Joel Simon, Opinion contributor Published 7:00 a.m. ET Nov. 20, 2019

Mike Pence and Adam Schiff once served as co-chairs of the Freedom of the Press Caucus. Now Pence serves a president who threatens press freedom.

The extent to which the defense of press freedom has been a bipartisan concern is suggested by the fact that as a member of Congress, Mike Pence served as the co-chair of the Freedom of the Press Caucus along with Adam Schiff.

"If you believe in limited government, you understand that the only check on government power in real time is a free and independent press, Pence said on the floor of the House in 2005, when he was pushing for legislation to protect journalists and their sources.

Today, of course, Schiff is leading the congressional impeachment hearings against President Donald Trump, and Pence is the vice president in an administration that has waged a relentless war on the press.

Trumps attacks on the news media, while divisive and polarizing in the United States, are doing far worse damage in places around the world where authoritarian governments are jailing journalists in record number or, as was the case with Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi, murdering them with impunity.

On Monday, I went to see Vice President Pence with a group of courageous journalists from Pakistan, Nicaragua, Tanzania, Indiaand Brazil. These journalists were in the United States to receive press freedom prizes from the Committee to Protect Journalists, the organization I lead. We are honoring them for putting their lives on the line to bring us the news.

The journalists shared a variety of experiences. Neha Dixit described the onslaught of hate she has endured in India about publishing stories on sex trafficking and other sensitive issues. Patrcia Campos Mello, who has reported on alleged corruption in Brazil, saidPresident Jair Bolsonarohas emulated Trumps rhetoric, unleashing a torrent of online death threats and harassment. Bolsonaro even went so far as to cancel the governments subscription to her publication, Folha de S.Paulo, after Trump banned The New York Times and The Washington Post from the White House.

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Several of the journalists raised concern about the proliferation of laws criminalizing fake news and the ways these laws are used to target critical media.

Zaffar Abbas, the editor of the Dawn, one of Pakistans top newspapers, called on Pence to stand up for journalists working in developing democracies around the world.

Meanwhile, Miguel Mora and Lucia Pineda, who were jailed in Nicaragua in reprisal for their critical reporting, thanked Pence for the support they had received from the U.S. government, which they said helped get them out of prison.

The vice president was deeply engaged by these storiesand reaffirmed his commitment to press freedom. Thats important, but the reality is that the impeachment inquiry is polarizing, and its hard to imagine our political leaders coming together again to defend this critical principle.

Thats why the American people should.

Vice President Mike Pence(Photo: Drew Angerer, Getty Images)

Regardless of how you feel about the impeachment proceedings, many Americans are glued to the news, and wewant to know and understand whats transpiring in Washington. Thats the role of a free press, which is facing new challenges in this country, from the decline in local news to legal action targeting journalists sources.

This month, along with our partners at the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press and more than 40 media organizations around the country, we launched a new campaign called Protect Press Freedom. The campaign seeks to educate Americans about the threats to press freedom, celebrate the diverse journalism that keeps the public informedand mobilize citizens to stand up for freedom of the press no matter what news is important to them.

Theres another reason that we are calling on all Americans to stand firm for press freedom, and thats to bolster journalists around the world who work without the protection of the First Amendment. Their reporting not only informs their own societiesbut also reaches a global audience. The journalists who met with Vice President Pence told him they would like the United Statesto be an ally and an inspiration. Heseemed to get this. Lets hope he can persuadehis boss.

Joel Simon is executive director of the Committee to Protect Journalists. Follow him on Twitter @Joelcpj

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We met with Vice President Pence to talk about press freedom. Heres why its important. - USA TODAY