Literary lions prod candidates on press freedoms

Dozens of literary and media luminaries -- from Margaret Atwood, Jay McInerney, Martin Amis and Judy Blume, to Robert Caro, Kurt Andersen, Jill Lepore and Janet Malcolm -- are calling on the presidential candidates to "uphold freedom of the press and end intimidation toward journalists" at their nominating conventions these next two weeks.

The writers are among more than 20,000 people, as of the morning of July 15, who have signed a petition that PEN America, the century-old literary and free expression organization, will deliver on Monday to the Trump and Clinton campaigns, as well as to the Republican and Democratic national committees. Other organizations and media outlets, including The Nation, the Committee to Protect Journalists, Reporters Without Borders and The Intercept, partnered with PEN to collect signatures. “I think our members and partners are growing increasingly concerned with a climate of hostility toward the press in the context of the campaigns, and tactics that risk curbing press freedoms,” said PEN America executive director Suzanne Nossel. She cited recent episodes of “threats directed at journalists” and “remarks about the tightening of libel and defamation laws.”