In response to the resignations of several Denver Post employees after accounts of being prevented from publishing editorial critical of the new owners, PEN America Senior Director of Free Expression Programs Summer Lopez issued the following statement:

“We are troubled by the resignations of several Denver Post employees following accounts that they are forbidden to publish editorials critical of the paper’s new owner, Digital First Media, or of the hedge fund that controls it, Alden Global Capital. If Digital First Media is essentially censoring negative coverage by the papers it owns, it is exercising a style of ownership that is all too familiar to countries like China and Russia. Rather, informed and open debate on issues so crucial to the well-being of the communities these newspapers serve—and indeed to the principles of a free  and vibrant press that underpin our national democracy—should not only be permitted but encouraged.” 

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PEN America stands at the intersection of literature and human rights to protect open expression in the United States and worldwide. We champion the freedom to write, recognizing the power of the word to transform the world. Our mission is to unite writers and their allies to celebrate creative expression and defend the liberties that make it possible. pen.org

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