Reporters Without Borders (RSF) organised the appeal of some 80 people, including media owners in francophone Africa.
"We ask the junta to respect the right to information, to pluralism and media independence," said the statement.
It urged the regime in Niamey to "contribute towards the safety of local and international journalists".
The appeal cites several incidents since the July 26 coup which saw foreign and Nigerien reporters targeted at demonstrations or face intimidation and threats.
RSF said the facts showed that attacks on press freedom had increased since the coup.
Radio France Internationale and France 24 TV news have been cut in Niger since August 3.
Both services had already been suspended in neighbouring Burkina Faso and Mali, where coups d'Etat have also taken place.
Friday's appeal was also addressed "to the other Sahel states led by the military".
"We remind them of their duty to respect the rights of journalists and particularly of access to information in the interest of the peoples of the Sahel," it said.
Niger's military rulers give French ambassador 48 hours to leave: statement
Niamey, Niger (AFP) Aug 25, 2023 -
The military rulers who seized control in Niamey on July 26 have given the French ambassador 48 hours to leave Niger, the country's minister of foreign affairs said in a statement Friday.
Faced with "the refusal of the French ambassador in Niamey to respond to an invitation" from the minister for a meeting Friday and "other actions of the French government contrary to the interests of Niger", the authorities have decided to withdraw their approval of Sylvain Itte and ask him to depart within 48 hours, the statement said.
This decision follows a series of statements and demonstrations hostile toward France since the Nigerien army overthrew President Mohamed Bazoum, who has since been detained with his family.
The military leaders accuse Paris of wanting to intervene militarily in Niger in order to reinstate Bazoum and claim that the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) is an organisation in the pocket of former regional colonial power France.
ECOWAS has imposed heavy economic sanctions on Niger following the coup and has threatened the use of armed force to restore constitutional order.
France has some 1,500 troops stationed in Niger to aid in fighting jihadist groups that have plagued the country along with the wider Sahel region for years.
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