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What It Means That Chinese Media Published Photos Of Hong Kong Protests
NPR: NPR’s Ari Shapiro speaks with Michael Davis from the Wilson Center about China’s role and reaction to the Hong Kong protests.
What we're watching...
Teens Learn by Doing via PBS NewsHour Student Reporting Labs
CPB: Twenty-six teens from 14 states came to Washington recently for a full-immersion course in video journalism, media literacy and civic engagement at the fifth annual PBS NewsHour Student Reporting Labs Academy.
BURUNDI: Media independence under threat in Burundi after BBC pull-out
RSF: What with the BBC reporting yesterday that it is winding up operations in Burundi and the national radio and TV broadcaster RTNB now being run by a militia chief, Reporters Without Borders (RSF) is extremely concerned about the fate of press freedom and pluralism in Burundi in the run-up to next year’s election.
ETHIOPIA: Don’t reverse course on press freedom, RSF urges Ethiopia
RSF: Reporters Without Borders (RSF) is concerned about a recent wave of press freedom violations in Ethiopia, including an army general’s direct threat against a journalist, the arrests of several journalists and frequent Internet blackouts, all of which have set back the significant progress that Ethiopia began making more than a year ago.
GAMBIA: Gambia Gears Up For Digital TV Broadcasting
Broadcast Media: Gambia’s public signal distributor for terrestrial television (DTT), Digital Gambia Limited (DGL), and its partner EXCAF-Gambia telecom recently revealed that Gambia plans to migrate from analogue to digital TV broadcasting by 2020.
GHANA: Final framework on Safe and Responsible Journalism to be ready in November
Ghana Business News: The National Coordinating Committee on Safe and Responsible Journalism in Ghana, is expected to publish the final framework that will provide guidance on safe and responsible journalism practice in the country by November.
GHANA: Ghana Broadcasting Corporation denies selling TV channels to private sector (Paywall)
Telecompaper: Ghana Broadcasting Corporation (GBC) has denied that it has sold GBC’s television channels to private companies to operate, Graphic reported. It said the allegation that the state broadcaster had sold eight channels to private firms was false, as no channel belonging to GBC had been sold to anybody.
KENYA: New report shows that digital migration and online have disrupted the Kenyan media landscape – find out the winners and losers (Comment)
Balancing Act: There have major changes in the Kenyan media landscape and a just published report by Reelforge and TIFA Research provides many useful insights into what’s changed. Russell Southwood reviews the reports’s key findings.
MALAWI: Court orders MBC and Macra to give Callista content
Nyasa Times: The High Court in Blantyre has ordered public broadcaster Malawi Broadcasting Corporation (MBC) and Malawi Communications Regulatory Authority (Macra) to hand over all content pertaining to the broadcast recordings in which Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) secretary general Grazeldar Jeffrey claimed former first lady Callista Mutharika killed her husband former president the late Bingu wa Mutharika.
NAMIBIA: Gender equity vital for press freedom – experts
The Namibian: Striving towards gender equity and gender parity within the media is in the best interest of the efforts towards press freedom, a panel of local media practitioners say.
NIGERIA: Austin Nwagbara and freedom of speech (Opinion)
The Guardian Nigeria: Once again, the saga brought to the fore one of the fundamental truths about freedom of speech and how most African governments and authorities react to citizens who freely express themselves against the existing status quo.
SOUTH AFRICA: Mogoeng criticises media for ‘biased’ coverage
The Citizen: The chief justice spoke out against the description of Keletso Bizoski Manyike in a Sunday Times report.
SOUTH SUDAN: South Sudan bars newspaper editor from leaving the country
The East African: South Sudan authorities have banned the chief editor of an Arabic newspaper, Al Watan, from leaving the country for allegedly publishing content critical of the government.
TANZANIA: Tanzanian journalist among recipients of International Press Freedom Award
Daily Maverick: Tanzanian journalist Maxence Melo Mubyazi will be among four other recipients to accept the 2019 International Press Freedom Award on 21 November 2019 at a ceremony in New York City.
ZAMBIA: Local Media Owners Concerned About China’s Influence On Broadcast Media Landscape
Balancing Act: Zambia made a deal with the Chinese media conglomerate, StarTimes, to help switch from analogue to digital TV. Now, Zambian media owners are criticising the collaboration saying that the country’s broadcast industry offers an abundant volume of Chinese kung fu movies but minimal local programming.
ZIMBABWE: Zimbabwe risks demonisation if it fails to implement democratic media reforms
MISA: Zimbabwean lawyer Chris Mhike says Zimbabwe risks continued demonisation by the international community as a country that does not respect media rights if it fails to implement democratic media law reforms.
GENERAL: African media urged to consider ‘national interest’ in reporting on GMOs
Alliance For Science: Journalists and scientists are urging African media to consider the “national interest” when reporting on genetically modified organisms (GMOs) to help guide the continent’s debate on the technology.
BANGLADESH: Bangladesh’s draconian Internet law treats peaceful critics as criminals
The Washington Post: Unfortunately, all too often, countries adopt laws and policies that appear to target online evils, but instead punish people who criticize the government or its leaders.
HONG KONG: Covering Protests Where There Is a Distrust of Social Media
The New York Times: Daniel Victor, a reporter in Hong Kong, on why protesters there chose not to go after the Instagram moments while marching.
HONG KONG: Hong Kong journalists carry on through ‘one of the worst years’
CJR: A strained relationship with police is just one of many problems facing journalists in Hong Kong; there’s also self-censorship, threats of laws to limit speech, and over-concentration of media ownership in pro-Beijing hands.
HONG KONG: What It Means That Chinese Media Published Photos Of Hong Kong Protests (Listen)
NPR: NPR’s Ari Shapiro speaks with Michael Davis from the Wilson Center about China’s role and reaction to the Hong Kong protests.
INDONESIA: Indonesia’s cover up over Papuan media freedom violations exposed
Asia Pacific Report: Indonesia recently hosted a bold public relations window-dressing expo in Auckland presenting itself as a “Pacific” nation while attempting to provide an unconvincing impression of normality in the two Melanesian provinces known collectively as West Papua.
JAPAN: Japanese Lawmaker Elected on Platform of “Crushing” Public Broadcaster NHK
The Hollywood Reporter: The leader of a party opposed to Japan’s public broadcaster NHK won a seat in Sunday’s upper house elections, to the surprise of everyone, including the newly elected lawmaker.
KAZAKHSTAN: Kazakhstan’s new online safety tool raises eyebrows
BBC News: Kazakhstan’s drive to obtain government access to everyone’s internet activity has raised concerns among privacy advocates.
OSCE: The 21st Central Asia Media Conference organized by the OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media, Harlem Désir, concluded today in Bishkek.
PAKISTAN: Journalists: ‘We are almost extinct’ (Opinion)
Pakistan Today: The impunity for a crime against journalists gives an explicit message that silencing journalists is acceptable
PAKISTAN: Media Ownership Monitor: Pakistan a high-risk country in terms of media pluralism
RSF: A collaborative research study, the Media Ownership Monitor (MOM) Pakistan – carried out by the global media rights organization Reporters Without Borders (RSF) and Pakistani media watchdog Freedom Network – has found Pakistan a “high-risk country” in terms of media pluralism. More than half of the mass media ownership is concentrated in only a few hands.
PAKISTAN: PTI calls media criticism as peddling ‘enemy stance, treason’
GeoTV: In a bizarre message, ruling party Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s (PTI) Twitter account has equated freedom of expression and criticism by media to ‘expressing enemy’s stance’ and ‘treason’ against people.
PHILIPPINES: Trial to open for Maria Ressa, the Philippine journalist critical of Duterte
Asian Correspondent: High-profile Philippine journalist Maria Ressa’s libel trial opens Tuesday in a case that press freedom advocates see as government retaliation for her news site’s critical reporting on President Rodrigo Duterte.
SRI LANKA & CHINA: Sri Lanka, China ink deal to build communications tower
ABU: Sri Lanka will sign an agreement with China today to construct a 350-metre high tower building in its capital Colombo, the government announced through its official news portal.
TAIWAN: Media reportedly taking orders from CPC urged to ‘tell truth’
Focus Taiwan: The Executive Yuan on Thursday urged Taiwanese media outlets suspected of doing China’s bidding to explain themselves to assuage public concern, saying that the judicial authorities may investigate any alleged irregularities.
GENERAL: Radio’s Essential Role in Asia
Radio World: Radiodays Asia, held in Kuala Lumpur, addresses challenges, potential facing radio broadcasters in the region.
AUSTRALIA: AFP was not attempting to intimidate journalists, Commissioner Andrew Colvin says
ABC News: Outgoing Australian Federal Police (AFP) Commissioner Andrew Colvin has rejected the claim his officers were attempting to “intimidate” journalists when they carried out two raids — one on the headquarters of the ABC and the other on the home of a News Corp reporter.
AUSTRALIA: French journalists arrested while covering anti-Adani protest
SBS News: A French journalist charged with trespassing while covering an anti-Adani protest in north Queensland says he was arrested without explanation.
AUSTRALIA Media regulator blasts broadcasters for Christchurch report leak
The Sunday Morning Herald: The media watchdog has blasted television networks after the regulator’s draft report into the handling of the Christchurch massacre on daytime television was leaked.
AUSTRALIA: Collaboration hopes to save Australia’s regional news media
Asian Correspondent: When was the last time you picked up a newspaper from the local newsstand? Where do you consume your news these days? Wherever you ask these questions today, you can expect responses that paint you the picture of a media industry in a state of flux.
AUSTRALIA: Journalist Information Warrants (Watch)
ABC Media Watch: The secrecy surrounding JIWs and their Public Interest Advocates.
NEW ZEALAND: One chart which reveals NZ’s incredible 30 year decline in public media funding
The Spinoff: The chart shows that public media funding has in fact hugely lagged GDP growth.
REGIONAL: Register Now for 10th ABU Pacific Media Partnership Conference (Event)
ABU: The Pacific Media Partnership Conference is celebrating its 10th year, a significant milestone in the development of media in the Pacific Islands region, and ABU hopes the forthcoming conference in Apia, Samoa, from 5-7 August will be the most successful yet.
ALBANIA: Albania Anti-Defamation Laws Condemned as ‘Censorship Package’
Balkan Insight: Ten Albanian human rights organisations on Friday denounced a government proposal to ‘regulate’ the online media as a ‘censorship package’ without precedent in a democratic country.
CROATIA: Journalists Association Appalled by Croatian President’s Instruction
Total Croatia News: The Croatian Journalists Association (HND) said on Thursday it was appalled by President Kolinda Grabar-Kitarović’s “scandalous statements … unworthy of the office she holds, in which she shamefully instructs journalists how to do their job.”
FINLAND: Land of the free press – is new president of the Council of the EU
ECPMF: Finland, the self-proclaimed country of press freedom, holds the presidency of the Council of the EU for the next six months.
FRANCE: Questions raised about role of French forces during journalists’ deaths in Mali
RSF: Reporters Without Borders (RSF) reiterates its call to the French authorities to shed all possible light on the deaths of two Radio France Internationale journalists in Mali in 2013 now that RFI claims that French special forces were directly involved in pursuing the jihadi group that kidnapped them, contrary to the official French military version.
FRANCE: Australia detains French TV crew filming anti-coal protest
Reuters: A French television reporter and his crew were arrested on Monday while filming protesters blockading a coal port in Australia’s northeastern state of Queensland.
FRANCE: Law on the press, council of the order: Édouard Philippe pleads for the status quo (French)
Europe1: The Prime Minister received Wednesday associations and representatives of journalists, in a context of uncertainties and tensions between the profession and the executive.
Reuters: Europe’s human rights court dismissed on Thursday a case filed by the owners of a Georgian pro-opposition television channel Rustavi 2 accusing Georgia’s Supreme Court of bias and that it was subject to a state-led campaign to silence it.
GERMANY: Deutschlandradio lets listeners vote on Think Tank Theme 2020 (German)
Deutschland Radio: Deutschlandradio lets the listeners of Deutschlandfunk, Deutschlandfunk Kultur and Deutschlandfunk Nova decide which topic should be a focus of the programs in the coming year. …
GERMANY: German journalists face threats from right wingers
Mapping Media Freedom: If there were a German federal press freedom index, the Free State of Saxony would rank the lowest. Here, attacks against journalists occur more often than in all the other states, mostly from right-wing protesters. But the police in Saxony are also not the best at defending the rights of reporters to do their jobs.
GERMANY: Which technique is the best for digital radio? (German)
Süddeutsche Zeitung: Eight years after the introduction of digital radio DAB + the transmitter network has made good progress. Experts now regard the complete expansion as almost achieved. But despite these advances there is a recurrent policy debate about whether DAB + is indeed the right standard for the digital future of the radio.
ITALY: Italy fails to swiftly respond to police assault on journalist
IPI: Almost a month after Italian journalist Stefano Origone was brutally beaten by police in Genoa, investigations into the incident appear to be stalling, while information about it remains classified.
LATVIA: Latvian Radio news staff disagree to mediated talks
LSM: After meeting the mediator the board of Latvian Radio had chosen to lead talks between the board and the news service, the Latvian Radio News Service says it will not start a formal mediation process.
MALTA: Three charged for murder of investigative journalist
Reuters: Three men to face trial for their alleged involvement in the murder of investigative journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia.
NORTH MACEDONIA: North Macedonia’s Women Reporters Know How to Handle Sexism (Comment)
Balkan Insight: Despite the demeaning qualifications and insults to which they are routinely exposed, women reporters in North Macedonia are a tough lot – and don’t easily succumb to intimidation
SPAIN: Pedro Sánchez asks in his investiture speech to unlock an RTVE “mired in the interim (Spanish)
Vertele: The candidate for President of the Government for the PSOE, Pedro Sánchez, mentioned briefly in his speech during the investiture debate the situation in RTVE. Thus, he has asked the rest of the group for his support to “find a way to renew institutions immersed in the interim for an unacceptable period of time.
SPAIN: RTVE hindered by lack of funds
Advanced Television: Spain’s public broadcaster RTVE is at risk due to a lack of money that is preventing it from acquiring TV content.
SPAIN: TV3, between remote control and democratization (Spanish)
El País: The situation of “national emergency”, the ‘procés’ and the imprisoned politicians have served as an alibi to continue governing the Catalan public media with an iron hand.
UK: Press freedom campaigners call for action on ‘vexatious lawsuits’ (Letter)
The Observer: In an open letter to Jeremy Hunt, the foreign secretary, and Jeremy Wright, the culture secretary, the Observer’s editor, charities and campaigners urge new legislation to stop the abuse of defamation law
UK: Full stream ahead for BritBox in UK as ITV and BBC sign agreement
ITV: ITV and the BBC have now signed an agreement to launch BritBox in the UK in the fourth quarter of this year. This is a bold, new step for ITV and BBC as they seek to work together to offer something fresh and distinctive to the public.
UKRAINE: Two Years On, RFE/RL Presses For Ukrainian Journalist’s Release (Watch)
RFE/RL: Two years since Russia-backed separatists in eastern Ukraine confirmed they were holding Ukrainian blogger and Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) contributor Stanislav Aseyev prisoner, RFE/RL is redoubling efforts to secure his release.
GENERAL: Call for new European Commission President to prioritize press freedom
ECPMF: Read open letter to new European Commission President calling for press freedom to become a priority across the continent.
ARGENTINA: Lombardi: “Today all voices are heard in the media” (Opinion – Spanish)
El Marplatense: The head of the Federal Public Media and Content System analyzed the use made by the Government of public information services. “The republic is founded by giving voice to everyone,” he said.
BRAZIL: With individual projects, Brazilian journalists produce exclusive content and claim a space in the market (Spanish)
Knight Centre: Journalism is a collective work. However, some Brazilian journalists have subverted this rule by launching individual media, developed by the need to publish news and in-depth analysis of public policies and other issues without space in traditional media.
COLOMBIA: Jineth Bedoya case: Colombian state goes to the bench of the accused in the Inter-American Court (Spanish)
El Espectador: The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights presented to the Inter-American Court the case for the kidnapping, torture and rape suffered by the current Deputy General Editor of El Tiempo.
COLOMBIA: Killing of radio journalist highlights dangers for local reporters in Colombia’s border region
CPJ: The otherwise Spartan studio of Samaniego Stereo is adorned by a white banner emblazoned with the image of Libardo Montenegro, a veteran reporter for the community radio station in southern Colombia who was shot dead on June 11. Under his photo are the words: “You will live in our hearts forever.”
HONDURAS: IAPA shows concern about the new Honduran penal code and asks to review it (Spanish)
Diario Libre: The Inter-American Press Association (IAPA) on Thursday expressed concern about the negative effects that the new Criminal Code may have on “free exercise of journalism” in Honduras and urged that country’s legislators to review it to decriminalize all crimes against the honor.
MEXICO: Home search and theft of information from Lydia Cacho is a reprisal for her work
Article 19: Two unknown subjects raided yesterday the domicile of the journalist and human rights defender Lydia Cacho. They stole work equipment and highly sensitive journalistic material, also killed a dog that protected the house and another was poisoned. It is an act of reprisal for their exercise of defense of human rights and their freedom of expression.
NICARAGUA: The Voice of America interviews Lucía Pineda (Spanish) (Video)
VOA: Nicaraguan journalists Lucía Pineda and Miguel Mora were awarded by the Committee for the Protection of Journalists (CPJ) with the Press Freedom Award. Prior to this recognition Cristina Caicedo Smit interviewed Lucía Pineda in Costa Rica.
IRAQ: Iraqi Journalists’ Syndicate to sack members visiting Israel
Middle East Monitor: The Journalists’ Syndicate in Iraq announced on Monday that it would sack any of its members who visit Israel, Anadolu has reported. The announcement followed Israeli reports that a group of six Arab journalists, including Saudis and Iraqis, is to visit Israel next week.
PALESTINE: Five Palestinian journalists injured during the past four days
RSF: At least five Palestinian journalists have been injured, one seriously, by live rounds, rubber bullets or teargas fired by Israeli soldiers during protests in the Gaza Strip and West Bank during the past four days.
SYRIA: Syrian journalist Alaa Nayef al-Khader al-Khalidi died under state torture, official tells family
CPJ: The Committee to Protect Journalists today called on Syrian authorities to immediately account for all journalists who they have arrested during the years-long civil war, including those who have died in state custody
TURKEY: When media capture backfires: Local elections and digital media in Turkey
CIMA: Turkey captivated the world’s attention recently as President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s seemingly unstoppable accumulation of power ground to a halt in a series of humiliating defeats in local elections. To the surprise of many, digital news media emerged as a potent medium for information and mobilization for the largely victorious opposition forces in the campaigns.
TURKEY: For Turkish journalists in Berlin exile, threats remain, but in different forms
CPJ: For Can Dündar, sitting in the audience of a theater performance near Dortmund in Germany in May was an emotional moment.
TURKEY: Erol Önderoğlu acquitted at one trial, but another due soon
RSF: After three years of persecution, the Reporters Without Borders (RSF) representative in Turkey, Erol Önderoğlu, was finally acquitted today, as were his fellow defendants – human rights defender Şebnem Korur Fincancı and the writer Ahmet Nesin.
TURKEY: New Istanbul mayor offers support for press freedom and quality journalism
IPI: The newly elected mayor of Istanbul, Ekrem İmamoğlu, lamented the arrests and prosecution of journalists in Turkey yesterday during a meeting with the International Press Institute (IPI), a global network of editors, media executives and leading journalists for press freedom.
CANADA: Northern demonstrators demand CBC host federal leaders’ debate on climate change
CBC News: Rallies were held Wednesday outside CBC stations in Whitehorse and Yellowknife, among other Canadian cities.
US: Fox News’s star names excuse the inexcusable after Trump’s latest racist attack
The Guardian: Key figures at the network failed to condemn the ugly scenes on Wednesday – the latest example of the strangely needy Trump-Fox relationship.
US: How Instagram gave students a new way to report for ‘PBS NewsHour’ (Paywall)
Current: Through its first-ever partnership with Instagram, PBS NewsHour experimented in May with a new format for covering the arts.
US: PBS Honored with Five Emmy Nominations (Press Release)
PBS: PBS programs received five nominations including for the critically acclaimed documentaries INDEPENDENT LENS “Hale County This Morning, This Evening” and POV “Minding the GAP.”
US: Stations seek ways to lift listeners out of ‘news fatigue’ (Paywall)
Current: No conclusive evidence shows that the syndrome known as news fatigue is affecting public radio listeners, but station executives and fundraisers strategized about possible antidotes Wednesday during the Public Media Development and Marketing Conference.
US: Teens Learn by Doing via PBS NewsHour Student Reporting Labs (Watch)
CPB: Twenty-six teens from 14 states came to Washington recently for a full-immersion course in video journalism, media literacy and civic engagement at the fifth annual PBS NewsHour Student Reporting Labs Academy.
REGIONAL: The Language of Climate Reporting Is Heating Up, Too (Opinion)
Mother Jones: At one newspaper, “climate change” is out. “Climate crisis” is in.
Community Broadcaster: A New Day
Radio World: How can community media better represent the diverse voices in its communities? It is an existential question that organizations have struggled with for years. New efforts, however, may push answers closer to reality.
CPJ announces 2019 International Press Freedom Award winners
CPJ: New York, July 16, 2019–The Committee to Protect Journalists will honor journalists from Brazil, India, Nicaragua, and Tanzania with the 2019 International Press Freedom Awards amid the erosion of press freedom in democracies around the globe.
Knight Centre: The creation of an environment that allows the exercise of freedom of expression, the creation and maintenance of a free and inclusive Internet and the private control of digital communication are the main challenges for freedom of expression in the next decade, according to the rapporteurs of international organizations specializing in the topic.
Public service broadcasters need to find the R&D “sweetspot”
IBC: Under increasing pressure from OTTs, R&D is more important than ever says the BBC’s Matthew Postgate and the EBU’s Antonio Arcidiacono.
Tool for journalists: Digital Help Desk, for training reporters in digital security
Journalism.co.uk: To protect journalists against online threats, Reporters Without Borders has launched a hub providing guidance on encryption, account security and more
The global fight for media freedom: Why it matters (Opinion)
Rappler: It’s not enough to just defend media freedom, we must proactively support it. And that requires serious investment – in will, advocacy, and real money.
Traitors and Journalists (Comment)
Fourth Estate: Too often, journalists find themselves accused of being traitors when they file difficult and controversial
UK and Canada lead global campaign to defend media freedom
GOV.UK: The world’s first global conference on media freedom was held in London 10-11 July to improve the safety of journalists who report across the world.
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Header Image: Cameraman filming crowd. Credit: iStock/denizbayram
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