreed the forced closing of the Fallujah newspaper sent a poor message to the new Iraqi government and the world. Cooper said governments should say when something is inaccurate instead of silencing media outlets.

“It is more important than ever for the public to have independent access to free and accurate information,” she said.