Our weekly round-up of public service media related stories and headlines from around the world.
Click on the drop-down menus below to reveal the latest regional stories.
AFRICA | ASIA | AUSTRALIA, PACIFIC & NEW ZEALAND | EUROPE | LATIN AMERICA & THE CARIBBEAN | MIDDLE EAST | NORTH AMERICA & CANADA | OTHER
Africa
LIBERIA: New Freedom House Report Reveals that Press in Liberia Not Truly Free
FPA: Freedom House, a U.S-based non-government organization, that conducts research and advocacy on democracy, political freedom, and human rights says the press in Liberia is not wholly free.
LIBYA: Libya: Government must act against attacks on journalists and the media
IFJ: Over 140 journalists from 20 different media outlets handed a letter to the Government of National Accord (GNA) urging them to stop the attacks on media freedom and ensure a safe working environment for journalists in the country.
NIGERIA: BBC Africa shines spotlight on Nigeria elections
BBC: As Nigeria prepares to hold elections on February 16, BBC Africa will be offering comprehensive coverage for our local and international audiences across radio, TV, online and social media.
NIGERIA: China launches access satellite TV project for 10,000 villages in Africa
The Guardian (Nigeria): The Chinese government has launched an access to satellite TV project for 10,000 villages aimed at providing digital TV access to rural communities across Africa.About 1,000 villages in Nigeria will benefit from the project.
SOUTH AFRICA: SABC money troubles hit music industry
City Press: The SABC stopped paying royalties for music used on its radio and television stations last year, making the local music industry the latest victim of the public broadcaster’s financial implosion.
SOUTH SUDAN: AFEX Condemns South Sudan’s Media Authority Censorship
AFEX: The African Freedom of Expression Exchange (AFEX) condemns the summoning of the Editor in Chief of Al Watan Arabic newspaper by South Sudan’s Media Authority, for publishing articles on on-going demonstrations in neighbouring Sudan.
TUNISIA: Tunisia: first framework agreement in the media of the Arab world signed (French)
IFJ: The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) praised the signature on Wednesday (January 9th) of a framework agreement for the Tunisian media. The agreement was signed at the headquarters of the government presidency by the National Union of Tunisian Journalists (SNJT) and Tunisian media and government representatives.
ZIMBABWE: Blowing hot and cold: Media law and policy reforms process in 2018
MISA: That Zimbabwe’s media law and policy framework is seriously flawed and therefore in dire need of improvement has been palpable for a long time now.
ZIMBABWE: Calls for media reforms intensify
Daily News Live: Media practitioners in the country have high hopes for this year including the licensing of genuine community radio stations, among other reforms targeting the sector.
GENERAL: Taxed, throttled or thrown in jail: Africa’s new internet paradigm
Global Voices: Africa’s landscape of online free speech and dissent has gradually, but consistently, been tightened in recent years. In 2018 in particular, the cost of speaking out — both legally and economically — was on the rise across the continent.
Asia
CAMBODIA: Gov’t Warns Media of Repercussions for Journalists Who Write About the ‘Hun Sen Regime’
VOA: Interior Minister Sar Kheng said journalists using these terms “do not respect the will of the Cambodian people, who turned out to vote”.
CHINA: Over half of foreign correspondents say reporting conditions in China deteriorated in 2018 – report
HKFP: Over half of foreign correspondents say reporting conditions in China deteriorated last year, according to the Foreign Correspondents’ Club of China’s (FCCC) annual report on the country’s press freedom.
CHINA: China: Three jailed as Government crackdown on freedom of expression continues
IFJ: In ` 2018, three journalists – Sun Lin, Zhen Jianghua, Ding Lingjie – were each convicted and sentenced for ‘inciting subversion’ and ‘insulting a state leader’.
INDIA: Prasar Bharati fills up 4 vacant MPEG-2 slots on DD FreeDish
Indian Television: Aajtak Tej, Republic Bharat, Surya Samachar and Kushboo Bangla are the recipients
JAPAN: ‘Fear’ and ‘favour’ chill newsroom at storied Japanese paper
Reuters: Early in December, dozens of journalists and editors from the Japan Times gathered for an emergency meeting in a glass-walled conference room in their brand-new 14th floor office.
MALDIVES: ACC investigating 14 cases regarding state media PSM
Raajje: Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) has stated that it is investigating 14 cases regarding Public Service Media (PSM).
MALDIVES: Maldives falls in Corruption Perception Index
The Maldives Independent: The Maldives has fallen on Transparency International’s annual Corruption Perception Index for the third consecutive year, ranking 124 out of 180 countries.
PAKISTAN: Cabinet approves merger of all media regulatory bodies
Dawn: The federal cabinet on Thursday approved formation of the Pakistan Media Regulatory Authority (PMRA) that envisages merger of all bodies regulating media, including the print and electronic media.
PAKISTAN: Pakistan Media Regulatory Authority to have disastrous impact: APNS
The News International: The All Pakistan Newspapers Society has strongly deplored the decision of the federal cabinet on the formation of Pakistan Media Regulatory Authority, which is unacceptable to the media and the civil society of Pakistan.
THAILAND: Thailand’s military junta cracks down on social media ahead of election
The Guardian: Restrictions on political parties’ campaigning raises questions of how free and fair will much-postponed poll be.
Australia Pacific New Zealand
AUSTRALIA: Australian TV in the Pacific not what is needed – lobby group
RNZ: An Australian media lobbying group says plans to broadcast Australian television content into the Pacific isn’t what the region needs.
FIJI: Critics see Fiji’s Online Safety Act as ‘Trojan horse’ for online censors
Asia Pacific Report: Fiji’s Online Safety Act took effect this month amid concerns that it will be used to censor the internet.
TONGA: Outage forces Tongan govt to restrict internet
RNZ: When Tonga lost all cell phone and internet connection to the outside world on Sunday evening, Paula Piveni Piukala, the country’s cable director happened to be attending a regional Telecommunications conference in Hawai’i.
Europe
CROATIA: Croatian Lawmakers Scrutinise Public Broadcaster’s Media Lawsuits
Safe Journalists: Lawmakers in Croatia will discuss on Wednesday a spate of lawsuits filed by the country’s public broadcaster against journalists, media outlets and journalism associations, a practice critics say amounts to an attack on media freedom.
ESTONIA: ERR election broadcasting regulations overview
ERR: Public broadcaster ERR is on its general elections regime between now and polling day on 3 March, and its coverage will be in line with these regulations, explains ERR ombudsman Tarmu Tammerk.
FRANCE: France: Senate approves proposed law creating neighboring rights for publishers and remuneration for journalists (French)
IFJ: Presented by the members of the Socialist Republican Group of the Senate, it submits to the authorization of the agencies and the press publishers the reproduction and the communication of their productions to the public and provides their retribution during the on-line re-use of these productions.
FRANCE: France Télévisions ups digital docs to strengthen online portal
Digital TV Europe: French public broadcaster France Télévisions is to devote 5% of its documentaries budget to content for its digital platforms over the next three years as it seeks to bolster its online portal, according to local reports.
FRANCE: Overseas territories: franceinfo will replace France 24 on TNT (French)
Puremédias: Forced by the economy, France 24 gives up its broadcasting on DTT in the DOM-TOM.
IRELAND: Cash-strapped RTE may face ‘difficult choices’ – BAI chief
Independent.ie: RTE will have ‘difficult choices’ to make in relation to the range of services it can provide if the Government does not agree to increase its funding, according to Michael O’Keeffe, chief executive of the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland (BAI).
IRELAND: Communications Minister to raise concerns over salary levels with RTÉ
RTÉ: The Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment Richard Bruton has pledged to raise the issue of high salaries with RTÉ.
LITHUANIA: Journalist association protests public broadcaster selection process, regulator hits back
LSM: The Latvian Journalists Association (LŽA) has issued a statement calling for the termination of a current recruitment effort to find a head for the national broadcaster Latvian Television (LTV, of which LSM forms a part).
MOLDOVA: Moldovan Journalists Under Unprecedented Fire Before Election
Balkan Insight: Journalists in Moldova have exposed corruption, fraud and embezzlement by politicians, and they are increasingly coming under attack because of it.
SERBIA: Serbia Leader Announces Arrest of Mayor Over Attack on Journalist
VOA: Serbia’s President Aleksandar Vucic announced the arrest of the mayor of a Belgrade suburb on Friday in connection with an attack on a journalist that has become a cause for protesters during nearly two months of anti-government demonstrations.
SPAIN: Spain to challenge TV duopoly abuse
Broadband TV News: The Spanish regulator CNMC will shortly directly address the market dominance enjoyed by Atresmedia and Mediaset, the country’s two leading commercial broadcasters.
SPAIN: The contest to choose the president of RTVE stalls again (Catalan)
ara.cat: More than twenty aspirants have filed appeals against the decision of the committee of experts.
UK: BBC Global News ends 2018 on a high
BBC: BBC Global News enjoyed a hugely successful year in 2018 with ambitious new product launches, award wins and ever-increasing audiences coming to its impartial coverage
UK: Brexit boost for BBC Parliament as channel briefly outrates MTV
The Guardian: Brexit boost for BBC Parliament as channel briefly outrates MTV
UK: CBeebies launches Go Explore app
Advanced Television: CBeebies has launched the Go Explore, offering a range of games linked to the curriculum, featuring Go Jetters, Hey Duggee and The Furchester Hotel, helping youngsters to develop life skills and prepare them for primary school and beyond.
UK: How the BBC is tackling the ‘growing’ problem of fake news in Asia and Africa
The Drum: The BBC World Service is demonstrating fake news’ impact beyond the English-speaking world and pressuring tech companies to take action to surface respectable news outlets more effectively.
BBC: Plans include launch of media literacy and journalism initiative in classrooms around the world.
UKRAINE: 86 incidents of aggression against journalists recorded in 2018
IFJ: The National Union of Journalists of Ukraine (NUJU), an IFJ affiliate, has recorded 86 attacks against media workers in 2018.
UKRAINE: Models of financing of Public broadcaster in Ukraine
COE: Presentation of the expert report of the Council of Europe on Ukrainian legislation concerning current and possible alternative models of financing of the Public broadcaster was held in Strasbourg on 24 January 2019.
GENERAL: EBU members highlight challenges faced by PSM at the Parliamentary Assembly of Council of Europe
EBU: The discussion, chaired by former EBU Vice President Boris Bergant, focused on the role of PSM in providing high quality, verified content which addresses all sections of society, including minorities.
GENERAL: Google is threatening to kill Google News in Europe if the EU goes ahead with its “snippet tax”
NiemanLab: This is a battle that’s been fought in Europe before, most notably in Spain in 2014. But for a variety of reasons — shifts in publisher business models and the move to mobile highest among them — the power dynamics are a little different this time around.
REGIONAL: Complex relationship between the media and politics
Nordicom: In a new study, researchers examine how close, or far apart, media and political power are from each other in four different countries. The complex relationship between media and politics has consequences with regard to shaping the public image of politics and individual politicians.
REGIONAL: Media capture Central European style
Green European Journal: The region is a prime example of how vested interests can create a quasi-monopoly on media and information, increasingly cementing control and influence over opinions.
Latin America & The Caribbean
ARGENTINA: Hard statement from TV Pública staff: there are almost no in house programmes produced (Spanish)
Diario Registrado: Delegates of the channel denounce that the official policies on public media advance leaving them in paralysis: “only 28% corresponds to programs produced by TV Pública staff”, they say.
BRAZIL: Attacks against journalists in Brazil increase over last year, according to Fenaj
Knight Center: The cases of aggression against journalists in Brazil grew 36.7 percent between 2017 and 2018, according to a recent report from the National Federation of Journalists (Fenaj). There were 135 incidents of violence with 227 victims, according to the organization.
BRAZIL: Why Brazil failed to create its own BBC
The Brazilian Report
COLOMBIA: Colombian startup goes beyond reporting, launches public conversation around current issues
IJNET: In an era of experimentation and transformation in journalism, new publishing models have been pushing back against traditional media. That’s the case of Mutante, a Spanish-language online project based in Colombia that produces investigative reporting for social change.
COLOMBIA: Manager of Colombian public media system presents his resignation after complaints of censorship
Knight Center: After a little more than 24 hours of controversy created in Colombia after the publication of an audio recording in which the manager of the country’s Public Media System (RCTV) is heard looking for options to remove a program whose presenter criticized a government bill, Juan Pablo Bieri presented his resignation to the Colombian president.
MEXICO: Public media, a challenge (Spanish – Opinion)
El Economista 30: “I am left with concerns because one thing is public media policy and another is a social communication policy or programme. They are not the same and cannot be put in the same basket.”
NICARAGUA: Police guard facilities of Channel 12 in Nicaragua and inspect staff
Knight Center: On the morning of Jan. 24, Nicaraguan Channel 12 was surrounded by riot police and more than thirty red beret police officers, reported Artículo 66.
VENEZUELA: CPJ Safety Advisory: Covering the political crisis in Venezuela
CPJ: CPJ has put out the following advice for local and foreign journalists working in Venezuela, or planning to travel there.
VENEZUELA: Raids, media shutdowns and internet disruptions amid Venezuela crisis
CPJ: Venezuelan authorities on January 23 raided at least three newsrooms in southern Venezuela, took at least one television outlet off air, detained two reporters, confiscated reporting equipment, and forced members of the press to delete their material, according to local journalists and local press freedom organizations. Access to the internet was also disrupted.
VENEZUELA: Venezuela’s war on the press
CJR: Venezuela’s journalists—and its citizens—are paying a very great price for their attempts to get at the truth.
Middle East
IRAN: Amnesty criticizes Iran’s mass arrests as US frees reporter
ABC News (US): Iran arrested more than 7,000 people last year, including dozens of journalists, in what Amnesty International on Thursday called a “shameless campaign of repression” as the U.S. released an American anchorwoman for Iranian state television held for days as a material witness.
IRAN: Iran’s president says media censorship has backfired on regime
Euronews: Iranian president Hasan Rouhani has declared his country’s efforts to censor the internet a failure.
IRAQ: Iraq: 7 journalists attacked by Kurdish security forces
IFJ: Seven journalists and media staff working for local television NRT were attacked and detained for several hours on Saturday, January 26, while covering protests against a Turkish military base in the town of Shaladze, located in Iraq’s Kurdish region.
TURKEY: Turkey Crackdown Chronicle: Week beginning January 20, 2019
CPJ
GENERAL: Editor’s Pick: Best Investigative Journalism in Arabic 2018
GIJN: In the Middle East and North Africa, resources for producing independent journalism are shrinking while laws restricting the freedom of press — including electronic crimes laws in Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon — are swelling alongside the numbers of journalists languishing in prison in countries such as Egypt and Saudi Arabia.
North America & Canada
CANADA: Call for applications: CJF-CBC Indigenous Journalism Fellowships
CISION: To raise the profile of Indigenous voices and issues in the media, The Canadian Journalism Foundation (CJF), together with CBC News, is now accepting applications to its CJF-CBC Indigenous Journalism Fellowships program.
CANADA: How Canadian reporter Daniel Dale fact-checks Trump (Listen)
CBC News: Toronto Star reporter Daniel Dale tries to fact check everything U.S President Donald Trump says. It keeps him working at all hours and his reporting has drawn attention all over the world.
CANADA: Netflix: competition, not regulation, is the way to stimulate Canadian content
CTV News: Netflix says it shouldn’t be forced to pay into funds that are designed to support the creation of Canadian content, arguing that the country is better served by market competition than by regulating foreign online services.
US: A brutal week for American journalism
CJR
Poynter
Current: PBS has asked the FCC to give public broadcasters additional financial assistance for repacking channels without “burdensome” added paperwork.
The LA Times: Paula Kerger has visited 49 states since she took over as president and chief executive of PBS in 2006. And after all those miles and new studio ribbon cuttings, it’s the words of a farmer who drove five hours to see her during a visit in Lincoln, Neb., that stands out most in her mind.
Other
#MeToo #SolutionsToo grants enable journalists to report on sexual offences
Journalism.co.uk: Three freelance journalists explain how grants of up to $1,500 from Solutions Journalism Network have helped them report on solutions to sexual offences across the world
Berlin-based publication by refugees, for refugees
IJNet: Nearly one million Syrians, Iraqis and Afghans took refuge in Germany since 2012. The social integration of these newcomers is one of the main challenges the German society is currently facing. On the frontline of refugee integration efforts is Amal, an online publication that reports on German local news in Arabic and Persian.
Electronic Devices Outnumber Humans & Trigger a Surge in E-Waste
IPS: The widespread innovations in modern digital technology have a devastating downside to it: the accumulation of over 50 million tonnes of electronics waste (e-waste) globally every year.
Facebook to create ‘war room’ to fight fake news, Nick Clegg says
The Guardian: Dublin operations centre to target political misinformation ahead of EU elections in May
Future of digital journalism in question as BuzzFeed and HuffPost lay off 1,000
The Guardian: Job losses follow sales or cuts at Mic, Refinery29 and elsewhere, but publishing as a whole had already shrunk sharply
How Innovative Newsrooms Are Using Artificial Intelligence
GIJN: “If instead of fearing it, journalists embrace AI, it could become the savior of the trade — making it possible for them to better cover the increasingly complex, globalized and information-rich world we live in.”
How the media can contribute to conflict transformation
DW: Observer, activist, target: the media can play various roles in conflicts. Can they also help to bring peace?
Meet the eight European news organizations with (funded) plans for engaged journalism
NiemanLab: The Engaged Journalism Accelerator, funded by the News Integrity Initiative and Civil, shared the eight newsrooms chosen for its second round of boosting journalism that involves audiences at a deeper level.