John Daniszewski

John Daniszewski is a 45-year news professional and advocate for the rights and safety of journalists. He was The Associated Press vice president for standards and editor-at-large until January 2025. He spent 20 years working internationally as a correspondent for the AP and the Los Angeles Times, capped by a decade as AP’s international editor, senior managing editor and vice president for international news in New York. As a correspondent, his postings included nine years in Poland and Russia, where he witnessed first-hand the vital importance of Radio Free Europe and Radio Liberty in fostering and protecting democratic change. 

As a reporter, Daniszewski covered the fall of Communism in Eastern Europe, and wars and civil unrest in the Balkans, in southern Africa and in Iraq and Afghanistan. He was shot and wounded while covering the anti-Ceausescu revolution in Romania in 1989. In 2006, he received an Overseas Press Club prize for coverage of the war in Iraq, where he led coverage for the Los Angeles Times.

As an advocate of journalist safety, Daniszewski was among the founders of the ACOS Alliance, dedicated to promoting a culture of safety in the industry. He has sought freedom for imprisoned journalists in Iraq and Azerbaijan, and more recently worked for resettlement of journalists who fled Afghanistan after the Taliban takeover of the country

Daniszewski served nine years on the board of the Pulitzer Prizes, including a year as its co-chair in 2021-22.

He is vice chair of the board of the International Press Institute, the global network of editors, media executives, and leading journalists dedicated to quality independent journalism, and leads the organization’s National Committee in the United States. He is also president of the Overseas Press Club Foundation, which awards scholarships to the next generation of international correspondents, and serves on the board of the International Center for Journalists. Daniszewski has been a consultant to the Committee to Protect Journalists and speaks and writes regularly on standards and ethics in the news media, journalism safety, and press freedom.

Daniszewski was appointed to serve as a Member of the RFE/RL Board of Directors on June 6, 2025.