HONG KONG: Hong Kong’s press freedom is on life support thanks to the new security law

The Conversation: When more than 200 police officers raided the headquarters of Hong Kong’s biggest – and only – pro-democracy mass-circulation newspaper, Apple Daily, on August 10, many people feared this spelled the end of press freedom in the territory.

---

HONG KONG: New chairman of Hong Kong public broadcaster RTHK’s board a former lawmaker with strong ties to Beijing

SCMP: Two pro-establishment figures with ties to Beijing have been handed roles on the board of advisers to Hong Kong’s public broadcaster.

---

HONG KONG & THE PHILIPPINES: The twin struggles of Hong Kong and the Philippines

Al Jazeera: Duterte’s new anti-terror law is strikingly similar to the draconian security legislation China imposed on Hong Kong.

---

INDIA: Back Story: How Media Freedom Shrank Between the Independence Days of 2019 and 2020 (Opinion)

The Wire

---

INDIA: Commentary: Use DRM on India’s FM Band

Radio World: Industry expects huge domestic demand and is ready for massive exports

---

INDIA: Discovery Kids partners with Doordarshan to inspire & entertain children across the country

Indian Television: Discovery Kids has partnered with national broadcaster Doordarshan with an aim to inspire and entertain children across the country. 

---

LAOS: Lao News Consumers Spurn Censored State Media to Look Online, Abroad

Radio Free Asia: Laos state media celebrated their 70th anniversary on Thursday, but ordinary citizens say they tune out the slow and censored “voice of the Communist Party, the State and the People of Laos” in favor of social media and foreign broadcasts.

---

MALDIVES: New director appointed to PSM’s Board

The Edition: The Privatization and Corporation Board appointed Abdulla Rasheed of Hulhudhoo, Addu Atoll, as a director to the board of state-run Public Service Media (PSM).

---

MYANMAR: Myanmar: Revise Election Broadcast Rules 

HRW: The Myanmar Union Election Commission should amend rules governing political parties’ access to state-owned radio and television stations to ensure that all parties can present their positions without undue interference, Human Rights Watch said today.

---

NEPAL: Dream of public broadcasting service in Nepal (Analysis)

Lokaantar: With the intention of transforming government controlled broadcaster Radio Nepal and Nepal Television into “Public Service Broadcasting” in accordance with internationally established norms, various programs were put in the legal and institutional framework front by the Government of Nepal in the budget statement of FY 2011/2012.

---

PAKISTAN: No increase made in licence fee of PTV: NA told

Associated Press of Pakistan: State Minister for Parliamentary Affairs Ali Muhammad Khan Monday told the National Assembly that no increase was made in the licence fee of Pakistan Television (PTV) and the decision was still pending before the government.

---

PAKISTAN: Pakistan: Solidarity with women journalists calling for an end to online violence

IFEX: A group of women journalists released a statement highlighting the online abuse perpetrated by accounts that claim to be supporters and members of the ruling party Pakistan Tehreek e Insaaf. Media Matters for Democracy called on the government to address the demands of the women journalists.

---

PHILIPPINES: Philippines: Public campaign to put ABS-CBN back on air

IFJ: The campaign to bring back ABS-CBN, the largest broadcasting station in the country, continues to gather momentum. PIRMA Kapamilya, a public campaign, has been launched to lobby for the network to regain its franchise. 

---

SOUTH KOREA: KBS, the longest rainy disaster broadcast in the longest rainy season

KBS: During the longest rainy season, which continues on the 50th day, KBS , the broadcaster hosting disaster broadcasting, is also continuing the longest heavy rain special report and heavy rain disaster broadcast . 

---

SOUTH KOREA: RSF urges for the release of South Korean journalist, jailed for refusing to disclose the identity of a source

RSF: Reporter Without Borders (RSF) calls for the release of South Korean journalist Woo Jong-chang, who was recently handed an eight-month prison term on defamation charges for refusing to disclose the identity of a source.

---

SRI LANKA: Credible media culture, a top priority – Mass Media Minister Dr. Keheliya Rambukwella

Sunday Observer: Mass Media Minister Dr. Keheliya Rambukwella said that he doesn’t believe in any control of the media, adding that the Government media have to compete with the private media proving their credibility. A

---

WEST PAPUA: Facebook criticised for pulling article with West Papuan pic

RNZ: Facebook has been urged by media freedom advocates to restore an article it pulled ostensibly because the piece violated its rules on nudity.

AUSTRALIA: ABC Statement to the Senate Press Freedom Inquiry by Director News, Gaven Morris (Statement)

ABC

---

AUSTRALIA: Australian media must do better on diversity (Statement)

MEAA: A new report revealing that just 6% of television news and current affairs reporters have a non-European background is a wake up call for Australia’s media.

---

AUSTRALIA: Journalists must overcome their reticence to report on suicide – now more than ever

The Guardian: Given the pandemic’s impact on mental health, the media must not self-censor when it comes to covering suicide in Australia.

---

AUSTRALIA: Was the ABC’s funding cut?

The Sydney Morning Herald: Communications Minister Paul Fletcher is adamant the ABC’s budget is not declining but the public broadcaster says it is facing big cuts. Why can’t anyone agree?

---

AUSTRALIA: Push for media freedom laws in Australia

The Canberra Times: Australian journalist Peter Greste says laws to protect media freedom are sorely needed if the country is to have a functioning democracy.

---

NEW ZEALAND: Covid-19: Social media in the spotlight after misinformation

RNZ: The Chief Censor says New Zealand has an opportunity to be leading the world in fighting against Covid-19 disinformation online.

---

NEW ZEALAND: Covid’s comeback sparks calls for more transparency

RNZ: The breaking news no-one wanted to hear this week upped the pressure on the government and officials to make more information public – and more quickly. Meanwhile critics have cast doubt on whether we can trust what we’re told – and the media find themselves in the middle of political claims and counter claims during an election campaign.

---

SAMOA: Hope for more govt transparency in Samoa on Covid-19 emergency measures

RNZ: The head of news at TV1 Samoa is hopeful that a rare Covid-19 government briefing held today signals a move towards more openness and transparency with media.

---

TONGA: Fury in Tonga at new limits imposed on media

RNZ: Journalists in Tonga are angry at new regulations they say clamp down on media freedom.

BELARUS: Amid Election Protests, Belarusian State TV Presenters Walk Off Job

VOA: State-television presenters in Belarus are signing off for good, fed up with putting a positive spin on the country’s turmoil, as some of their viewers take a beating while protesting what they believe to be a rigged presidential election.

---

BELARUS: Belarus: Attacks on journalists mount amid protest crackdown

Amnesty International: The Belarusian authorities must immediately end their assault on journalists, Amnesty International said today, amid reports of journalists being arrested, beaten, and targeted with rubber bullets while covering the vicious police crackdown on protests. Media workers have also had their cameras smashed and their footage deleted.

---

BELARUS: Belarus media strike: ‘if we can’t do honest journalism, we won’t work’

The Guardian: Hundreds of employees at state news station go on strike over election result and censorship.

---

BOSNIA & HERZEGOVINA: New Head of Bosnian TV Regulator Criticised for War Crime Coverage

Balkan Transitional Justice: The appointment of Drasko Milinovic as the new director of Bosnia’s Communications Regulatory Agency has drawn criticism because Republika Srpska’s public broadcaster was penalised at least three times for its reports on war crime issues while he was in charge. 

---

BOSNIA & HERZEGOVINA: Punishing Attacks on Journalists is a Responsibility of the State

Safe Journalists: Verbal threats, physical attacks, political pressure, death threats, defamation, denial of access to information – these are just some of the problems faced by journalists in Bosnia and Herzegovina. 

---

CZECH REPUBLIC: Czech Television is launching an extraordinary collection with NROS: A chicken with a briefcase will help children back to school (Czech)

Česká Televize: Czech Television, together with the Civil Society Development Foundation, is launching an extraordinary charity fundraiser to help disadvantaged school children called Chicken with a Briefcase.

---

DENMARK: Google’s halt to DR’s child app leads to political action (Swedish)

Nordvision: Last week, DR’s users suddenly could no longer download the child app Ramasjang via Google Play. DR began an intensive correspondence with the media giant, and a lively political discussion began. Google turned around, and the app is back now.

---

GEORGIA: Director General of Georgia’s Public Broadcaster Steps Down

Georgia Today: Vasil Maglaperidze, Director General of the First Channel of Georgia, has resigned. He has already filed the relevant application.

---

GERMANY: Constantly extensive corona reporting is accompanied by a strong presence of the Union parties (German)

ZDF: In July, a development continued in relation to the corona reporting of the main news programs examined that was already observed in the previous months.

---

HUNGARY & POLAND: From watchdogs to lap dogs: The slow decay of media freedom in Hungary and Poland

Emerging Europe: In an ideal world and in an ideal democracy, the media plays a crucial role as watchdog. It provides checks and balances and is the voice of scrutiny. It holds the people in power to account.

---

HUNGARY: Out and about in the “wood class” of journalism

Deutschlandfunk: There are only a few independent media left in Hungary. And for those who remain, it is becoming increasingly difficult to work professionally. There is a lack of advertising revenue. Even foreign companies are no longer advertising for fear of government reprisals in Budapest.

---

IRELAND: RTÉ’s finances “not sustainable” warn Ireland’s Communications Department

TVB Europe: Briefing note warns broadcaster’s assets are “fully stretched” in terms of collateral against loans and “its capacity to borrow more is therefore limited”

---

MALTA: “Broadcasting Authority is censoring journalists” – IĠM

Newsbook: The Broadcasting Authority (BA) has engaged in state sponsored censorship with regard to forcing the public service broadcaster (PBS) to censor journalists’ questions.

---

POLAND: Public media and the crisis of trust in Polish journalism

EJN: Public television in Poland has become a propaganda tool of the government. Trust in journalism is declining even further. There is a growing concern that the government will take control of regional newspapers before the next local elections.

---

RUSSIA: How Russian Media Reported the Coronavirus Pandemic

Nieman Reports: Russian TV’s upbeat coverage of Covid-19 was in stark contrast to the devastating reporting by the country’s independent news outlets

---

SPAIN: RTVE condemns the attacks on TVE professionals suffered in a demonstration in Madrid (Spanish)

RTVE: The RTVE leadership regrets and condemns the attacks suffered by TVE professionals during the demonstration called “against anti-coronavirus measures”, in which some protesters charged journalists and photojournalists who covered that information for various media.

---

SWEDEN: Swedish public broadcasters ban TikTok on staff work phones

The Local: Sweden’s public television and radio broadcasters SVT and SR have banned staff from using Chinese video-sharing app TikTok on their work phones, citing security reasons.

---

UK: Nicky Morgan reportedly in running for BBC chairman role

Digital TV Europe: Nicky Morgan, the UK’s former culture secretary, is reportedly being considered as a replacement for outgoing BBC chair David Clementi.

---

UK: UK media must remember ethical obligations in coverage of Channel crossings

EJN: In 2016, the Ethical Journalism Network launched a five-point guide for journalists covering migration.  Looking at some of the coverage by the UK news media of the numbers of people recently crossing the Channel, it’s obvious these guidelines are as necessary now as when we launched them.

---

UKRAINE: Ukrainian investigative program ‘Schemes’ targeted with car burning, alleged surveillance

CPJ: Ukrainian authorities should conduct a thorough and transparent investigation into the torching of a car affiliated with the “Schemes” TV program and the alleged surveillance of one of the program’s journalists, and hold the perpetrators to account, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.

---

REGIONAL: European media groups should consolidate in streaming era, says Bertelsmann CEO (Paywall)

Financial Times

---

REGIONAL: Public Service Media Are “Europe’s Largest Newsroom” (Report)

EBU: A new report from the EBU demonstrates the significance of news to public service media (PSM), with public organizations across Europe spending in excess of EUR 5.5 billion per year on news and current affairs output – and directly employing over 40,000 journalists.* 

---

GENERAL: Journalists in Europe: one attack per day

OBC Transeuropa: The data from the first four months of monitoring by the MFRR consortium confirm a concerning landscape for the safety of journalists and the state of media freedom, both in EU member countries and in countries as Serbia and Turkey.

BRAZIL: Freedom in Brazil gradually eroded

Deutsche Welle: State power is being mobilized to obviate views contrary to the government’s views and interests, says Mariana Valente. She fears that the shrinking access to public information is creating an environment of distrust.

---

BRAZIL: Juggling parenting and journalism during the pandemic

IJNET: Since the onset of COVID-19, balancing work and family life has proven to be incredibly challenging for journalists. Those who are parents have to deal with school closures, social distancing and working in a bleak environment. 

---

COLOMBIA: Presidents and managers of TV channels and their fight in the pandemic (Spanish)

El Tiempo: Consumption initially rose more than an hour a day and has stabilized in 20 minutes.

---

COLOMBIA: Soldiers shoot at journalist in Colombia, threaten reporters covering coca protests

CPJ: On August 8, soldiers chased Fernando Osorio, a photographer for the local news cooperative Voces del Guayabero, which posts stories on Facebook, and fired their weapons at him while he was covering a protest by coca farmers against the military’s eradication of their crops near the southern town of Vista Hermosa, according to the journalist, who spoke to CPJ via messaging app, and a report by the Bogotá-based Foundation for Press Freedom (FLIP).

---

EL SALVADOR: Capres press secretary carries out digital attack against Salvadoran correspondent abroad (Spanish)

APES: The news correspondent for Latin America in Washington DC, Carmen Rodríguez, received digital attacks by the press secretary of the Presidency, Ernesto Sanabría, and other followers of political parties. 

---

HONDURAS: Police prevent journalist from covering a doctor detained in Tegucigalpa (Spanish)

C-Libre: A member of the National Police blocked journalist César Omar Silva from covering the arrest of Dr. Marco Elluid Girón, at the facilities at night on Monday, August 10 from the One Metropolitan Headquarters (CORE 7), in the center of Tegucigalpa.

---

JAMAICA & UK: UK’s first black TV reporter Barbara Blake-Hannah: ‘Journalists are the most important people in the world’ 

Press Gazette: Fifty years on Barbara Blake-Hannah does not like to talk about the racism that cut short her career as the UK’s first black on-screen TV reporter for Thames Television.

---

MEXICO: Access to information is a human right: Organizations request a response from Mexico’s President

IFEX: On 1 July 2020, members of the International Civil Society Organisations Coalition on the Safety of Journalists sent an information request to President Andrés Manuel López Obrador in relation to the Mexican State News Agency (Agencia de Noticias del Estado – NOTIMEX).

IRAQ: Iraqi Kurdish security forces raid broadcaster, detain and beat journalists, seize equipment

CPJ: Iraqi Kurdish authorities must cease harassing local news outlets, return journalists’ equipment they have seized, and let reporters cover protests freely and without fear of assault or detention, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.

---

IRAQ: Reporter dies after fall, others held during protests in Iraqi Kurdistan

RSF: Reporters Without Borders (RSF) deplores a journalist’s death and harassment of other reporters by security forces in Iraqi Kurdistan on 12 August, when the authorities did their best to prevent the media from covering major anti-government protests in several of this autonomous region’s cities.

---

JORDAN: Jordan: Escalating Repression of Journalists

HRW: Jordanian authorities have used a sweeping gag order, harassment, and arrests to limit media coverage of ongoing protests stemming from the arbitrary closure of the Jordanian Teachers’ Syndicate on July 25, 2020, Human Rights Watch said today. 

---

LEBANON: Facebook Journalism Project and ICFJ launch fund to support Lebanon’s news industry

Arab News: The Facebook Journalism Project, in collaboration with the International Center for Journalists (ICFJ), has announced that it will invest $300,000 in a program that aims to support the stabilization and recovery needs of journalists and news organizations in Lebanon affected by the Beirut explosion.

---

LEBANON: Press freedom in Lebanon under threat

IPI: The sweeping powers granted last week by the Lebanese Parliament to the armed forces to bring protests under control threaten press freedom in the country, the International Press Institute (IPI), a global network of editors, media executives and leading journalists, said.

---

TURKEY: Turkish courts play whack-a-mole with independent news outlets

CPJ: In March, 2020, Turkey’s Constitutional Court issued an unexpected decision, overruling a local court that blocked a news website in 2015, according to news reports.

CANADA: Annual Public Meeting 2020 (Event)

CBC/Radio-Canada: Our Annual Public Meeting (APM) will take place on September 16, 2020 at 4:30 EDT and will be a 100% virtual event!

---

CANADA: A real and present fear. What it’s like to be a woman, Indigenous and a reporter in Canada (Paywall – Opinion) 

National Observer 

---

CANADA: COVID-19 Impact: Canada Media Fund Emergency Relief Funding Update

Via Mondaq

---

CANADA: New safety training competitions for freelance journalists launched, adjusted to take account of the pandemic 

Canada Newswire: The Canadian Journalists’ Forum on Violence and Trauma has reopened its annual Forum Freelance Fund (FFF) scholarship competition to help freelance journalists get training in security in hostile zones (SZH). The rules have been adjusted to deal with the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

---

US: America Needs Its Own BBC to Restore Public Trust in the Press (Opinion)

The New Republic: Public trust in the media has reached an all-time low, according to a poll of over 20,000 people released last week by Gallup and the Knight Foundation. “Americans have not only lost confidence in the ideal of an objective media, they believe news organizations actively support the partisan divide,” the report stated. 

---

US: Charges remain against journalists arrested during George Floyd protests

CPJ: Nearly three months after the height of national Black Lives Matter protests, at least six journalists are still facing charges stemming from their coverage, according to research by the Committee to Protect Journalists and its partner site, the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker. CPJ today called on state and municipal authorities to drop those charges and ensure that the press can work freely.

---

US: ‘Lassoing Facts’: Coverage Of Beirut Explosion Reveals Strengths And Flaws (Opinion)

NPR

---

US: Outgoing New York Times CEO Mark Thompson thinks there won’t be a print edition in 20 years

Nieman Lab: Mark Thompson has been chief executive officer at The New York Times since 2012 and, last month, he announced he’s stepping down after eight years steering the company toward a subscription-first future. (It seems to have gone rather well.)

---

US: Portland’s independent journalists team up to cover the front lines

CJR: Much of the Portland protest footage we have seen has come from Davis or other members of the so-called Portland Press Corps—a group of roughly 20 local journalists. They have been a vital resource.

---

US: Tech platforms struggle to label state-controlled media

CPJ: Twitter announced last week that it would start labeling some accounts run by media outlets and their top editors as “state-affiliated,” a descriptor intended to improve transparency about the source of information being shared on the platform. 

---

US: Trump administration steps up efforts to turn broadcasters into propaganda outlets

The Guardian: The Trump administration has accelerated its purge of the US Agency for Global Media (USAGM), in what critics warn is a further step towards turning Voice of America and other public broadcasters into propaganda outlets.

---

US: Two public media leaders discuss the ‘imperative’ of diversity (Paywall)

Current: Two leaders in public media said Tuesday that the system’s efforts to cultivate a diverse workforce need to go beyond training to embrace deeper institutional change. 

Can Digital Radio Standards Coexist?

Radio World: Standards have been around a while but radio digitization still has ground to cover

---

Chasing dinghies: media must remember asylum seekers are human beings, not just a good story

The Conversation: The reports were compelling. Broadcasters tracking flimsy-looking dinghies crammed with people, with the reporters so close that they could actually shout questions to those negotiating the hazardous traffic of the English Channel.

---

“Collaboration is the Future of Journalism”

Nieman Reports: To meet the challenges of the coronavirus pandemic and the racial justice movement, the historically competitive media culture is becoming more collaborative

---

How the pandemic is throwing international reporting into crisis

Poynter: The coronavirus has created a devastating cocktail of economic turmoil and heightened risks that throw the fate of foreign reporting into jeopardy.

---

How to cover an election that isn’t there (Listen)

CJR: Radio Rallies In Church Parking Lots, Candidates In Their Basements, And Voters Stuck In Hibernation. When All That’s Left To Cover Are The Talking Points, How Should Local And National Political Reporters Adapt?

---

‘Hundreds dead’ because of Covid-19 misinformation

BBC News: At least 800 people may have died around the world because of coronavirus-related misinformation in the first three months of this year, researchers say.

---

Is social video the future of online news?

Journalism.co.uk: With the launch of Instagram Reels to rival TikTok, more publishers are trying their hand at short-form videos to attract the under-25s

---

Tech platforms struggle to label state-controlled media

CPJ: Twitter announced last week that it would start labeling some accounts run by media outlets and their top editors as “state-affiliated,” a descriptor intended to improve transparency about the source of information being shared on the platform.