Some 70 local and foreign journalists, government and diplomatic personnel and NGO representatives gathered Saturday at the Sunway Hotel in Phnom Penh to witness the launch of the Club of Cambodian Journalists.
Pen Samitthy, who also serves as editor of the Khmer-language newspaper Rasmei Kampuchea (Light of Cambodia), said the club will defend journalists facing prosecution and act as an information sharing network for participating newspapers and wire services.
The club, founded by 24 Cambodian journalists working in national and international print media outlets, will work toward increasing the professionalism of Cambodian journalists, Pen Samitthy said.
The club’s nine-member board of directors consists of journalists from Rasmei Kampuchea, Reuters news service, Koh Santepheap newspaper, Indradevi Magazine, Popular Magazine, Moneaksekar Khmer newspaper, Samleng Yuvachon Khmer newspaper, Kyodo News service and a representative of the Konrad Adenauer Foundation.
