Fiona O’Brien appointed CPJ Regional Director for Europe and Central Asia

 JournalismPakistan.com |  Published last month |  CPJ Press Release

Fiona O’Brien will join CPJ as Regional Director for Europe and Central Asia in February 2026, bringing extensive journalism and advocacy experience to advance press freedom and journalist protection.

Summary

NEW YORK—The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) is pleased to announce the appointment of Fiona O’Brien as the new Regional Director for Europe and Central Asia. O’Brien will lead CPJ’s advocacy, awareness, and assistance work throughout the region from February 2026.

“At a time when we are experiencing spiking threats to press freedom worldwide, I am confident that Fiona will be a fierce advocate for journalists and media freedom in Europe and Central Asia,” said Carlos Martinez de la Serna, CPJ’s Chief Programs Officer. “I am thrilled to welcome Fiona to the team. As her formidable experience demonstrates, she possesses the skills and know-how to expand and deepen our work throughout the region amid emerging threats to stifle independent reporting.” 

“I am honored to be joining CPJ at a time when defending press freedom has never been more important,” O’Brien said. “Around the world, the past few years have been devastating for journalism and journalists, who continue to do extraordinary work in holding power to account despite facing unprecedented levels of threat. I am looking forward to working with CPJ’s talented team in Europe and Central Asia to seek to reverse the current trajectory, and help reporters to work freely and without fear.” 

O’Brien has been the UK Director of Reporters Without Borders (RSF) since 2023, where she has both grown the bureau and developed a high-impact advocacy strategy. She started her career as a journalist, training on a local paper in the UK and then joining Reuters, working in bureaus in London, Dublin, Dubai, Nairobi, Abidjan, Baghdad, and Beirut. 

After leaving Reuters, she worked as a consultant editor for the UN and the UAE Government, among others, and then spent seven years running the MA in Journalism program at Kingston University in London. She is a Fellow of the Higher Education Authority, a member of the Chartered Institute of Editing and Proofreading, has degrees from Cambridge University and Kings’ College London, and speaks several languages, including French and Arabic.

KEY POINTS:

• Fiona O’Brien has been appointed CPJ Regional Director for Europe and Central Asia, starting February 2026.
• She previously served as UK Director of Reporters Without Borders (RSF), developing high-impact advocacy strategies.
• O’Brien began her career as a journalist with local UK papers and Reuters, working in multiple international bureaus.
• She has also consulted for the UN and the UAE Government and led the MA in Journalism program at Kingston University.
• O’Brien holds degrees from Cambridge University and King’s College London, and is a Fellow of the Higher Education Authority.
• CPJ expects her leadership to strengthen press freedom advocacy amid growing threats to independent journalism in the region.