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.
BOTSWANA: Media Monitoring calls for media freedom in Botswana
SABC: Media Monitoring Africa says the South African government should pressure neighbouring countries, particularly Botswana, to allow greater media freedom.
CAMEROON: Cameroon suspends radio station, seals office
Committee to Protect Journalists: Cameroonian authorities should immediately reverse a decision to suspend independent broadcaster Radio Hot Cocoa 94 FM’s permission to operate and allow the station to resume broadcasting immediately, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.
EGYPT: The Most Dangerous Job in Journalism Is Just Being a Reporter in Egypt
Foreign Policy: Abdullah al-Fakharany just wanted to tell the truth about the Sisi government’s violent crackdown on civilians. It got him life in prison.
EGYPT: Journalists’ Syndicate head: Egyptian press facing crisis with the state
Al-Monitor
LIBERIA: ‘Don’t Isolate the Media’
Via All Africa: As the 53rd National Legislature begins its final session, House Speaker Emmanuel Nuquay says Liberia needs the media in ensuring a holistic and functioning government.
MALI: Africa-France Summit: Media freedom must not be sacrificed to fight against terrorism
RSF: As an Africa-France summit on security and development is opening today in Bamako, Reporters Without Borders (RSF) calls on Africa’s leaders not to trample on freedom of information in the course of combatting terrorism.
SOUTH AFRICA: Charges on the cards for failed SABC bosses
News24: Following an inquiry into its many crises, the beleaguered national broadcaster may soon be facing the music.
SOUTH AFRICA: Where do you get your news from? The South African radio landscape
The Media Online
SUDAN: Sudan becomes fourth country to sign Declaration on Media Freedom
PMA: Sudan joined three other countries in the Arab World that pledge to respect and protect media freedom and the right to information.
TANZANIA: Tanzania Media Council Takes Government to EAC Court Over New Law
Via All Africa: The Media Council of Tanzania (MCT) has lodged a case in the East African Court of Justice (EACJ), challenging the Media Services Act recently enacted by Parliament.
TUNISIA: Tunisia to impose new measures for the media
Zawya: Prime Minister Youssef Chahed announced at the headquarters of the Tunisian National Journalists Union (SNJT) Saturday eleven measures and decisions during an inner Cabinet meeting held the day before.
BANGLADESH: Bangladesh’s Women Journalists Rise Against the Odds
The WIRE: Social taboos and hostile work environments have kept women away from joining the media in Bangladesh. But this is slowly changing.
BANGLADESH: When hate goes viral: The danger of social media in Bangladesh
CIMA: Last November, a group of Bangladeshi Muslims attacked a Hindu neighborhood in the Eastern part of Bangladesh. Thousands of people ransacked the temples and homes of Hindu families. Attacks such as these on minorities are not a new thing in Bangladesh, but this particular incident had a relatively new feature: the use of social media to incite religious violence.
BANGLADESH: Time for Bangladesh media to focus fully on climate change
DhakaTribune: As a low lying delta, Bangladesh is highly vulnerable to climate change where the effects can already be felt with increased droughts or more erratic storms – threatening to undermine decades of development gains, reports the UN.
CHINA: China to merge state media for stronger voice in financial news
Reuters: China is set to consolidate five state media companies to create a “modern financial media group” to increase the state’s voice in economic and financial news coverage, the state-run Xinhua news agency said on Wednesday.
HONG KONG: Hong Kong journalists try range of models to battle press freedom challenges
CPJ: A new Chinese-language website pledging to provide Hong Kong with “independent, accurate and fair” news is the latest journalism venture to open in the city, in an attempt to counter increasing Chinese control of the media.
INDIA: All India Radio to set up new transmitters in Uttarakhand
ABU: Public broadcaster All India Radio (AIR) has drawn up a detailed plan to ensure that its signals cover the mountainous terrain of Uttarakhand.
INDIA: Allow FM stations to air news, says PIL; Supreme Court seeks govt reply in 4 weeks
The Times of India
INDIA: Govt panel wants public broadcasters DD, AIR be made corporate
Hindustan Times: A top panel of secretaries has told Prime Minister Narendra Modi to make public broadcasters Doordarshan (DD) and All India Radio (AIR) corporate entities to reduce their dependence on government funds and give them elbow room to take decisions.
INDIA: Opinion: Indian Media Largely Works Against The People, Not For Them
The Huffington Post India: Is the media doing its patriotic duty?
INDONESIA: Media in Indonesia biased against LGBT community
The Jakarta Post: The media has failed to meet its obligation to educate the public on homosexuality by not being objective and independent in reporting about the LGBT community, a joint study by various NGOs shows.
JAPAN: 8K TV: Everything you need to know about the futuristic resolution
TechRadar: Hi-rez VR and Tokyo 2020 means 8K is on the horizon
MYANMAR: Canal+ to launch pay TV service in Myanmar
Digital TV Europe: Canal+ group has signed a deal with local media group Forever to launch a pay TV service in Myanmar.
MYANMAR: Myanmar to reform state-owned radio, TV
Business Standard: Authorities are set to reform state-owned Myanmar Radio and Television (MRTV) into public service media, a top official said on Thursday.
NEPAL: Reconstruction through radio
BBC Media Action
NEPAL: Radios for all
myRepublica: Community radios are among most effective means of reaching poor and marginalized communities
Radio Pakistan: She was speaking at the opening ceremony of a refresher course for local and foreign producers at Pakistan Broadcasting Academy today.
THAILAND: Rights Crisis Deepens Under Dictatorship
HRW: Empty Junta Promises to Return to Democracy, Respect Rights
The Independent
POLYNESIA: Why France must rethink Polynesia radio shutdown – PFF
Scoop Independent News: France must rethink its shutdown of AM radio broadcasting in Polynesia, says PFF, the Pacific Freedom Forum.
POLYNESIA: With switch from AM to FM, some Polynesians left in the dark
Pacific Media Watch: Some inhabitants of French-controlled Polynesia are unhappy at the switch over from medium wave (AM) to VHF FM broadcasting.
REGIONAL: Renewed push for Pacific media ombudsman
Radio New Zealand: Private donors and charities are being asked to help fund a Pacific media ombudsman to scrutinise media freedom and ethics in the region.
ALBANIA: Layoffs of Albanian Journalists Anger Opposition
Balkan Insight: The sudden departure of a number of prominent journalists is causing unease about a possible loss of political balance in Albania’s mainstream media.
FRANCE: Opting out
Vice News: One of France’s leading newspapers has given up on public opinion polls ahead of April’s presidential election.
GEORGIA: New chief for Georgian public broadcaster
Digital TV Europe: The Georgian Public Broadcaster has named Vasil Maghlaperidze as its new director-general.
GREECE: Greek Press Union Voices Concern at Media Executive’s Arrest
The New York Times: Greece’s main journalists’ union and opposition parties have expressed concern over the arrest of an executive in a small media group for allegedly trying to blackmail the country’s defense minister.
ITALY: RAI urged to renovate and relaunch after rejecting editorial plan
PMA: RAI’s board of directors have rejected a new editorial plan, leading to the resignation of the Head Editor and the potential to lower ratings amid growing criticism.
SLOVENIA: RTV Slovenija makes HbbTV move
Broadband TV News: The Slovenian public broadcaster RTV Slovenija has developed an RTV 4D app for TVs that supports HbbTV.
NORWAY: How should Norwegian public service be financed in the future?
Nordicom: The Norwegian Government has proposed a platform-neutral media fee for the future financing of NRK, the Norwegian public service company. It also suggests financial support to a single operator for broadcasting commercial public service television.
NORWAY: Norway says a fond farewell to FM radio signal
PMA: Norway becomes the first country in the world to adopt digital-only radio.
SWEDEN: Financing of Swedish public service should be investigated
Nordicom: The Swedish Government has assigned a parliamentary committee to review alternatives for public funding of the public service media. The inquiry will report by September 30, 2017.
UK: BBC iPlayer aims to be ‘number one’ online TV service, Lord Hall says
BBC News: The BBC iPlayer will be reinvented in a bid to be the top online TV service in the UK by 2020, the broadcaster’s director general Tony Hall has said.
UK: BBC sets up team to debunk fake news
BBC News: Permanent Reality Check team will target false stories or facts being shared on social media.
UK: New BBC Chairman confirmed
PMA: Sir David Clementi, author of report that originally suggested scrapping the “flawed” BBC Trust, has been announced as Chairman of the broadcaster’s new unitary board.
UKRAINE: Ban of Independent Russian TV Undermines Media Freedom
Freedom House
ARGENTINA: Enacom authorized the operation of a new radio in the municipality of Resistencia (Spanish)
Chaco dia por dia: Among its latest resolutions, the broadcasting media enforcement authority approved e installation and operation of broadcasting services for the Municipality of Resistencia. It will start broadcasting from February on the dial 87.9.
Knight Centre: Journalism in the Americans: In nearly eight years of anticipation for the 2016 Olympic Games, the reporters who occupied the city of Rio de Janeiro tried to understand one of the most complex Carioca characteristics to “translate:” the favelas. Between 2008 and 2016, the volume of articles published in the international press that mentioned these communities rose almost seven times, to a total of 1,094 reports.
BRAZIL: Report shows that lawsuits against journalists doubled in 2016 (Portuguese)
EBC: From 2015 to 2016, registered cases of violence against journalists rose from 137 to 161 in the country, an increase of 17.52%, with a 100% increase in lawsuits aimed at curtailing the work of professionals. In 2015 there were nine cases and in 2016 the number jumped to 18, including three cases leading to the arrest of four journalists.
Knight Center: Journalism in the Americas: Innovative journalistic projects in Latin America that use virtual reality and 360 video technologies still do not generate new revenue for media outlets, but they have collaborated to broaden audience, especially among the younger public, according to journalists involved in their production.
REGIONAL: UWI, Caribbean CaribVision launch UWI-TV
Loop: The University of the West Indies (UWI) in partnership with CaribVision, the regional cable service of the Caribbean Media Corporation, and the RJR Group have launched UWI-TV, a new multimedia public information and education service.
BAHRAIN: Bahrain urged to drop charges against correspondent
RSF: Reporters Without Borders (RSF) and French public radio broadcaster France Médias Monde (FMM) call on the Bahraini authorities to abandon their prosecution of Nazeeha Saeed on a charge of working as a correspondent for foreign media outlets without a permit.
ISRAEL: Analysis: Netanyahu Is Ruining Israel’s Public Service
Haaretz: What are those below Netanyahu in the hierarchy to understand from the prime minister’s behavior?
PALESTINE: Palestinian journalists frustrated with inability to cover PA corruption
Al-Monitor: Palestinian journalists in the West Bank and Gaza Strip are closely following the unfolding case of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu allegedly receiving favors or gifts.
TURKEY: ‘Working Journalists Day’ adds insult to injury for Turkish press
Al-Monitor: “Working Journalists Day,” celebrated Jan. 10 in Turkey, is meant to honor the rights of reporters and other media workers in the country. While the press has never been really free in Turkey, rarely have conditions for journalists been as bleak as they are today.
CANADA: Squeeze cash from Facebook, Google, say Canadian news media leaders
CBC News: Copyright safeguards, tax credits among suggestions to bail out Canadian news business
US: PBS: No ‘red flag’ on funding under Trump, but it’s early
YahooTV: PBS is waiting, but not quietly, to see what the Trump administration’s impact on public broadcasting and its federal funding may be, PBS chief executive Paula Kerger said.
US: PBS, explained (by its president)
Vox: PBS president and CEO Paula Kerger touches on the network’s storied past, its future — and its shaky present
US: Donald Trump news conference ‘clear attack on the free press’
CBC Radio
Analysis: The climate papers most featured in the media in 2016
CarbonBrief: Every year, thousands of scientific journal papers are published by researchers across the world, but only a tiny proportion make it into the pages of the newspapers.
Going global with Facebook Live
BBC Media Action: Hundreds of thousands of people across the world joined our first two Facebook Lives from Nepal, grabbing the opportunity to question an inspiring group of female personalities and politicians.
PMA: A range of upcoming global grant application deadlines and other opportunities for journalists and media practitioners.
Media Feast, News Famine: Ten Global Advertising Trends That Threaten Independent Journalism
CIMA: Even as citizens feast on an growing buffet of digital media choices, there is an increasing famine of credible, thorough, and independent nationally-focused news reporting.
Public trust in media at all time low, research shows
Financial Times: People favour friends and contacts as sources of news
Public Media Must Finally Change
Media Power Monitor: Critics of taxpayer funding for public media are on the rise; and for good reason. It’s time for public media to take their audience seriously.
The difference journalists can make in conflict zones
Al Arabiya
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All PSM Weekly stories are provided for interest and their relevance to public service media issues, they do not necessarily reflect the views of the Public Media Alliance.
All headlines are sourced from their original story.
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Header image: KTVU Tower. Credits: Tony Webster/Creative Commons
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