In the case of Sandra Rodriguez Nieto, a Mexican investigative journalist, the reigning kings in question are the powerful drug cartels that have plunged Mexico into a prolonged period of violence and lawlessness. Nieto’s coverage often exposes the Mexican government’s negligence — indeed, often its complicity — in drug-related violence, and to hear her talk about the constant surveillance and threats she faces would make even the toughest war correspondent blanche. She barely flinches when she explains that in Ciudad Juarez, which recently was the murder capital of the world, to be a journalist is to be a target.

The sword, at least in the short term, is often much mightier than the pen. The institutions that depend on controlling the flow of information in their favor — organized crime, corrupt governments — understand this paradigm very well, which is why censorship and intimidation are such powerful and frequently deployed tactics against journalists.

Thousands of journalists around the world face regular surveillance, harassment, and violence from repressive governments. And while new technology is empowering journalists to reach new, broader audiences and to conduct more thorough investigations, the problem of governments suppressing journalists seems to be getting worse. Freedom House’s most recent report on the state of press freedom in the world concludes that press freedom has been declining sharply over the past decade, with only 14% of people in the world having access to a free press. In other words, the vast majority of people in the world receive information from journalists who have to fear the governments on which they report.

The old epigram that truth is first casualty of war only got it half right. Truth often survives the battle, but the tellers of that truth aren’t always so lucky.

To hear more from Sandra Nieto and Ahmed Benchemsi listen to our full interviews below. Special thanks goes out to Human Rights Foundation, organizers of Oslo Freedom Forum.