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.

CAMEROON: Cameroon Media Regulators Demand End to Hate Language Before Poll

VoA: Media in Cameroon have accused the country’s National Communication Council (NCC) of censorship ahead of October’s presidential election after it issued a stern warning accusing the media of propagating hate language that can deepen fighting in the central African state.


DRC: Congolese state TV urged to reinstate three journalists fired arbitrarily

RSF: The journalists were fired for covering a demonstration organized by Elie Kapend, the national leader of a political party called the Congolese National Liberation Front (FLNC), who gave President Joseph Kabila an ultimatum to stand down within five days and announced a political transition led by himself before the presidential election scheduled for 23 December.


GHANA: TV License Fee payment crucial for public broadcasting

Ghana News Agency: Professor Abeku Blankson, Vice President of the Ghana Technology University, on Tuesday attributed the reluctance of the public towards the payment of TV Licence Fee to lack of understanding.


KENYA: Muturi meets editors, urges mutual respect, good media relations

The Star: The leadership of the National Assembly has called for mutual respect and good working relationship with the media fraternity.


MOZAMBIQUE: Mozambique’s brutal war on free speech

Mail & Guardian: Last month, the Mozambican government announced plans to impose hefty new fees on foreign correspondents working in the country, including a staggering $2500 for single trip accreditation.


SOUTH AFRICA: Hundreds may lose their jobs at SABC – Report

IOL: [Reports say] SABC will be laying off hundreds of workers as the public broadcaster struggles to pay service providers.


SOUTH AFRICA: Sanef warns SABC to consider retrenchments as last resort

The Citizen: The forum says part of the dire financial situation the public broadcaster finds itself in is due to reckless mismanagement by Hlaudi Motsoeneng.


UGANDA: Uganda becoming a dangerous place for journalists

The East African: In the past two months, journalists in Uganda have been arrested, beaten and had their equipment destroyed.


WEST AFRICA: Arrests, Detentions Main Violations against Online Expression in West Africa-MFWA Policy Brief

MFWA: The Media Foundation for West Africa’s (MFWA’s) bi-annual policy brief on Internet rights in West Africa has shown that arrests and detentions are the major violations perpetrated against online expression in the region.


ZIMBABWE: ZBC’s turnaround strategy commended

ZBC: The ZBC management has been commended for its turnaround strategy with its members of staff being urged to come up with content that celebrates the obtaining cultural diversity in the country.


REGIONAL: ‘I will rape you’: female journalists face ‘relentless’ abuse

Thomson Reuters Foundation: More than half of women in media have suffered work-related abuse, threats or physical attacks in the past year.


GENERAL: China Is Buying African Media’s Silence

Foreign Policy: I wrote about Chinese oppression in a South African paper. Hours later, they cancelled my column.

INDIA: AIR presents struggles of LGBT people arrested under Section 377

The Economic Times: Within days of the Supreme Court decriminalising homosexuality, All India Radio, the national public broadcaster, on Wednesday aired a special programme on the lives and struggles of LGBT activists who were arrested under Section 377.


INDIA: BBC News Marathi launches first digital mobile stream BBC Vishwa on Jio TV app

BBC: BBC News Marathi is launching the BBC’s first ever news bulletin for a mobile audience in India as part of a 24/7 video stream on the Reliance JIO TV app.


INDIA: Selling the Fourth Estate: How Free is Indian Media? (Reading List)

EPW: For a country that prides itself on the strength of its democracy, India’s record in upholding the freedom of press has been consistently poor.


JAPAN: Japanese media face hostility in disaster coverage on social media (Opinion)

The Japan Times: Typhoon Jebi caused all sorts of damage when the storm — the most powerful in 25 years to hit the country — tore through western Japan earlier this month.


MALAYSIA: Bill to repeal ‘Anti-Fake News’ Act in Malaysia fails

IFJ: The AFN Act contains broad definitions of what constituted “fake news” offenses and criminal penalties of up to six years in jail and fines for those involved in its dissemination. The law also gives authorities broad discretionary and censorship powers to penalise those distributing ‘fake’ news.


MALDIVES: Maldives government fines TV channel for criticising government

The Week: The Maldives government has fined a private television channel Raajje TV 2 million rufiyaa for airing content that was allegedly defamatory of President Yameen Abdul Gayoom.


MALDIVES: Maldives opposition urges government to ease visa rules for media

Reuters: The main Maldives opposition party said on Wednesday that President Abdulla Yameen’s government must ease “draconian” visa measures limiting the number of foreign journalists coming to cover a presidential election on Sept. 23.


MYANMAR: Aung San Suu Kyi on Reuters jailing: show me the miscarriage of justice

The Guardian: Myanmar leader denies case is linked to freedom of expression and says Rohingya crisis could have been handled better


MYANMAR: Superficial amendment leaves Broadcasting Law undemocratic, claims FEM

Mizzima: The NGO Free Expression Myanmar (FEM) has expressed concern about a newly adopted Broadcasting Law Amendment (2018) that contains only superficial change, fails to protect freedom of expression, and reflects the government’s lack of open consultation.


PAKISTAN: Acts of Intimidation: In Pakistan, journalists’ fear and censorship grow even as fatal violence declines (Report)

CPJ: As killings of journalists in Pakistan decline so too does press freedom, as the country’s powerful military quietly, but effectively, restricts reporting by barring access, encouraging self-censorship through direct and indirect acts of intimidation, and even allegedly instigating violence against reporters.


TAIWAN: RSF calls on the UN to accredit Taiwanese journalists

RSF: In recent years, the UN has been under Chinese pressure to turn down requests for press accreditation from Taiwanese nationals on the pretext that their passports are not recognized.


THAILAND: Thai authorities shut down foreign press club event on Myanmar

CPJ: Thai authorities on Monday shut down a panel discussion at Bangkok’s Foreign Correspondents’ Club of Thailand, marking the sixth such event the country’s ruling military junta has canceled since seizing power in a May 2014 coup.

AUSTRALIA: 2018 Our Watch Awards

ABC: ABC NEWS is proud of the terrific team that last night won the overall Gold as well as three other awards at the 2018 Our Watch Awards, which are administered by the Walkley Foundation and recognise and reward excellence in reporting on violence against women.


AUSTRALIA: Media union calls on ACCC to reject Nine and Fairfax merger

Mumbrella: The union representing journalists and media employees – the Media, Entertainment and Arts Alliance (MEAA) – has once again called on the competition watchdog to reject the merger between media giants Nine Entertainment and Fairfax on the basis it “contravenes the Australian Competition and Consumer Law”.


NEW ZEALAND: Channelling Kiwi content to the Pacific

RNZ: Winston Peters recently announced a multi-million dollar plan to pump more Kiwi TV around the Pacific. Is that what people there really want? Or it this a soft power play to project a positive picture of us? Mediawatch asks the boss of the company in charge of the mission.  


NEW ZEALAND: NZ on Air: Māori Television shows dominate least-popular funded programming  video

Stuff.co.nz: New Zealand On Air funded seven Māori Television shows in the past year which attracted an average initial broadcast audience of less than 10,000.


SAMOA: Upgrade of Samoa’s national broadcaster kicks off

RNZ: A 30-year old transmission tower in Samoa has been taken down marking the start of an upgrade to the national broadcaster 2AP.


VANUATU: Winning back public trust a challenge for Vanuatu broadcaster (Audio)

RNZ: The new chief executive officer of Vanuatu’s Broadcasting and Television Corporation says winning back the public’s trust in the state broadcaster has been a challenge.

BULGARIA: Bulgarians Protest Against Investigative Reporters’ Arrests

Balkan Insight: Protesters demonstrated outside the Palace of Justice in Sofia against the arrest of two reporters who were detained last week in Bulgaria while investigating alleged fraud involving EU funds.


DENMARK: DR closes about 400 positions: Cuts six TV channels down to three and scrapes three radio channels (Danish)

DR: DR must make savings of NOK 420 million over the next three years.


FRANCE: France 24 completes new OTT app rollout

Broadband TV News: France 24 has introduced its new application on Les offres Canal+ (Reunion, Caribbean), thereby completing the renewal of the application.


FINLAND: New media policy guidelines in Finland

Nordicom: The Finnish Government has taken a decision on a new media policy programme, aiming to strengthen media diversity, journalism and media literacy – and to safeguard democracy and freedom of speech.


FRANCE: Françoise Nyssen wants the TV licence fee to be “disconnected from the possession of a television” in 2020 (French)

Europe1: In an effort to modernize and adapt to new digital uses, the Minister of Culture Françoise Nyssen announced Friday that she wanted the fee “disconnected from the possession of a TV” in 2020.


FRANCE: Sibyle Veil: “Faced with the digital giants, the assets of Francophone public media gain in being combined” (Interview – French)

LMFP: This digital dimension must also be further strengthened within the Francophone Public Media community, according to Sibyle Veil, who gives here her vision on the organisation’s role.


GERMANY: ZDF launches children’s channel on Amazon Prime Video

Broadband TV News: German public broadcaster ZDF has expanded its offer on streaming platform Amazon Prime Video Channels.


GREECE: ERT workers shut down broadcast of Golden Dawn press conference

Ekathimerini: The union representing workers at Greek state broadcaster ERT has called a strike on Tuesday afternoon (11 Sep), running from 3 to 5 p.m. to coincide with a press conference by far-right Golden Dawn at the Thessaloniki International Fair.


HUNGARY: It happened there: how democracy died in Hungary

Vox: A new kind of authoritarianism is taking root in Europe.


IRELAND: Irish media’s cosy ties to politics and money require scrutiny (Opinion)

The Guardian: There is urgent need for an independent inquiry into the state of traditional news outlets


ITALY: Five Star leader lashes out at the press, threatens to cut funds

DW: The deputy prime minister called public newspapers “propaganda to defend the interests of a narrow elite.” Italy’s president issued a stern defense of press freedom in response.


RUSSIA: New digital broadcasting standards introduced in Russia

Asia Radio Today: Russia’s Ministry of Digital Development, Communications and Mass Communications has decided to allocate the radio frequency bands 65.9-74 MHz and 87.5-108 MHz for use by digital radio broadcasting using the DRM + standard.


SWEDEN: Vilken valdag! (Swedish)

Sveriges Radio: Read Swedish Radio CEO Cilla Benkö’s blog about how the public broadcaster covered Sweden’s recent election.


SWITZERLAND: Is the tide turning for social media platforms in Switzerland?

SwissInfo: The Swiss appear to be switching off from social media, according to a survey, which suggests that the image of Facebook and Twitter have taken a hit.


SPAIN: Indignation among TVE professionals for the “false accusations” of purges in the News (Spanish)

infoLibre: The president of the News Council explains that “what is relevant is not the changes, but whether they are made to manipulate or to satisfy the right of citizens to receive plural and neutral information”


SPAIN: The final list of 92 applicants to the RTVE Board has been published (Spanish)

EuropaPress: Now, their CVs will go to the Expert Committee, which will assess their communication or management experience, as well as their years of seniority in the Corporation, among other aspects.


UK: Tony Hall: regulate video streaming services or risk ‘killing off’ UK content

The Guardian: BBC’s director general seeks action to control firms such us Netflix and Amazon


UK:  Sky and Channel 4 deal is clear sign of the times

TBI Vision: Sky and Channel 4’s content-sharing deal earlier this week signalled the beginnings of closer collaboration between UK broadcasters in a shifting domestic landscape.


UK: UK Netflix rival looms as BBC and Discovery eye UKTV breakup

The Guardian: Splitting channels between them would have big impact on Britain’s TV industry


WESTERN BALKANS: The European Union strengthens its support to media freedom and young journalists in the Western Balkans (Press Release)

European Commission: The EU stepped up its support to media freedom and development in the Western Balkans, with a focus on media accountability, funding, capacity building, regional cooperation and young journalists

BRAZIL: Brazil’s protection for human rights defenders extended to journalists

RSF: It is intended to permanently reinforce the protection available to journalists and is fully justified by the violence to which many of them are exposed in Brazil.


COLOMBIA: Colombian organization asks authorities for speedy investigation of death threats against journalists

Knight Center: According to FLIP, between 2016 and 2018 there have been 14 threats from Águilas Negras against journalists in Colombia, seven of them during this year.


ECUADOR: RESEARCH: Ecuadorian students and digital media unite to fact-check presidential candidates

Knight Center: Beyond the statements, the verification of data is a necessity, not only of journalism, but of citizens, to strengthen transparency and build informed societies for better decision-making in democracy.


ECUADOR: Plenary Assembly of Ecuador will study reforms to the country’s controversial Communications Law

Knight Center: Ecuador’s Organic Law of Communication (LOC, for its initials in Spanish), considered by press freedom organizations as the most repressive law of the continent, could be reformed before the end of 2018.


MEXICO: Journalism and media in the Constitution of the CDMX (Spanish)

SinEmbargo.mx: On September 17, the Political Constitution of Mexico City came into force, and the fields of journalism and the media have substantial and unprecedented contributions in the country.

IRAQ: Iraqi authorities shut down internet, detain and assault journalists amid protests

CPJ: Between July 14 and September 6, 2018, at least seven Iraqi journalists were assaulted or detained while covering protests over government corruption and the lack of basic services in several cities across Iraq, and the offices of two local media outlets were set on fire


YEMEN: IFJ condemns Saudi-led coalition bombing of radio station

IFJ: Saudi-led coalition airstrike targeted a radio station in Yemeni western province of Hudaydah killing at least four people on Sunday 16 September, according to local media and the Yemeni Journalists Syndicate (YJS).


TURKEY: Turkey Crackdown Chronicle: Week of September 10, 2018

CPJ

CANADA: Canada’s CBC News Service Launches on Snapchat

The Hollywood Reporter: The public broadcaster is chasing younger Canadians with mobile news and video content delivered five times weekly to the Discover platform.


CANADA: Gem, CBC’s rebranded TV app, to stream ‘crown jewels of Canadian content’

CBC News: CBC/Radio-Canada head announces new streaming service during keynote in Toronto.


CANADA: Radio-Canada and Radio France unite to launch an ideas’ accelerator (French)

LMFP: Teams on either side of the ocean will be looking for more innovative ideas on the theme: “Create the radio of tomorrow for the listeners of tomorrow”.


CANADA: ‘Real news, delivered by real kids’: CBC launches Kids News

CBC: The public broadcaster on Monday launched CBC Kids News, a digital-first platform delivering news for kids, by kids.


US: Americans expect to get their news from social media, but they don’t expect it to be accurate

NiemanLab: Lots of news on social media? Yep. Lots of accurate news on social media? Nope: That’s the mindset of the typical U.S. news consumer in 2018, according to a new Pew Research Center report on news use on social media platforms.


US: How newsrooms in the Carolinas and Virginia are preparing for Hurricane Florence

Poynter: On Thursday morning, as Hurricane Florence swirled toward the Carolinas, The Sun News in Myrtle Beach evacuated from its newsroom for remote locations further inland.


US: New fund gives $20 million to local journalism

Poynter: On Sunday evening, the Knight Foundation and the Lenfest Institute for Journalism announced a Philadelphia-based local journalism accelerator.


US: News Use Across Social Media Platforms 2018

Pew Research Center: Most Americans continue to get news on social media, even though many have concerns about its accuracy.


US: NPR Promotes COO Loren Mayor To President Of Operations

NPR: NPR announced Thursday that Loren Mayor has been promoted to its President of Operations. Mayor was previously the company’s Chief Operating Officer.

10 tools for investigative journalists

IJNet: Let’s take a look at 10 of the best new tools for unearthing, accelerating and keeping track of investigations


Alliances are the way to win young viewers (Opinion)

IBC365: Broadcasters must partner with digital platforms like YouTube, WhatsApp, Twitter and Facebook to launch shows that attract young audiences, says Endemol Shine’s Peter Salmon.


Attacks and Harassment: The Impact on Female Journalists and Their Reporting

IWMF: This report, co-authored with TrollBusters, provides a clear examination of the professional dangers of being a female journalist in the news media today.


Disruption is only going to get worse

IBC365: Netflix and YouTube employ thousands of engineers, giving them a huge technical advantage over public service broadcasting rivals.


From “uncool uncle” to “fun” “best friend”: Why people are turning from Facebook to…other Facebook-owned things for news

NiemanLab: It’s not that people are using their devices less; rather, they’re increasingly getting news from messaging apps, as reiterated in a report released Tuesday by the Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism.


Here’s the next round of VR journalism innovation ideas (and the ideas for the tools to make it happen)

NiemanLab: Virtual reality and augmented reality were pushed as new frontiers for journalism — and then the roadblocks came. Maybe the next round of new ideas could help freshen up the space.


How can journalists engage with politics on social media?

IJNet


How can we better serve LGBTQ journalists?

Poynter


Messaging Apps For News On The Rise

EJO: As users turn away from the social media giant for sharing and discussing news, other social media platforms such as instant messaging apps and Instagram are becoming more relevant – and with Instagram, Facebook Messenger and WhatsApp, the Californian company owns most of them.


NYT uses data visualisation to bring climate change home. Literally.

Journalism.co.uk: The New York Times joined forces with Climate Impact Lab to create an interactive feature that allows readers to see how much hotter their hometown is today compared to when they were born


Photojournalists Are Demanding A #MeToo Reckoning

NPR


“The cure lies within us, if we have the will and the imagination to develop it” (Opinion)

NiemanLab: “Because journalism is not The New York Times, or BuzzFeed, or the Miami Herald. When you strip everything down to its essential function, journalism is a system for collecting, synthesizing, verifying and distributing news. Everything else is just form.”


The indispensable appeal of local weather reporters

CJR: It isn’t completely surprising that they would be in demand as storms loom. But it is notable, in the age of Twitter and smartphones, that the broadcast TV weather person—analog, local, old-school—has stayed so viable.

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