The Last Column

Every year, journalists are murdered, intimidated, captured and kidnapped while attempting to do their jobs and shine light on hidden subjects.

Their names span all nationalities and backgrounds. Names like Marie Colvin, Lasantha Wickrematunge, Avijit Roy, Chris Hondros, Jamal Khashoggi, Daniel Pearl, James Foley, David Gilkey, Shujaat Bukhari, Anna Politkovskaya, Deyda Hydara, Tim Hetherington, Gauri Lankesh, Kurt Schork, .... 

They were murdered because they were journalists, with voices muted forever because they believe in the freedom of press and the nobility of writing about the truth. This is a shockingly regular occurrence, each year hundreds of reporters are killed for their doing their work. 

What if these deaths didn’t silence their voices? What if their deaths could rally the public to raise more awareness about the importance of keeping journalists safe?

The Last Column is a memorial initiative launched in partnership with the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) to remember those who gave their lives to uncover the truth, and a demand to keep journalists across the world safe.

TIME: CPJ's The Last Column Honors Journalists Killed in the Line of Duty

Logo

1,337 journalists have been killed in action since 1992. We combined each of these names into one unifying icon for the safety of journalists and a haunting symbol of press freedom. The white space represents the emptiness left behind by their deaths—a reminder of the many columns never to be written.

Book

We published a book gathering the last articles and photographs of twenty-four journalists who have been murdered in the line of duty. A way to bring their work to life again and ensure it never vanishes.

The final page turned the responsibility of these journalists’ stories over to the reader. A call-to-action that became the movement’s message: Their legacy is now in our hands.

Interviews

We partnered with famed war photographer and photojournalist Ron Haviv to explore the impact of these journalists’ lives through conversations with their friends, colleagues, and family members. I then worked with our editor to turn the footage into compelling short-form stories.

Podcast

A podcast featured interviews & readings of several journalists’ last columns by their loved ones.

Press

Campaign featured in TIME, Al Jazeera, CNN, MSNBC, Newsweek, The Hill, NY Post, WGBH, and Politico.
Full-page logo featured in The New York Times, New York Post, and Washington Post.
BuzzFeed News also republished the last column of Sri Lankan journalist Lasantha Wickrematunge.