Our weekly round-up of public service media related stories and headlines from around the world.
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What we're listening to...
Stories From Arab Female Reporters In ‘Our Women On The Ground’
Public Radio East: Often when we hear or read stories from the Middle East, the reporting is from the perspective of Western journalists, and often they’re men. But when journalist Zahra Hankir was working in the region during the Arab Spring, she followed reporters who, like her, were women from the Middle East.
Social media and poor radio service hamper Pacifc met services
RNZ: Social media and the lack of radio services in some small Pacific Islands nations present challenges for local met services during extreme weather events. Meteorology directors and officials are met in Samoa for the Pacific Meteorological Council meeting in Apia last week. Moera Tuilaepa-Taylor reports.
What we're watching...
Press freedom inquiry
ABC Media Watch: No consensus on press freedom as parliament hears evidence from media bosses, the AFP and Canberra bureaucrats.
No consensus on press freedom as parliament hears evidence from media bosses, the AFP and Canberra bureaucrats. #MediaWatchhttps://t.co/PS1u9twCG4 pic.twitter.com/H7Gd1Z28yB
— Media Watch (@ABCmediawatch) August 20, 2019
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Global Headlines
ALGERIA: More online news blocked as Algeria protests near 6 month mark
CPJ: Access to at least five independent local news websites has been interrupted in Algeria as protesters demand political reform for the fifth consecutive month.
CAMEROON: Cameroon Journalists Threatened by Government
VOA: Cameroon has threatened all journalists who it says are refusing to be patriotic, after TV reporter Samuel Wazizi was arrested for allegedly supporting separatist fighters in Cameroon’s English-speaking north, west, and southwest regions.
EGYPT: Egyptian intelligence to prepare wide changes in media
MEMO: The fate of dozens of employees, expected to be laid off in the coming period, has been uncertain as part of the gradual changes expected in Egyptian media and channels, in the framework of the Egyptian General Intelligence Directorate’s attempts to make extensive changes in the field of media.
KENYA: Plan to tax YouTube, Netflix in final stage
Daily Nation: The ICT ministry is in the final stages of developing a framework that will be used to tax foreign online streaming media services such as YouTube and Netflix.
SOUTH AFRICA: ‘SABC has made strides in its bid to push for unbiased reporting’
SABC News: The SABC has made strides in its bid to push for unbiased and ethical reporting.
SOUTH AFRICA: SABC serves letters to employees affected by irregular appointments (Watch)
SABC News: The South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) says its employees that have been affected by irregular appointments have been served with letters to notify them of the public broadcaster’s intention.
SOUTH AFRICA: SIU finds damning evidence against former SABC Interim Board
SABC News: The SIU says it has found evidence of irregularities in the Interim Board’s procurement and awarding of the security contract to Mafoko Security.
SOUTH AFRICA: South Africa’s SABC Radio Presenters Frustrated By PSL Blackout
Broadcast Media Africa: South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) sports presenters have revealed that they are struggling and frustrated because they can no longer cover PSL matches.
SUDAN: Sudan authorities allow reopening of Al Jazeera’s Khartoum office
Al Jazeera: Authorities in Sudan have allowed the reopening of Al Jazeera Media Network’s office in the capital, more than two months after ordering its closure during months-long pro-democracy demonstrations in the country.
TANZANIA: Journalists Under Siege in Tanzania
Via All Africa: Tanzanian President, John Magufuli, has been petitioned to intervene and secure the release of a freelance journalist and ensure investigations into the disappearance of another.
TANZANIA: Tanzania journalist Kabendera’s case set for August 30
The East African: Tanzania on Monday set the hearing of an economic crimes case against journalist Erick Kabendera for August 30, 2019.
UGANDA: Online Publishers Criticize Registration as Political Control
Via All Africa: Ugandan social media influencers and news organizations are critical of a new requirement announced last week that all commercial online publishers must register with the government. They see the rule as a step toward limiting freedom of speech and the press.
ZIMBABWE: Police officers assault journalist while covering protests
MISA: Zimbabwe Republic Police (ZRP) anti-riot officers assaulted Talkmore Fani Mapfumo a local journalist with online publication Zim Morning Post today, 16 August 2019, in Harare for filming the police officers when they were dispersing protestors in the Central Business District (CBD).
REGIONAL: CPJ calls on SADC heads of state to prioritize press freedom and the safety of journalists (Letter)
CPJ:
GENERAL: Social media is reinforcing political power structures in Africa more than it’s challenging them
Quartz: In mid-July Chad lifted its 16-month social media ban. This ended the longest social media blockage seen in any African country. The government argued that the lengthy ban was necessary for security reasons.
CHINA: How China Uses Twitter And Facebook To Share Disinformation About Hong Kong
NPR: Earlier this month, Chinese state media launched a domestic blitz, depicting the Hong Kong protests as riots funded by the CIA. China-linked social media accounts then flooded Twitter and Facebook with millions of pro-Beijing posts and targeted advertisements.
HONG KONG: Analysis: How Chinese media describe protesters in Hong Kong (Paywall)
BBC Monitoring: Mainland Chinese media have used increasingly strong terms to refer to the protesters in Hong Kong since demonstrations began in the city in June over a controversial extradition bill.
INDIA: BBC World Service steps up shortwave broadcasts in Kashmir during media shutdown (Press Release)
BBC: The BBC World Service has extended output on shortwave radio in Indian-administered Kashmir to provide reliable news and information.
INDIA: Free speech was being suppressed in Kashmir for a long time before the latest crisis
Index On Censorship: We report on the border region’s long-term crackdown on communications well before the latest news blackout. Rituparna Chatterjee, talked to academics and journalists about what it has been like to live there.
INDIA: Google Collaborates With Prasar Bharati To Digitise AIR and Doordarshan Archives
ABU: Google has announced a long-term collaboration with Indian broadcaster Prasar Bharati.
INDIA: Media pluralism – collateral victim of the crisis in Indian-held Kashmir
RSF: As India celebrates its Independence Day amid a surge in political tension, Reporters Without Borders (RSF) condemns the relentless information warfare that Prime Minister Narendra Modi began waging ten days ago by severing all communication in the Kashmir Valley.
INDIA: Prasar Bharti restructures Doordarshan, separates ‘its creative functions into a dedicated vertical’
India Legal: Public Service Broadcaster Prasar Bharti has decided to restructure Doordarshan by separating its creative functions into a dedicated vertical for handling Content Operations, it said in a press release.
KYRGYZSTAN: Kyrgyzstan Urged To Protect Media Pluralism After Opposition TV’s Closure
RFERL: Reporters Without Borders (RSF) has called on the Kyrgyz authorities to allow the opposition Aprel (April) television channel to resume broadcasting, calling its closure last week a violation of press freedom.
NEPAL: Nepali Media Commits to Disaster Preparedness Advocacy
Relief Web: Media should play a more proactive role in educating the general public about disaster preparedness, rather than simply reporting the aftermath of crises, according to journalists attending a workshop organized by the International Organization for Migration (IOM) and the Federation of Nepalese Journalists (FNJ).
PAKISTAN: Crackdown launched on sale of Indian films
Dawn: The government has launched a crackdown on sale of Indian movies and banned airing of advertisements for India-made products on television channels in the wake of tensions over the situation in India-held Kashmir.
PAKISTAN: ‘Silenced’: Pakistan’s journalists decry new era of censorship
Aljazeera: Journalists tell Al Jazeera coverage of opposition leaders and civil society dissenters ‘banned’ by government and army.
PHILIPPINES: Philippine army “red-tagging” leads to threats, violence against journalists
RSF: After one reporter was badly wounded in a shooting last week and soldiers intimidated another the week before, Reporters Without Borders (RSF) condemns the Philippine military’s practice of turning certain journalists into targets by arbitrarily designating them as “communists.”
VIETNAM: Vietnam says Facebook steps up local content restrictions
Reuters: Facebook is restricting access to increasing amounts of content in Vietnam, a government official said on Thursday, as the Southeast Asian country ramps up a campaign to tighten access to the internet.
AUSTRALIA: AFP won’t rule out charging News Corp journalist Annika Smethurst after raid
The Guardian: Commissioner Andrew Colvin tells MPs the investigation is ‘ongoing’
Nieman Lab
AUSTRALIA: Press freedom inquiry (Watch)
ABC Media Watch: No consensus on press freedom as parliament hears evidence from media bosses, the AFP and Canberra bureaucrats.
NEW ZEALAND: A media cry for help
RNZ: Struggling news media companies have been lobbying the government behind the scenes for some time. On Thursday broadcaster MediaWorks put it all out in the open, telling the minister responsible its future is in doubt and democracy could die in darkness if he fails to act now.
NEW ZEALAND: Government working to ‘strengthen public media’, but will TVNZ remove ads?
Stuff: Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern is staying guarded over whether TVNZ will reintroduce a charter or remove ads.
NEW ZEALAND: Local Democracy Reporting scheme seeks journalists to cover the regions
RNZ: Eight reporters are being sought as part of a $1 million one-year pilot project to boost coverage of local democracy issues.
NEW ZEALAND: Media’s worldwide push for climate change coverage (Listen)
RNZ: Last week the Sunday Star Times ran an article asking the question: Is the New Zealand media eco-friendly? It was more an environmental stock-take of the media businesses themselves than an analysis of their editorial commitment to reporting the environment.
NEW ZEALAND: Sky NZ fined for broadcasting clips of Christchurch massacre live stream
The Guardian: Sky Network Television in New Zealand has been fined by the country’s broadcasting watchdog for airing clips of live footage of the Christchurch terror attack that killed 51 people.
TAHITI: Local newspapers run out of paper – no print editions this week
Pacific Media Watch: French Polynesia’s two newspapers will have no print editions until next week.
TONGA: Government must strike balance between protecting free expression and reacting to royal slurs, says Kaniva Tonga (Opinion)
Pacific Media Watch: The Tongan government must not shut down Facebook.
REGIONAL: Call for more investment to cope with extreme weather in Pacific
RNZ: The President of World Meteorological Office Regional Association 5 has called for significantly more investment into dealing with extreme weather events.
ALBANIA: Concerns Mount Over Proposed Albanian Media Law
VOA: Press freedom advocates and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) in Albania are fighting a government-proposed defamation law that, critics say, would grant the country’s top media regulator too much power.
BELGIUM: Belgian bill threatens investigative journalism
RSF: Reporters Without Borders (RSF) calls on the Belgian authorities to exempt journalists and whistleblowers acting in the public interest from a proposed law under which divulging classified information would be punishable by up to five years in prison.
BULGARIA: Let the press report freely, say IFJ/EFJ ahead of Prosecutor’s appointment
EFJ: Bulgaria will elect a new Prosecutor General this autumn and a series of statements made by public officials against the press have raised journalists’ concerns about the process.
ESTONIA: State putting up €22 million for new ERR TV house
ERR: The government has announced it is to invest €22 million in constructing a new TV house at public broadcaster ERR, which it says should meet the requirements of a modern TV broadcaster.
FRANCE: ARTICLE 19 comments on interim report for social media regulation
Article 19: In May 2019, the French government published an interim report on social media regulation. It is one of a range of regulatory proposals in this area, including in the United Kingdom, Australia, Ireland and Canada.
FRANCE: Green light for the video platform Salto: France TV, TF1 and M6 will be able to make the leap (French)
France Info: This platform, which will operate on subscription and without commitment, aims to compete with the US giants Netflix and Amazon.
GERMANY: Again strike at the WDR: “Moma” temporarily does not broadcast live (German)
Digital Fernsehen: Suddenly Tuesday’s “morning magazine” studio was dark: A renewed strike at WDR took the show apparently by complete surprise. The live program was interrupted.
Via Global Voices: In July 2019, Macedonian social media was flooded with links to year-old articles claiming the prime ministers of North Macedonia and Greece, Zoran Zaev and Alexis Tsipras respectively, received billions of euros in bribes to sign the Prespa Agreement.
IRELAND: Licence fee’s replacement may be linked to local property tax
The Irish Times: Cabinet documents investigate ideas in relation to future funding of broadcasting.
IRELAND: RTÉ Needs to Make a Case for Public-Service Media in the 21st Century (Opinion)
Dublin InQuirer: Last week, Minister for Communications Richard Bruton followed in the footsteps of a string of his predecessors, and announced that significant reform to the licence-fee model that funds Irish public service media was on the way, but not just yet.
ITALY: RAI chief tells editors to keep balance
ANSA: RAI CEO Fabrizio Salini on Friday wrote to news chiefs and editors reminding them to show “balance, transparency, objectivity and impartiality in all kinds of programmes” during the current government crisis.
ITALY: Rai loses last appeal on Sky football decision
Digital TV Europe: Italian public broadcaster Rai has lost a second appeal against an earlier court decision that allowed pay TV broadcaster Sky to rescind a deal that would have seen the broadcaster air free-to-view top tier international football in favour of commercial broadcaster Mediaset.
LATVIA: Broadcast regulator says 10 million euros needed to stabilize public media
LSM: In order to solve the current problems at Latvian Radio and Latvian Television, the country’s broadcast watchdog, the National Electronic Mass Media Council (NEPLP) is asking that more than 10 million euros be allotted to the public media, the LETA newswire learned from the council.
SERBIA: For Serbian journalists, obedience is the norm
Reporting Democracy: Journalists in Serbia say censorship – and self-censorship – has become rife under an all-powerful president.
SLOVAKIA: Mass Surveillance Operation on Slovak Journalists
Council of Europe: Slovak media in April revealed the existence of a massive surveillance operation on journalists conducted between March 2017 and February 2018 by a former intelligence agent, Peter Tóth, on behalf of Marian Kočner, the disgraced businessman charged with ordering the murders of Slovak journalist Ján Kuciak and his fiancée, Martina Kušnírová.
SPAIN: Emelina Fernández: “Not having a state television council is a European anomaly” (Q&A – Spanish)
El Pais: The former president of the Audiovisual Council of Andalusia has promoted political pluralism in public television or the defense of minors against the dangers of the Internet.
SWEDEN: The Government’s proposal for Swedish public service media 2020-2025
Nordicom: The Swedish public service media companies should be up to date and in close connection to the audience. They are also a common good that should work in a media system with a free and functioning commercial media market.
UK: BBC plans £100m ad splurge to attract young viewers
IBC365: The BBC is set to spend around £100 million on advertisements aimed at attracting younger audiences to its platforms, according to several reports in the UK.
UK: Give us a break . . . TV viewers face more ads (Paywall)
The Times: Viewers who find television adverts tiresome should look away now. Mainstream channels could soon be allowed to show more of them as part of government efforts to help them in their battle with online rivals.
UK: NUJ highlights growing number of far-right attacks on journalists (Watch)
The Guardian: Journalists and camera crews are coming under attack on “an increased basis” from far-right activists, and police need to take a strategic approach to dealing with the growing problem, according to the head of the National Union of Journalists.
REGIONAL: Balkan Region Trapped in Perception that Journalists Can Be Beaten: EC country reports (Report)
SEENPM: Frequent attacks against journalists, lack of mechanisms for prosecuting those responsible, as well as political and economic pressures, present joint problems shared by countries in the region in the sphere of media freedoms and safety of journalists, an analysis of the European Commission’s country reports in the Western Balkan countries concluded.
ARGENTINA: Lombardi management leaves a deficit of almost 4 billion pesos (Spanish)
Pagina: The operational and financial deficit of Public TV and National Radio for 2019 will be $ 3,860,773,784.
BARBADOS: AG: Freedom of Information Act Still on Cards
Loop: Journalists have received the assurance that the long promised Freedom of Information Act is still on the cards for Barbados.
BELIZE: Reporting on the environment: challenges and opportunities
Breaking Belize News: Breaking Belize News joined colleagues from across Belize at the Radisson Hotel to engage in continuing professional education, this time on the matter of the Meso-American Barrier Reef and its connecting structures.
BOLIVIA: Fake Profiles of Journalists on RRSS Prejudice Presidential Candidate Carlos Mesa (Spanish)
Pagina Siete: In the last three days, the fake social media profiles of two well-known journalists published prejudiced opinions of the presidential candidate for Comunidad Ciudadana (CC), Carlos Mesa.
BRAZIL: ‘A second Trump’: Bolsonaro’s offensive rhetoric adds to Brazil’s discomfort
The Guardian: Supporters say his tendency to speak freely is sincere – but detractors call it a PR disaster.
BRITISH VIRGIN ISLANDS: Free-speech groups slam cybercrime bill
BVI Beacon: During an Aug. 1 House of Assembly meeting, legislators touted a bill that they said would help deter cyberbullying, character assassination, electronic blackmail and other nefarious online behaviour.
CHILE: Chile accused of spying on investigative journalist Mauricio Weibel
CPJ: The Committee to Protect Journalists expressed concern today over reports that Chile’s army allegedly ordered a surveillance operation against the investigative journalist Mauricio Weibel Barahona in 2016, when he was researching claims of misconduct in the armed forces.
COLOMBIA: Colombia declares 1998 murder of journalist Nelson Carvajal a crime against humanity
Knight Center for Journalism in the Americas: Twenty-one years after Nelson Carvajal Carvajal was killed, the Attorney General’s Office of Colombia declared the journalist’s murder a crime against humanity.
Knight Center for Journalism in the Americas: A ruling by the Criminal Chamber of the Superior Court of Cali, Colombia, against the newspaper El País generated concern among press freedom organizations that believe it could set a precedent for prior censorship in the country.
CUBA: IACHR requests explanations from Havana for sanctions against journalists of ‘Diario de Cuba’ (Spanish)
14 y Medio: The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) has requested explanations from the Cuban Government for the violation of the rights of journalists Adriana Zamora García, Manuel Alejandro León Velázquez and Osmel Ramírez Álvarez, all collaborators of Diario de Cuba .
HAITI: Haitian journalist who received death threats survives shooting
Knight Center for Journalism in the Americas: Luckson Saint-Vil, a journalist for the site Loop Haiti, was on his way home in southern Haiti when his vehicle was shot multiple times. He survived.
HONDURAS: Freedom Tower (Spanish – Opinion)
La Tribuna: Journalist and lawyer Rodrigo Wong Arévalo praised for his work to create ‘Freedom Tower’, a place which teaches real and concrete journalism and employs more than one hundred people.
MEXICO: Mexico and UNESCO sign agreement to boost media development in the country (Spanish)
24 Horas: They seek to promote freedom of expression and contribute to the strengthening of peace.
MEXICO: Still Without Protection, Journalists Are Mexico’s Walking Dead
InSight Crime: Reporters in Mexico are frequently forced to confront brutal and often deadly violence, but the administration of recently elected President Andrés Manuel López Obrador has so far failed to do anything to ensure the protection of the country’s journalists.
PUERTO RICO: How Free is the Press? (Spanish – Opinion)
Noticel: Blogger Sandra Rodríguez Cotto looks at the factors which influence and define freedom of the press in Puerto Rico.
TRINIDAD: CBU Award for TV Journalists
CCN TV6: CCN TV6’s senior broadcast journalist Nisha John-Mohammed and cameraman Immanuel Nunez copped an award in the 2018 Caribbean Broadcast Union (CBU) awards. The awards were presented during the 50th CBU General Assembly, held on Tuesday in San Andreas, Colombia.
VENEZUELA: After 58 days of captivity, Venezuelan journalist Anabel Quevedo was released (Spanish)
NTN24: After spending 58 days in captivity, Venezuelan journalist Anabel Quevedo was released early Monday morning in the El Marite sector, located in Maracaibo, capital of Zulia state.
REGIONAL: CBU President Calls for Preservation of Indigenous Broadcasters
RJR News Online: President of the Caribbean Broadcasting Union (CBU), Gary Allen has expressed the need for a sincere commitment to the preservation of indigenous broadcasters in recognition of the integral role they play in social and economic development.
GENERAL: Unlocking journalism resilience: Adapting a digital business model to promote press freedom
The Media Online: A new report from WAN-IFRA, Unlocking Journalism Resilience: Adapting a Digital Business Model to Promote Press Freedom, examines how news media companies in Kenya, South Africa, Uganda, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Egypt, Jordan, Palestine, Colombia, Ecuador and Mexico are experimenting with their revenues and adapting business models to safeguard press freedom.
Knight Center for Journalism in the Americas: Five renowned journalists in Latin America just launched a new journalistic project that seeks to use collaborative investigative journalism to explain phenomena that cross borders in the region. practices.
IRAN: Is Iran’s national broadcaster being pushed to the brink of irrelevance?
Al-Monitor: A prominent Iranian TV commentator’s move to the United Kingdom to join an opposition station after a long career at Iran’s state TV has revived a longstanding debate over the public approval of IRIB, the sole national broadcaster holding a monopoly over domestic radio and television services in Iran.
SAUDI ARABIA & TURKEY: Official documents on Khashoggi murder released by US group
Middle East Monitor: A US organisation has started publishing official documents dealing with the murder of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul in October last year.
TURKEY: RSF urges Turkey not to send Syrian refugee journalists back to Syria
RSF: Reporters Without Borders (RSF) has been alarmed to learn that Turkey has been sending a few Syrian refugee journalists back to Syria since June and fears that there will be many more expulsions from tomorrow onwards, the deadline for Syrian refugees in the Istanbul metropolitan area to regularize their status.
Zawya: A first-of-its-kind study into the podcast landscape of the UAE has revealed trust levels in the medium of the moment.
YEMEN: Twenty journalists abducted since 2015
IFEX: An alarming total of at least 20 journalists have been the victims of enforced disappearance in Yemen since the start of the civil war in 2015, according to a tally by Reporters Without Borders (RSF). They include two journalists who were abducted by armed men in the past few weeks.
CANADA: Capturing the hearts of superfans: Radio-Canada engages kids across all platforms to fuel their passions (Blog)
CBC/Radio-Canada: This spring, the public broadcaster set out on a new mission – engaging with young audiences. To learn more about the challenges of reaching this demographic and meeting their expectations, we went behind the scenes of the Radio-Canada kids content team.
CANADA: CBC announces first-ever podcast-to-tv development slate (Press Release)
CBC/Radio-Canada: CBC, Canada’s public broadcaster, announced its first-ever development slate of podcast-to-television series that will see five popular, original CBC Podcasts adapted for the screen.
CANADA: CMF invests $22.6M toward docs, TV and digital media projects
Real Screen: The Canada Media Fund has revealed the 44 projects, ranging from docuseries and kids programming to VR games, to receive a total of CA$22.6 million in funds.
US: Censorship In The Age Of Streaming (Opinion)
PBS: Two months ago I was invited by PBS President Paula Kerger to become the system’s public editor – the audience’s advocate, if you will. The role is a critical one for an outlet that is singular among the nation’s major broadcasters: funded by viewers and fueled by thousands of creative and independent digital, video and film producers and journalists.
US: Community Broadcaster: Joining Forces (Opinion)
Radio World: One of community media’s great challenges is finding a way to reduce a station’s expenses while still staying local. Some recent moves by noncommercial outlets are worthy of review.
US: Goli Sheikholeslami: Building listening habits and audience loyalty on new platforms ‘is critical for all of us’ (Paywall)
Current: After leading a dramatic expansion of Chicago Public Media’s newsroom and revenue over five years, Goli Sheikholeslami is moving to New York City. Beginning in October, she will take over as CEO of New York Public Radio, one of the most influential executive positions in public broadcasting.
US: Public Broadcasting Fact Sheet (Research)
Pew Research Center
US: Websites that peddle disinformation make millions of dollars in ads, new study finds
CNN: As the United States gears up for another presidential election, aware of the role online disinformation played in 2016, the business of publishing false or extremist content online remains a lucrative one.
US: Why is the US tracking journalists and immigration advocates? (Listen)
Al Jazeera: Journalists and immigration advocates have been interrogated at US airports and scrutinised at US-Mexico border crossings. Then leaked documents confirmed their suspicions: the US government has been targeting private citizens.
A mission for journalism in a time of crisis (Opinion)
The Guardian: In a turbulent era, the media must define its values and principles, writes Guardian editor-in-chief Katharine Viner.
How The Times attracts and retains digital subscribers
Journalism.co.uk: In a world of Netflix, Spotify and Amazon Prime, how does a publisher convince readers to pay £26 a month for a digital news subscription?
Interview: Dee Forbes, RTE (Paywall)
IBC365: The rise of OTTs and the era of ‘fake news’ have piled political and commercial pressures on public service broadcasters but both provide great opportunities, according to RTÉ director general Dee Forbes.
One potential route to flagging fake news at scale: Linguistic analysis
Nieman Lab: It’s not perfect, but legitimate and faked news articles use language differently in ways that can be detected algorithmically: “On average, fake news articles use more expressions that are common in hate speech, as well as words related to sex, death, and anxiety.”
The global gag on free speech is tightening
The Economist: On june 22nd there was an alleged coup attempt in Ethiopia. The army chief of staff was murdered, as was the president of Amhara, one of the country’s nine regions. Ordinary Ethiopians were desperate to find out what was going on. And then the government shut down the internet. By midnight some 98% of Ethiopia was offline.
The value of podcasts to newspapers and broadcasters
Reuters Institute: Aura Lindeberg, a Finnish Journalist Fellow from October 2018 to June 2019, looked at newspapers and broadcasters in Sweden, the UK, Germany and Australia, interviewing key personnel on the challenges they have faced in almost two decades of creating podcasts.
Too many people think satirical news is real
The Conversation: In July, the website Snopes published a piece fact-checking a story posted on The Babylon Bee, a popular satirical news site with a conservative bent. Conservative columnist David French criticized Snopes for debunking what was, in his view, “obvious satire. Obvious.” A few days later, Fox News ran a segment featuring The Bee’s incredulous CEO. But does everyone recognize satire as readily as French seems to?
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Header Image: Behind the scene. Multiple camera setup. Female cameraman shooting the film scene with camera in film studio. Credit: guruXOOX/iStock
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