No place for independent journalists to address the NPC

October 6, 2025

I was incredulous to hear that the National Press Club had cancelled the planned address by Chris Hedges. I would have thought that a press club would have been interested to hear from one of the most respected independent journalists with deep knowledge of the Middle East.

And I am deeply troubled by the words “.. and when more details of the address were made available we decided to pursue other speakers on the matter.” in the NPC’s media statement.

Indeed, I would have thought that given the genocide in Gaza, the killing of over 270 Palestinians journalists and media workers by Israel since the start of the genocide, and the silence and distortions of mainstream media, the NPC would have been particularly interested to hear from independent journalists who are eminently qualified to speak on the current events in the Middle East.

I would have expected them to do their utmost to secure the appearances of journalists like Jonathan Cook, Amira Hass, Aaron Maté, Ali Abunimah, Gideon Levy, Max Blumenthal… to name a few.

An address by Hedges would have been not only the obvious thing to do but a feather in the NPC’s cap. Cancelling it has tarnished the NPC’s reputation. I am afraid Hedges’ words, “But please, have the decency to remove the word press from your club”, will haunt the NPC for years to come.