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.
DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO: Wilderness Wi-Fi: the pioneering network linking Scotland with a Congolese island
By The Guardian: ‘Mesh’ system tested in the Highlands before being shipped to remote Idjwi, where its benefits for the developing world are clear
ETHIOPIA: Ethiopia regime unveils rules for state of emergency
By Deutsche Welle: A week after imposing a state of emergency, Ethiopia’s government has unveiled the rules for it.
ETHIOPIA: State of emergency in Ethiopia curtails media freedom and threatens long-term stability
By CIMA
LIBERIA: Micat Boss Re-Echoes Govt. Support to Media Freedom
Via All Africa: Information Minister Lenn Eugene Nagbe has reaffirmed government’s commitment to sustaining democracy in the country by ensuring that the media continues to operate in a free environment.
SOUTH AFRICA: Zuma Accepts SABC Board Members’ Resignation
Via All Africa: President Jacob Zuma on Sunday said he had received and accepted the resignation of two members of the SABC board.
SOUTH SUDAN: In South Sudan, journalists are being killed with impunity
Via IFEX: The Association for Media Development In South Sudan (AMDISS), The Union of Journalists of South Sudan (UJOSS) and the National Editors Forum (NEF) urge the authorities in South Sudan to investigate the killings and constant harassment of journalists.
UGANDA: The Absurdity of Parliament’s Media Summons
Via All Africa: Ugandan parliament insists that media houses appear before it to explain so-called ‘biased’ reporting.
CHINA: New reprisals by Beijing against Chinese media
By RSF: Issued this week by the Chinese authorities, the ban prohibits other Chinese websites from republishing content from the Beijing-based Caixin website for two months.
HONG KONG: Poll reveals trust in Hong Kong’s news media has hit 10-year low, HKU study shows
By South China Morning Post: Overall credibility falls with almost half believing the main outlets are involved in self-censorship
INDIA: Lessons Indian Media Needs to Learn From These Powerful Editorials in Pakistani Newspapers
By The Huffington Post
INDIA: Why it’s time for cautious optimism, not pessimism, in Indian media
By The Hindustan Times: One take on why there should be less pessimism in the state of Indian media.
JAPAN: Japan’s English-language print media feel the pinch
By The Japan Times
JAPAN: NHK wins engineering Emmy Award
By NHK: Lauded for Contributions to Broadcast Engineering
MALAYSIA: Crackdown on Free Speech Intensifies
By Human Rights Watch: Ordinary Citizens Targeted Alongside Activists, Politicians according to watchdog.
MYANMAR: Adverts featuring “real people” are helping communities in Myanmar adapt to extreme weather
By BBC Media Action: Why we chose “real people” instead of actors to feature in our Public Service Announcements (PSAs), TV adverts sharing simple solutions to prepare for cyclones, flooding and drought.
NEPAL: Leading Nepal editor speaks out about independent media facing censorship in South Asia
By Index on Censorship: After 29 years of circulation, Himal Southasian, which claims to be the only analytical and regional news magazine for South Asia, will cease to publish as of November 2016
PAKISTAN: India-Pakistan: The media turns up the heat
By Aljazeera: As tensions between India and Pakistan rise, as does the heated rhetoric on the news.
SOUTHEAST ASIA: An action plan to improve the media environment
By Deutsche Welle: Experts from nine Southeast Asian nations have identified key challenges facing media in their region. They propose three concrete areas of action for civil society, governments and the media.
SOUTHEAST ASIA: As Netflix moves in, local video streaming platforms fight back
By Southeast Asia Globe: Southeast Asia has been hailed as the next big market for video streaming startups, with local telcos joining forces with big name studios to deliver both Hollywood and local content to the masses.
THAILAND: Guidelines issued for all broadcast and print media
By The Nation: Overview of how Thai media outlets will respond to news of King’s death.
VIETNAM: GatesAir Provides FM Radio Expansion in Vietnam
By Radio World
AUSTRALIA: Journalistic Values in an Age of Fast Thinking: The 2016 Andrew Olle Media Lecture
By ABC
AUSTRALIA: Photography censorship in the Senate lifted after 25-year battle
By ABC News: A quarter of a century of lobbying has led the Senate to lift a ban on photography in the Upper House
AUSTRALIA: SBS revamps virtual reality app and launches three new immersive experiences
By SBS: SBS unveils its updated virtual reality (VR) app, SBS VR, extending its commitment to tell distinctive Australian stories in new and innovative ways.
NEW ZEALAND: Is the crisis of the media a crisis for local democracy?
By Radio New Zealand: Concerns for local media’s impact on democracy in New Zealand.
NEW ZEALAND: Key issues facing our sports broadcast rights market
By Mondaq
By the Council of Europe.
IRELAND: Committee to examine public service broadcasting funding
By RTE: The issue of the funding of public service broadcasting is to be examined by an Oireachtas committee, according to Minister for Communications Denis Naughten.
HUNGARY: Hungary’s Main Opposition Newspaper Shut Down
By Media Power Monitor: Nepszabadsag’s publisher, Mediaworks announced that it has suspended the paper’s operations. This is arguably the biggest event in Hungary’s media history since the collapse of communism back in 1989.
HUNGARY: The murky future of Hungary’s private media
By Aljazeera: The Listening Post programme takes a look at the bleak picture presented by members of Hungary’s private media and the future of press freedom.
RUSSIA: Russia Today: NatWest ‘freezes RT’s bank accounts’ in UK
By BBC News: NatWest bank has frozen the accounts of Russia’s state-run broadcaster RT, its editor-in-chief says.
SWEDEN: Swedish newspaper Expressen built an online video channel to take on traditional TV
By Journalism.co.uk: The 72-year-old tabloid is now a CNN affiliate, aiming to challenge linear TV storytelling with new approaches
UK: 300 jobs cut in BBC restructure
By PMA: The proposed cuts focus on in-house programme-makers as the broadcaster pushes through with the commercialisation of its production division, BBC Studios.
UK: How will Brexit affect copyright legislation?
By LSE Media Policy: Blog exploring the uncertainty surrounding the implications for UK regulation following the Brexit vote.
REGIONAL: Licence fee still the core of public service media funding in Europe
By EBU: Despite challenges to its legitimacy, the licence fee still provides two thirds of all EBU public service media (PSM) income and remains the bedrock of PSM funding across the continent.
REGIONAL: MEPs call for ‘proper’ EU counter-propaganda unit
By EUObserver
BAHAMAS: Media groups rise to occasion
By The Freeport News: Editorial praising broadcasters for coverage of recent Hurricane Mathew.
BRAZIL: Further measures undermine public media in Brazil
By PMA: The government’s decision to wipe out the EBC Board of Trustees further derails the public broadcaster’s freedom and independence.
COLOMBIA: Colombian judge decides to terminate investigation against journalists accused of defamation
By Knight Center: Journalism in the Americas
CUBA: Data journalism reaches Cuba: PostData.club is the first data journalism project on the island
By Knight Center: Journalism in the Americas: New website for data journalism was recently launched in Cuba by an interdisciplinary team whose objective is to make it easier to understand information of public interest that is based on data.
DOMINICAN REPUBLIC: New Year set for Dominican Republic DTT switchover
By Rapid TV News
JAMAICA: RJR to Push for Markets Offshore
By The Gleaner: Broadcaster to target overseas market
MEXICO: Mexico to finally switch off analogue TV
By Advanced Television
NICARAGUA: Army Seeks to Intimidate Media
By Freedom House: Watchdog issues statement complaining about the use of military to intimidate journalists.
IRAN: Rouhani Press Bills Would Further Erode Press Freedom in Iran
By International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran
By iMediaEthics: A Jordanian educational organization, the Jordan Media Institute (JMI), studied 20 of the country’s news outlets and their coverage of the most recent parliamentary elections.
TURKEY: General Mayhem guides Turkey’s media repression
By The Guardian: The censorship and arrests that characterise Erdoğan’s rule are as chaotic as they are intimidating. That makes them all the more alarming
CANADA: Decline of journalism in Canada: Part 1 of 2
By Radio Canada International: For years, decades in fact, small and medium sized newspapers have been closing their doors while radio and TV stations have also been reducing their journalist staff.
CANADA: Thomson Reuters returns to its Canadian heartland
By The Guardian: Media company announces relocation of senior executives to Toronto, 400 new jobs and the creation of a technology hub
USA: CPB fields tech survey as stations grapple with purchasing decisions
By Current: CPB has launched a system-wide assessment of public broadcasters’ technology needs at a time when stations are puzzling over how to pay for new equipment amid declining resources.
USA: Leg 2 of the FCC’s TV spectrum auction clears $54.6BN
By Rapid TV News
USA: With a direct public offering, Berkeleyside wants to turn its readers into its newest owners
By Nieman Lab: Berkeleyside, while a successful local news site, still doesn’t feel like it’s nailed the formula for sustainability. It’s latest effort: convincing its readers to invest — literally — in its future.
Is Donor Funding Bad for Journalism?
By Media Power Monitor: Funding from donors in the media has grown significantly during the past decade or so. Journalists welcome the charity. But when these awards come with editorial “advice”, we have a problem.
Five tools for journalists to enhance election coverage
By Colombia Journalism Review
Opportunities for Media and Information Literacy in the Middle East and North Africa
By Nordicom: New volume of yearbook published.
Protecting journalists who cover corruption is good for the bottom line
By The Committee to Protect Journalists: Corruption is one of the most dangerous beats for journalists, and one of the most important for holding those in power to account.
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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.
If you have any suggestions for our weekly round-ups, please email PMA at editor@publicmediaalliance.org.
Header image: KTVU Tower. Credits: Tony Webster/Creative Commons
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