Our weekly round-up of public service media related stories and headlines from around the world
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With this in mind, the Public Media Alliance has compiled an extensive and growing list of resources featuring recommended tools, advice and sources for journalists and the public alike. The resources can be found via the link below or in the Tools section of our website.
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What is...
Our weekly explainers for key public media terms, phrases and values.
As one of the more difficult PSM principles to explain, we are splitting the concept of “impartiality” into three, over the remaining PSM Weeklys of 2021. This week, we’re tackling “impartial journalism”. Next week, we’ll be tackling “due impartiality”.
Week 47: What does IMPARTIAL JOURNALISM look like?
Impartiality is one of the most essential tenets of public media. It is far from simple to understand or explain but it is critical to democracy. Impartial journalism underpins informed decision-making by offering fact-based and contextual information on issues of public interest, while providing an outlet for citizens to share and amplify their views, while also providing an opportunity for them to hear the views of others.
In its simplest sense, impartiality means not to be partial and in a polarised and often divided world needs to be accompanied by rigorous fact checking and verification. It is certainly the case that there should be no judgement or editorialising on the behalf of the author, nor should any social, political, or economic interests subvert or influence the reporting.
Too often, impartial journalism has been taken to mean, ‘the reflection of all sides of an argument, equally balanced between all viewpoints’. But ‘balance’ is also a difficult concept, as balanced reporting can be taken as the need to include the views of those spreading dis- and misinformation.
Publicly funded news organisations must ensure that they fairly represent and equally scrutinise the full diversity of thought and backgrounds that exist across society.
Impartial journalism benefits news organisations — it helps build public trust, audience engagement, credibility, value, and relevance — all valuable to PSM and explained in previous explainers. But impartial reporting also brings challenges. Rising polarisation, misinformation, audience fragmentation, anti-media sentiments and conspiracy theories have increasingly led to public media not only making tough decisions on how impartial they should be but have also led to them defending their impartiality, setting out new approaches, and explaining their editorial policies.
To get around this issue, many public media organisations apply the concept of ‘due impartiality’ to issues, which will be explained shortly.
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As the coronavirus pandemic worsens, public media are rapidly adapting to best cover the crisis on a local level while also providing for educational needs and vulnerable groups as isolation policies are introduced.
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Coronavirus: Resources & best practices
Essential resources for sourcing and reporting news about the coronavirus pandemic
What we're watching...
The most hard-hitting questions put to Orbán on state radio (Hungarian – English subtitles available)
Telexponthu: While the Prime Minister manages to avoid tough questions domestically, he has been dropping by Kossuth Radio almost every Friday to give an interview to one of the leading editors of the public media, which operates with an annual budget of 325 million euros of taxpayer money. In his third cycle with a two-thirds majority, Viktor Orbán fields questions almost exclusively from Katalin Nagy on the state radio station. The journalist, who was awarded the Knight’s Cross from the Hungarian Order of Merit, doesn’t hesitate to take advantage of these opportunities.
What we're listening to...
Today in Short: Maria Ressa’s travel ban
IPI: Efforts by populists to control the narrative by targeting critical journalists is a trend that we have observed in many countries. But the government of Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte has doubled down on its attacks on independent media by trying to prevent journalist Maria Ressa, this year’s Nobel Peace Prize co-laureate, from attending the Nobel ceremony in Norway on December 10.
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ETHIOPIA: Ethiopia Government Clamps Down on War Coverage
VOA News: As fighting intensifies, government issues state of emergency and media regulator warnings to control reporting on Ethiopian conflict, media rights group says.
THE GAMBIA: The Gambian elections: the press, social media and the newfound freedom
MFWA: The Gambia goes to the polls on December 4 as a beaming light of hope for press freedom and democratic governance in a West Africa region where such ideals are fast dimming.
GHANA: Christmas Outreach: GBC’s Twin City Radio Broadcasts from Takoradi New Market
GBC Ghana: The Western Regional Radio Station of the Ghana Broadcasting Corporation has taken its studio broadcast activities to the temporary market in Takoradi. The move formed part of activities to usher in the Christmas and new year festivities while introducing new products to the public.
GHANA: GBC presents brand new laptops to Keta SHTS NSMQ Contestants (Press release)
GBC Ghana: Management of the Ghana Broadcasting Corporation has presented brand new HP Laptops to the Keta Senior High Technical School National Science and Maths Quiz finalists… GBC’s gesture represents the Public Service Broadcasters role in supporting education in Ghana.
MAURITIUS: Mauritian parliament imposes tougher regulations on broadcast media
RSF: Reporters Without Borders (RSF) calls on the president of Mauritius not to promulgate the law imposing much tougher regulations on radio stations that the national assembly passed yesterday despite opposition from the media. This law threatens journalistic independence, RSF says.
NAMIBIA: Public Broadcaster’s Labour Dispute Rambles On – Workers Union Seeks Legal Intervention
Broadcast Media Africa: The labour dispute between the Namibian Broadcasting Corporation (NBC) and the Namibia Public Workers Union (Napwu) is far from over, with the case now heading to court.
NIGERIA: The media, national security and nation building (Opinion)
Vanguard: IF the Nigerian media fail to play the role they have played in the past to press for and help promote the imperatives of unity in diversity and sustain democratic rule, there is no doubt that democratic rule will atrophy and the nation building process will go into reverse gear.
RWANDA: Performance of Rwanda Media Development Indicator Drops (23 November)
Via AllAfrica: The Rwanda Media Barometer (RMB) 2021 has indicated that the media development and professional capacity indicator scored 62.4 per cent, the least performance compared to other indicators it considered.
SOUTH AFRICA: Industry Regulator Reopens Applications For Community Broadcasting Licensing In South Africa
Broadcast Media Africa: The process is being re-run because “Only two out of 142 applicants made it to the second stage of the community radio licensing process, and none of the 42 applicants of the community television broadcasting services licensing process made it to the second stage.”
SOUTH AFRICA: Matter against GE of News being processed in accordance to policies: SABC Board
SABC News: The South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) Board says it takes seriously the grievances lodged by Group Executive for News and Current Affairs Phathiswa Magopeni against chairperson Bongumusa Makhathini and Group Chief Executive Officer Madoda Mxakwe.
SOUTH AFRICA: SABC management highlights funding as biggest challenge to fulfil public mandate
SABC News: The South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) says one of its biggest challenges is acquiring sufficient funds to fulfil its public mandate.
ZIMBABWE: High Court quashes criminal charges against journalist Hopewell Chin’ono
Zim Live: The High Court on Monday quashed charges of inciting violent anti-government protests levelled against journalist and government critic Hopewell Chin’ono, saying prosecutors failed to specify how a series of tweets constituted an offence.
Balancing Act: Improved internet connectivity in Sub-Saharan Africa has led to the growth of a new wave of digital news companies. They are surviving by doing two things: different types of news journalism and by creating new business models.
AFGHANISTAN: Taliban tighten restrictions on education, media
NHK World: Taliban officials in Afghanistan said they would rule within the framework of Islam, when they regained power over 3 months ago. But they now appear to be tightening controls on education and limiting press freedom.
CHINA: Officials commission surveillance system targeting journalists
IFJ: Recent reports reveal that journalists and other ‘suspicious’ actors will be tracked by an elaborate surveillance system allegedly commissioned by the authorities of Henan Province, China.
CAMBODIA: Provincial Governor in Cambodia Knocked for Plan to Combat ‘Nonsense News’
VOA News: Journalists and Cambodia’s information minister have publicly rejected a plan by a provincial governor to compel the media to report their activities to local authorities.
HONG KONG: Hong Kong public broadcaster to ‘pause’ social media pages of 12 shows
HKFP: Hong Kong public broadcaster RTHK will from Friday “pause” the social media pages of a dozen programmes, including the axed political satire show Headliner and the popular Hong Kong Connection which is still in production.
HONG KONG: Hong Kong threatens Wall St Journal over ‘incitement’ following editorial on upcoming poll
HKFP: The Secretary for Constitutional and Mainland Affairs Erick Tsang has threatened the Wall Street Journal over an editorial it published about this month’s upcoming legislative election.
HONG KONG: Shuttered Hong Kong Democracy Paper Wins Press Freedom Award
VOA News: Jailed media tycoon Jimmy Lai and the staff of his now-shuttered Apple Daily newspaper have been awarded a prestigious press freedom prize by the World Association of News Publishers.
HONG KONG: Unwelcoming place for international media? (Opinion)
Vanguard: For decades, Hong Kong has remained the favourite hub for international media. The Hong Kong authorities were tolerant of dissent.
INDONESIA: ITE convictions threaten press freedom
IFJ: Longstanding disquiet by Indonesian journalists about the potential reach of the notorious Electronic Information and Transactions (ITE) Law was again highlighted this month, writes Jim Nolan.
INDIA: ‘Arbitrary’: Journalists Slam Restrictions on Their Access to Parliament Building
The Wire: Protesting against the restrictions imposed on media persons covering parliament proceedings, a large group of journalists took out a march from the Press Club of India to Parliament House in Delhi on Thursday, December 2.
JAPAN: Japan to urge broadcasters to regularly report on foreign ownership
Japan Times: The communications ministry decided Friday to oblige broadcasters to regularly report on investments made by foreign shareholders in a bid to strengthen its surveillance following revelations that some broadcasting companies had violated the foreign ownership rule.
JAPAN: Japanese Supreme Court confirms obligation to pay NHK viewing fees
Japan Times: Even households in Japan with televisions on which channels of public broadcaster NHK cannot be watched must pay viewing fees, the Supreme Court has confirmed.
MALAYSIA: Social media influencers urged to spread word on govt policies
Malay Mail: Social media influencers, especially those in Sabah, have been asked to play their part in delivering information about government policies implemented on behalf of the public, Sabah Chief Minister Datuk Hajiji Noor said.
MYANMAR: Journalists Work Clandestinely in Post-Coup Myanmar
VOA: Post-coup Myanmar has proven a difficult place for journalists to operate.
PAKISTAN: Watchdog Blasts Pakistan’s ‘Pointless’ New Law Aimed At Protecting Journalists
RFE/RL: An international media rights watchdog has criticized an “extremely vague” provision in a new Pakistani law that supposedly protects journalists, saying it was “tantamount to censorship and intimidation.”
PHILIPPINES: Philippines court allows Nobel laureate Maria Ressa to go to Norway
The Guardian: The Philippine journalist Maria Ressa will be allowed to travel overseas so she can accept her Nobel peace prize in person after a court gave her permission to leave the country to visit Norway this month.
SOUTH KOREA: Signed an agreement for joint development and operation of ‘Test of Proficiency in Korean for Foreigners’ (Press release – Korean)
KBS: KBS (Korea Broadcasting System) and Yonsei University Language Research Institute have signed an agreement to work together to co-develop Korean language training and assessment projects for foreigners.
TAIWAN: Jimmy Lai’s Flagship Apple Daily to Shut Taiwan Operations
Bloomberg: Hong Kong tycoon Jimmy Lai’s Next Digital Ltd. will shut the Taiwanese unit of its flagship Apple Daily this month, people familiar with the matter said.
THAILAND: Thailand aims to further censor media reporting of protests
IPI: The IPI global network today expressed grave concern over growing censorship in Thailand after the country’s telecommunications regulator warned the media against covering ongoing pro-democracy protests.
THAILAND: Thai PBS ready to send happiness to the end of the year in December with outstanding items that should not be missed (Press release – Thai)
Thai PBS: Arriving in December, the last month of the year 2021, Thai PBS prepares to give the final touch through the screen of the year.
VIETNAM: Facebook removes accounts targeting critics of Vietnam’s government
Radio Free Asia: Facebook’s parent company removed a network of accounts on the platform that coordinated attacks against Vietnamese activists who criticized the government.
AUSTRALIA: ABC features content for, by and about Australians living with disability (Press release)
ABC: More than 50 Australians living with disability will have their stories seen and heard across the ABC to mark International Day of People with Disability (IDPwD) tomorrow.
AUSTRALIA: ABC News Director Gaven Morris Melbourne Press Club Address
ABC
AUSTRALIA: ABC to add more than 50 journalists in Regional Australia (Press release)
ABC: The ABC has announced an additional 50-plus journalist roles in regional locations as a result of deals struck with Facebook and Google.
AUSTRALIA: Australia’s voters hold government and the news media in contempt – and the contagion is spreading (Opinion)
The Guardian: While the showdown with a mutating virus may have hogged the political limelight this year, there has been another global outbreak which may have an even more profound impact on our collective wellbeing: the corrosion of trust in information.
AUSTRALIA: Australian Community Media awarded more than $10m in Covid grants while scaling back newspapers
The Guardian: Australian Community Media was awarded more than $10m by the federal government to continue publishing its stable of more than 100 regional newspapers through the pandemic, but even before the grant deed was signed it was closing or scaling back titles.
AUSTRALIA: November Platoon (Watch)
ABC Media Watch: Former soldier Heston Russell demands the ABC apologise for a story about an alleged war crime in Afghanistan in 2012. We look at the reporting, the criticism, the ugly social media threats against the journalist and whether the ABC should have published.
The Guardian: Some regional Australian publishers that won multimillion-dollar government grants designed to protect local journalism jobs sacked staff and closed newsrooms before the ink was dry on their grant agreements.
NEW ZEALAND: Marlborough newsroom receives funding from public journalism fund
Stuff: Stuff’s Marlborough newsroom, which publishes The Marlborough Express, has been granted public funding this week to help it continue to deliver public interest journalism.
NEW ZEALAND: New members and Chair appointed to the Broadcasting Standards Authority Board (Press release)
Ministry of Culture and Heritage: Tupe Solomon-Tanoa’i and John Gillespie have joined the Broadcasting Standards Authority (BSA) board, with current member Susie Staley confirmed as Chair, Manatū Taonga Ministry for Culture and Heritage confirmed today.
NEW ZELAND: RNZ’s Tahi -‘the one’ for rangatahi? (Listen)
RNZ Mediawatch: RNZ’s previous plan to reach younger people collapsed in early 2020 after opposition to RNZ Concert cuts – and pushback from commercial broadcasters. This week RNZ fired up Tahi – a more modest effort for the underserved youth audience.
SOLOMON ISLANDS: Solomon Islands riots: ‘We’ll shoot you with stones’ abuse for journalists
Asia Pacific Report: Facing angry rioters threatening them with physical attacks, Solomon Islands mainstream and freelance journalists and photographers were confronted with an unsettling reality during last week’s three days of rioting in Honiara.
SOLOMON ISLANDS: Solomon Islands – where the world news talent is all local
Asia Pacific Report: Did you notice anything different about the news coverage of the recent unrest in Honiara? Those fast-breaking stories on Australia’s television, radio and online networks were not presented by Australian journalists but by Solomon Islanders professionally reporting from the frontlines of the riots.
AUSTRIA: ORF editorial committee calls for ensuring editorial independence (30 November – German)
Der Standard: The ORF editorial committee unanimously passed a resolution in its online meeting on Tuesday calling for the independence of reporting to be ensured.
BELARUS: The government intensifies its crackdown on independent journalists and media
IFJ: On 1 December, the authorities in Belarus arrested and searched the houses of several independent journalists across the country for simply doing their job.
BELGIUM: How does the VRT translate foreign programs without losing nuances? (Press release – Dutch) (26 November)
VRT: When you watch an international series, documentary or report, you can follow what is being said thanks to the subtitles. Whether that language is English, French or even Korean. But, how are those texts translated before they appear on your screen? And are nuances never lost?
BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA: Media censorship in Bosnia just got a lot scarier
FairPlanet: The media community in Bosnia and Herzegovina, which is no stranger to repression, now faces two brand new forms of censorship imposed mostly by elected officials.
CZECH REPUBLIC: After Czech elections, new push for public media independence (HlídacíPes)
IPI: The nationalization of the Czech Television and the Czech Radio has not taken place yet. On the contrary, they are to receive a “vaccine” against political pressures, writes HlidaciPes.org.
CZECH REPUBLIC: The new generation of iVysáže starts in December. CT will also offer the first web shows (Press release – Czech)
Česká Televize: On Monday, December 6, Czech Television will present the new generation of iVys Broadcasting. In the first phase, ČT’s online video platform will offer a clearer catalogue of programmes, greater user comfort and, for the first time, exclusive content – creation intended for purely Internet distribution.
FINLAND: Does the podcast kill the radio? Yle’s radio and audio manager is not worried: “The amount of listening is increasing and more audio is being consumed than before” (Watch – Finnish)
Yle: In the future, the radio channel Yle Puhe will focus on broadcasting podcasts and other audio content instead of live broadcasts. How is traditional FM radio when more and more people are listening to audio from digital platforms?
FINLAND: Yle’s audio reform is progressing: Yle Speech is being renewed, Yle Radio 1 will continue to be an extensive cultural channel (Press release – Finnish) (29 November)
Yle: With the audio reform, Yle wants to strengthen digital audio and play its main service, Yle Areena. At the same time, Yle’s radio channels are being developed so that Yle’s total audio offering is even more relevant and diverse.
FRANCE: Anti-media rhetoric and violence as the ‘French Trump’ launches his campaign
CJR: YESTERDAY, ERIC ZEMMOUR, a far-right candidate in France’s presidential election, held his first official campaign rally in a suburb of Paris.
FRANCE: France Televisions could sell Salto stake
Broadcast TV News: The proposed merger between TF1 and M6 has forced a rethink at France Televisions as to whether the public broadcaster should continue to participate in the streaming platform Salto.
FRANCE: Macron commits to defending rule of law, media freedom in Europe
Euractiv: Defending the rule of law will be one of the major challenges when France takes over the rotating EU Council presidency in January, said President Emmanuel Macron.
FRANCE: Radio: work overloads create unease at France Bleu (French)
Le Monde: An expert report commissioned by the unions denounces the dysfunctions within the 44 local Radio France stations.
GERMANY & JORDAN: Deutsche Welle suspends cooperation with Jordan broadcaster (Paywall)
The Washington Post: German international broadcaster Deutsche Welle said Sunday it is suspending cooperation with a Jordanian partner, Roya TV, because of concerns about anti-Israeli and antisemitic content and caricatures on its social media.
GREECE: Press freedom in Greece under increased threat: Journalists, NGOs
Al Jazeera: Alleged surveillance of reporters, a law banning fake news, and bullying of a Dutch reporter fuel concerns.
HUNGARY: The shredding of the free press in Hungary (Telex)
IPI: Viktor Orbán’s takeover of the media didn’t come overnight. It’s been a long time in the making. Hungary’s Telex.hu traces the evolution of media capture.
IRELAND: RTÉ Creative Futures | Ireland’s Media Future (Watch)
RTÉ: RTÉ Creative Futures was a weekend of intense training for aspiring media professionals from communities under-represented in the sector. Thank you to all our fantastic participants.
ITALY: Rai, Monica Maggioni: “My Tg1 without mash. And no voice to No Vax “
La Repubblica: The first director of the news: “This is how politics improves: we need to have more balance, but without a slingbar. The filter to use is always journalistic”
KOSOVO: New Board no Silver Bullet for Troubled Kosovo Broadcaster
Balkan Insight: Kosovo’s government is determined to appoint a new board of directors at Radio Television Kosovo, but fresh faces alone won’t be enough to fix the troubled public broadcaster.
LITHUANIA: Interview with Monika Garbačiauskaitė-Budrienė, Director-General of LRT
EBU: Monika Garbačiauskaitė-Budrienė, Director-General of LRT, talks to Radka Betcheva, EBU Head of Member Relations for Central & Eastern Europe.
MALTA: Former Times of Malta journalists win 11-year freedom of expression battle
Times of Malta: An 11-year freedom of expression battle in the courts involving two former Times of Malta journalists has finally been brought to a close after Malta’s State Advocate conceded the case before it was due to be heard by the European Court of Human Rights.
POLAND: Journalist’s criminal defamation conviction may impair freedom of expression
IPI: The undersigned partners of the Media Freedom Rapid Response (MFRR) express deep concern over the recent judgement in the case brought by two judges in Poland in their private capacity against Polityka journalist Ewa Siedlecka, who was convicted of criminal defamation.
POLAND: Polish Parliament Rejects Unlimited Media Access to Belarus Border
VOA News: Poland’s president on Tuesday signed into law legislation that would limit the access of aid charities and journalists to its border with Belarus as the country grapples with a simmering migrant crisis.
PORTUGAL: ONSeries Lisboa Shows Portugal’s Broadcasters Rising to the Digital Challenge
Variety: The first edition of ONSeries Lisboa (Nov. 25-26) brought streaming platforms, international broadcasters and co-producers to Lisbon for a two-day event that showcased Portugal’s new TV series aimed at the international market.
RUSSIA: After targeting journalists, Russian authorities now targeting their lawyers
RSF: While stepping up their harassment of journalists via the “foreign agents” law, the Russian authorities are now also targeting their lawyers.
SLOVAKIA: More TV channels for Slovakia
Broadband TV News: Both the Slovak public broadcaster RTVS and national commercial station Markiza are planning to add another channel to their portfolios.
SLOVENIA: RTV Slovenia Feels Political Heat Amid Program Shuffles
VOA: Programming shifts at Slovenia’s public broadcaster could curb critical journalism and benefit the center-right government in next year’s elections, say journalists and free press advocates who sense politics behind the moves.
SPAIN: No RTVE tax for streamers until 2023
Advanced Television: Streaming platforms in Spain will be exempted from paying the 0.9 per cent RTVE tax until 2023 as the Administration has put the amendment on hold for one year.
SPAIN: RTVE and the General Council of Pharmacists reinforce the fight against misinformation with health content for the elderly (Press release – Spanish)
RTVE: The RTVE Corporation and the General Council of Official Associations of Pharmacists (CGCOF) continue to actively work against misinformation and hoaxes related to health, continuing the collaboration agreement that both entities began in May 2021.
SPAIN: The Government will also oblige RTVE to reserve an annual broadcasting quota for programming in Catalan, Basque or Galician (Spanish)
El Confidencial Digital: The Government will also oblige Radiotelevisión Española (RTVE) to maintain an annual broadcast quota reserved for programming in Catalan, Basque or Galician, as established in the General Audiovisual Law project, approved on Tuesday by the Council of Ministers.
SWEDEN: SVT invests heavily in minority language news (Press release – Swedish)
SVT: SVT has a responsibility for the minority languages in Sweden. It is one of the missions that makes public service special and important.
SWITZERLAND: ‘Freedom of expression is under pressure even in Switzerland’ (Watch)
Swissinfo.ch: Marie Maurisse, founder of media outlet Gotham City, reports on cases of fraud, money laundering or corruption that affect the Swiss financial sector. But more and more often, the law is used to stop the publication of compromising information.
Bectu: On Tuesday, Bectu hosted a virtual panel discussion about what the potential privatisation of Channel 4 would mean for the public service broadcast landscape.
Variety: Channel 4 have issued best practice recommendations on working with disabled talent, adopting a number of recommendations set out by newly-formed pressure group Underlying Health Condition (UHC).
UK: Deloitte: TV will slip below 50% of UK viewing
Broadband TV News: In its predictions for 2022, Deloitte Global anticipates that the combination of live, time-shifted, or on demand viewing that stood at 73% as recently as 2017 will fall to 53% in 2022 and then to 49% in 2023.
UK: ‘Everyone always wants to talk to me about Channel 4’s future – privatisation is a big decision’
The Telegraph: “I don’t think we are a left-wing organisation,” says Alex Mahon, chief executive of Channel 4, after some gentle cajoling.
GENERAL: Why internet regulation and media freedom must go hand-in-hand (Opinion)
Euractiv: The European press sector has serious concerns about the ongoing Digital Services Act negotiations in Parliament and Council, which risk undermining Europe’s free and independent press.
ARGENTINA: The organization Periodistas Argentinas issued a statement to demand compliance with the legal framework against labor abuse (Spanish)
Infobae: They recalled that the law that establishes “the right of everyone to a work environment free of violence and harassment, including violence and harassment based on gender,” governs in our country.
BRAZIL: Bolsonaro reappoints EBC Board of Directors until October 2023 (Portuguese)
Poder360: President Jair Bolsonaro (PL) reappointed the main directors of the EBC (Empresa Brasil de Comunicação) to their positions until October 2023. The board’s permanence was determined amidst the company’s employees’ strike.
BRAZIL: Women journalists receive more than twice as many insults on Twitter than male colleagues
LatAm Journalism Review
CHILE: Network of feminist journalists delivers proposal on the right to communication in the Constitutional Convention (Spanish)
El Mostrador: The presentation included a diagnosis of the current media situation in Chile, highlighting the absence of legal frameworks that guarantee, among other matters, news pluralism.
COLOMBIA: The “Audiovisual Map of Diversity”: an audiovisual ecosystem of all Colombia (Spanish)
Radionica: Here you can find out what it is and how you can join this opportunity for filmmakers and producers.
GUATEMALA: Guatemalan Journalists Protest Attacks on Media
HRW: Government’s Harassment Threatens Freedom of Expression.
HAITI: Haitian gang frees journalist Alexander Gálvez after 9 days kidnapped (Spanish)
Listín Diario: Alexander Gálvez, the Haitian correspondent who had been kidnapped by gangs in Haiti, was released on Monday after being deprived of his liberty for nine days.
MEXICO: Faced with the closure of the authority, the public media show their face in education: Gabriel Torres (Spanish)
UDGTV: With eight live programs broadcast from the second floor of Expo Guadalajara, the XXXV edition of TVMORFOSIS began, this time under the title “Health Mission, audiovisual narrative and public health”
PERU: “Pedro Castillo’s government does not guarantee the free work of the press in Peru,” warns the Ombudsman’s Office (Spanish)
Infobae: In a report presented today, Walter Gutiérrez indicated that the exercise of freedom of the press in the country “takes place in a hostile environment” in the 120 days of Pedro Castillo’s administration.
LatAm Journalism Review: The main finding of the report from the Network of Venezuelan Women Journalists is that 45 percent of those surveyed claimed to have suffered sexual harassment, bullying or aggression in the workplace.
GENERAL: Freedom of expression in Latin America and the Caribbean: strengthening response capacity and resilience in the face of increased threats and attacks (Spanish)
Article 19
REGIONAL: The journalist, the novelist and the editor against the different faces of censorship (Spanish)
El País: Jorge Ramos, Sergio Ramírez, and Raúl Figueroa Sarti talk at FIL about the forms of censorship in Latin America.
REGIONAL & US: IAPA and IDEA request the White House to include press freedom on the agenda of its Summit for Democracy (Spanish)
VOA News: Both organizations, however, highlighted the decision of the Biden Administration to exclude from the event countries with low scores in terms of freedom of expression, such as Venezuela, Nicaragua, Honduras, Guatemala and El Salvador.
ISRAEL: Fake Accounts Used to Spread Propaganda During Israeli Elections, Watchdog Finds (30 November)
Haaretz: Fake social media accounts were used to proliferate partisan propaganda during two recent Israeli elections, according to an Israeli state comptroller’s report released Tuesday.
ISRAEL & PALESTINE: RSF and Euro-Med condemn Israeli travel bans on Palestinian journalists
RSF: Reporters Without Borders (RSF) and the Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Monitor (Euro-Med Monitor) call for an immediate end to the Israeli travel bans that prevent dozens of Palestinian journalists.
JORDAN: Jordanian TV rejects German station’s accusation of antisemitic content
Times of Israel: After Deutsche Welle suspended partnership, Roya TV’s chief executive says ‘criticism of illegal, inhumane or racist actions by Israel as a state’ is not antisemitism.
SAUDI ARABIA & TURKEY: Jamal Khashoggi: Suspect in murder of journalist arrested
BBC News: A Saudi man suspected of involvement in the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi has been arrested in France, reports say.
TURKEY: Staff at BBC Istanbul bureau go on strike after breakdown in talks
Middle East Eye: Members of staff at BBC’s Istanbul bureau have complained of double standards in wage policy for locals.
REGIONAL: HDTV footprint on the rise in Arab world
Broadcast ProME: Arab HDTV and Beyond Group discusses implications of latest broadcast technologies and state of HDTV transition in the Arab world.
CANADA: Amber Bracken and Michael Toledano on the decline of press freedom in Canada
Canadaland: And how the industry outsources much of its riskiest work to freelance photographers and videographers like themselves.
CANADA: A more accessible CBC/Radio-Canada (Blog)
CBC/Radio-Canada: Take a minute and imagine: what would a fully-accessible CBC/Radio‑Canada be like? On this International Day of Persons with Disabilities, I’m asking you the question I’ve been asking my colleagues and myself many times over.
CANADA: Canada news firms eye $100-150m as regulation hits Google & Facebook
Press Gazette: The news industry in Canada expects Google and Facebook to start paying publishers between CA$100-150m (up to £88m) a year as its government prepares to launch Australia-style regulation on the tech giants in 2022.
Nieman Lab: Nearly 75% of Canadian newsrooms are made up of white journalists, and 80% of newsrooms have no Black or Indigenous journalists on staff.
CANADA: Which media were included in Trudeau’s $10 million top-up fund
Canadaland: Government subsidies for selected news organizations keep growing.
US: A podcast adapted for public radio explores Midwestern food and cultural traditions (Paywall)
Current: “Eat Your Heartland Out” creator Capri Cafaro sees conversations about food as a way to emphasize what we have in common.
US: Pubmedia’s failure to retain people of color needs a closer look (Paywall)
Current: “Sometimes we decide not to ask questions when we’re afraid of what the answer may be. I suspect that may be the case when it comes to why people of color leave the industry.”
US: Trump attacks media and Mark Milley in foul-mouthed Mar-a-Lago speech
The Guardian: In remarks to diners at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida on Saturday night, Donald Trump called the American media “crooked bastards” and Gen Mark Milley, the chairman of the joint chiefs of staff, a “fucking idiot”.
US: 75 Public Media Stations Selected for Digital Transformation Program (Press release)
CPB: Seventy-five public media stations have been selected to participate in the Digital Transformation Program, a virtual program developed by the Poynter Institute to educate, assist, and coach public media senior leaders and their staff on the best strategies and tactics to transform their organization’s digital operations and culture.
Five perspectives on newsroom social media policies
CJR
How news organisations navigate trade-offs around building trust in news
Reuters Institute: The global climate for journalism is challenging, if not outright hostile in some places, with little apparent signs of improvement any time soon.
Journalism isn’t who you are. It’s what you do. (Opinion)
Poynter: Making journalism part of our identities justifies the passion and purpose that brought us to the profession. It also makes us supremely exploitable.
Nobel winner: ‘We journalists are the defence line between dictatorship and war’
The Guardian: Next week, Maria Ressa and Dmitry Muratov receive their Nobel peace prizes. In a rare interview, Muratov says he fears the world is sliding towards fascism.
One Free Press Coalition spotlights rising torture in the imprisonment of journalists
DW: As the year 2021 comes to an end, the One Free Press Coalition’s December list spotlights the ten most urgent cases of journalists’ imprisonments and killings around the globe.
Predictions for Journalism 2022
Nieman Lab: Each year, we ask some of the smartest people in journalism and media what they think is coming in the next 12 months. At the end of a trying 2021, here’s what they had to say.
Project Veritas and the mainstream media are strange allies in the fight to protect press freedom
Nieman Lab: An FBI raid on Project Veritas leader James O’Keefe’s home in early November 2021 has sparked an unusual demonstration of support from the very establishment media that O’Keefe has spent his career targeting and trashing.
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