Our weekly round-up of public service media related stories and headlines from around the world
As the global COVID-19 pandemic continues, the need for community solidarity and mutual support has never been greater. But this support requires quality, fact-checked and evidence based news and information.
With this in mind, the Public Media Alliance has compiled an extensive and growing list of resources featuring recommended tools, advice and sources for journalists and the public alike. The resources can be found via the link below or in the Tools section of our website.
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PSM Innovations
“PSM Innovations” is a new feature for PSM Weekly. Every fortnight, PMA will highlight an innovation to demonstrate how public media are pushing boundaries, experimenting with new technologies, and coming up with solutions to new or existing challenges.
AccessCBC – a new initiative for creators with disabilities
Canada’s public broadcaster, CBC, recently launched AccessCBC, a new initiative focused on increasing access to CBC for the disabled creator communities. The number of disabled creators across the creative industry is “abysmally low,” said Lisa Clarkson, CBC’s Executive Director of Business & Rights and Content Optimization, “especially when compared to the number of people in the general Canadian population who self-identify as having a disability.”
AccessCBC was developed in partnership with ReelAbilities Film Festival Toronto, to remove and prevent the various barriers that can often obstruct disabled creators. The pilot programme is inclusive of creators who identify as having visible or invisible, temporary or permanent, disabilities. It is made up of two streams: scripted comedy/drama and short documentaries. It covers everything from pitching to production, and will also offer training, mentorship, and sometimes financial support. “As far as we are aware, we are the first media company to do this”, Lisa said.
This innovative programme epitomises two of public media’s core principles: accessibility and diversity. As a publicly funded and owned media organisation, CBC has an important role in ensuring that all Canadians are authentically reflected in its content and across its workforce. The initiative actively forms part of CBC/Radio-Canada’s ongoing efforts to enhance its diversity and inclusion, beyond mere words and intentions.
If you have an innovation you think we’d be interested to hear about at your public media organisation, please get in touch with us at info@publicmediaalliance.org.
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Coronavirus: Resources & best practices
Essential resources for sourcing and reporting news about the coronavirus pandemic
What we're reading...
Do countries with better-funded public media also have healthier democracies? Of course they do
Nieman Lab: There’s a new book coming out in the U.K. this week called The BBC: A People’s History, by David Hendy. Its publisher calls it a “monumental work of popular history, making the case that the Beeb is as much of a national treasure as the NHS…a now global institution that defines Britain and created modern broadcasting.”
What we're listening to...
The Fight for the Future of the BBC
Today in Focus, The Guardian: The latest skirmish between the BBC and the government is part of a running debate over who the BBC serves, which dates back to the organisation’s earliest days. But this time, the stakes are higher.
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ANGOLA: State Media Journalists Attacked during Strike in Angola
Kubatana: Six reporters working for news outlets TV Zimbo and TV Palanca were on 10 January 2022 assaulted by unidentified people and forced to flee to safety while reporting on a nationwide strike by taxi drivers in the capital Luanda, it has been reported.
CAMEROON: Amadou Vamoulké completes 2,000 days in prison in Cameroon without being convicted
RSF: Cameroonian journalist Amadou Vamoulké, the septuagenarian former head of the national radio and TV broadcaster, has just completed his 2,000th day in detention without being convicted on any charge.
ESWATINI & NAMIBIA: Eswatini National Broadcaster delegation visits NBC (Watch)
NBC: The delegation is led by Eswatini TV Acting CEO Kenneth Maziya, who says the purpose of the visit, among others, is to gain skills and expertise on the processes and strategies used by the NBC to collect TV licences.
GHANA: CEO Ghana Broadcasting Corporation (GBC) To Discuss Build-Up To Digital Migration At Broadcasters’ Convention In Nigeria (Event)
BMA: Across Africa, the transition from analogue to digital television broadcasting has been a long haul experience met with immense challenges such as financing, funding and policy frameworks.
GHANA: GBC’s Radio Savannah to benefit from re-tooling and capacity building- Professor Amin Alhassan
GBC: Director-General of GBC, Professor Amin Alhassan has stressed the commitment of management to continuously train staff of the Corporation as well as resourcing and retooling all its regional stations towards effective operations.
GHANA: Radio Ada resumes partial operations after vandalisation by thugs
My Joy Online: Management of Radio Ada has disclosed that from January 23, the station will resume partial operations. The station was attacked by some unknown thugs on January 13 for comments made on one of their programme- ‘Manor Munyu’.
MOZAMBIQUE & ANGOLA: MultiChoice launches new channels for Mozambique and Angola
Digital TV Europe: Pan-African pay TV operator MultiChoice has launched two new TV channels – Maningue Magic and Kwenda Magic – for audiences in Mozambique and Angola respectively.
NIGERIA: New communication curriculum will revolutionise media, says Pate
The Guardian Nigeria: President, Association of Communication Scholars and Professionals of Nigeria (ACSPN), Prof. Umaru Pate, has said a new communication curriculum that will revolutionise the media space is underway.
SOUTH AFRICA: SABC board chair on his way out (Paywall)
News24: City Press understands that Makhathini has indicated that he will not reapply for the position – which he has held since 2017 – when his term ends in October.
SOUTH AFRICA: THE SABC TO DONATE 20 LAPTOPS TO A NEEDY SCHOOL IN SUPPORT OF EDUCATION AND 4IR IN THE NORTHERN CAPE (Press release)
SABC: The South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) has partnered with the Northern Cape Provincial Government to donate 20 computers to Monwabisi Secondary School in Nzwakazi Location near De Aar.
SUDAN: Sudanese military arrests, assaults journalists covering protests
CPJ: Sudanese authorities must immediately release all detained journalists and stop arresting and assaulting members of the press, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.
TUNISIA: RSF calls on Tunisian president to preserve ‘fragile’ press freedom (Spanish)
Swissinfo: Reporters Without Borders (RSF) on Wednesday urged the Tunisian president, Kais Said, to preserve the guarantees of freedom of the press in the country, an “achievement” of the democratic transition that suffers from a “fragility worrying” since the state of emergency was decreed last July.
REGIONAL: Attacks on free expression in Southern Africa – Projection for 2022
MISA: An article on the projected outlook for the year 2022 by Regional Secretariat director Tabani Moyo.
REGIONAL: #PreserveAfricaArchives Forum To Explore How Valuation Of Archived Heritage Can Help Meet Current Content Demand (Event)
BMA: Due to technological convergence, globalisation, and skewed money ethics, the interpretation and valuation of heritage materials can result in inventory misinterpretation, copyright infringements and theft through piracy.
AFGHANISTAN: Mysterious Attacks On Afghan Activists, Journalists Raise Fears Over Free Speech Under Taliban
RFE/RL: The Taliban’s return to power in Afghanistan had already left free speech and media freedoms out in the cold. A recent spate of mysterious attacks on activists and journalists has raised fears that the worst may be yet to come.
BANGLADESH: News cannot be broadcast on IPTVs and YouTube
The Daily Star: News items cannot be aired via IPTV and YouTube channels, said Information and Broadcasting Minister Hasan Mahmud yesterday citing the broadcast policy.
CHINA: China’s Media Freedom Record Criticized Ahead of Beijing Games
VOA News: With the Beijing Games just two weeks away, media rights groups are calling attention to China’s record of jailing journalists.
CHINA: Journalists are taking burner phones to the Beijing Olympics (Paywall)
The Washington Post: Journalists covering the Winter Olympics next month say they’ll do their work in Beijing on brand-new cellphones and laptops. When the Games are over, they’ll simply leave them behind or throw them away.
HONG KONG: In Hong Kong, ‘Normal Journalism’ Doesn’t Work Anymore
VOA: “In the face of a bleak winter of a political purge … we refuse to remain silent.” These words greet readers of Flow HK, a news magazine with a self-styled mission to fill the news void of Hong Kong’s depleted media scene.
HONG KONG: They Were Reporters in Hong Kong. Now They Drive Cabs and Sell Fried Chicken.
VICE: The demise of the city’s independent news outlets has left hundreds of journalists out of a job. Many are not coming back.
KASHMIR: Pressure on Kashmiri journalists intensifies as government intimidation grows
IPI: Journalists worry about the state of press freedom after government detains a journalist and shuts down press club.
KAZAKHSTAN: ‘Nothing like this ever happened here before’: Journalists describe covering mass protests in Kazakhstan
CPJ: The nationwide antigovernment protests that erupted in early January 2022 in Kazakhstan – which left 225 dead, according to official figures – upended the country’s reputation as one of Eurasia’s most stable authoritarian regimes. They also posed an enormous challenge to Kazakh journalists.
API Press: The U.S. Department of State has reacted to the detention of journalist and investigative reporter Bolot Temirov and akyn Bolot Nazarov.
MALAYSIA: Malaysia’s Top Anti-Corruption Cop Sues Whistleblower for Defamation
VOA News: Rights groups say Azam’s lawsuit is in keeping with a shrinking space for the free press and growing harassment of journalists since the collapse of the progressive Pakatan Harapan coalition’s government in early 2020.
MYANMAR: The continuing harassment of Burmese journalists a year after the military coup (Spanish)
Infobae: Almost a year after the military coup in Burma (Myanmar), the imprisonment this week of two new reporters once again exposes the dramatic situation that journalists are experiencing.
PAKISTAN: IHC indicts ex-GB judge Rana Shamim in affidavit case
Dawn: The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Thursday indicted former Gilgit-Baltistan chief justice Rana Shamim in a contempt of court case but deferred the framing of charges against the media personnel also named in the case, including journalist Ansar Abbasi and Jang Group owner Mir Shakeelur Rehman.
PHILIPPINES: Billionaire Manny Villar to become next media tycoon after taking over ABS-CBN frequencies
Business Inquirer: Villar, the head of a powerful political and business clan, is not seeking any post in the 2022 presidential elections but through a Malacañang-supported move, he would nevertheless gain a new title, that of media tycoon.
SOUTH KOREA: South Korea presidential candidate’s wife threatens to jail critical reporters
France 24: A South Korean opposition party was struggling Monday to contain the fallout after the wife of its presidential candidate threatened to “jail all reporters” who criticised her husband.
SRI LANKA: SLRC to get legal ownership of land
ABU: Sri Lanka’s national television network, SLRC, is to get legal ownership of the land in Colombo on which it is located.
THAILAND: Public needed to curb fake news (Editorial)
The Bangkok Post: Fake news — either in the form of misinformation or disinformation — has contributed to social and political conflicts, and according to a recent report on by researchers under USAID, it has shaped public opinion in some Asian countries.
THAILAND: Stepping into 15 years, Thai PBS aims to fill the gap of inequality. ready by your side connected to the people (Press release – Thai) (17 January)
Thai PBS: Year 2022, Thai PBS continues to create work. Bring knowledge and social values to continue in accordance with the spirit of the organisation, aiming to fill the gap of inequality to increase opportunities for vulnerable groups in society.
REGIONAL: Third edition of Radiodays Asia in September 2022
Radioinfo: Radiodays Asia conference will be back with its third edition in September this year.
AUSTRALIA: Celebrate Lunar New Year 2022 with SBS (Press release)
SBS: All Australians are invited to mark Lunar New Year with a distinctive content line-up across the SBS network.
AUSTRALIA: Federal parliamentary committee probes decline in regional newspapers
ABC: Victorian farmer Lloyd Polkinghorne was recovering from a brain injury when he decided to do something many would consider unthinkable…
AUSTRALIA: Screen Australia, SBS and NITV announce Digital Originals are back for 2022 (Press release)
SBS: The Digital Originals initiative aims to develop exciting and innovative short-form drama projects to premiere as a single episode program on SBS On Demand and NITV, from screen creatives who are currently under-represented in the sector.
AUSTRALIA & TONGA: The radio station bringing worried Tongans together (Watch)
BBC News: A community broadcaster in suburban Brisbane, Australia is bringing information and support to Tongans around the world as they wait for news of their families and homeland.
NEW ZEALAND: What works when tackling misinformation – report (Listen)
RNZ
TONGA: Communication restored in Tonga 5 days after volcanic eruption
PBS: As the massive undersea Hunga Tonga Hunga Ha’apai volcano erupted on Saturday, Tongans from around the world gazed on as their relatives livestreamed images of billowing clouds of ash, gas and steam emerging from beneath the depths.
ALBANIA: Police violence against journalists continues in Albania
Euractiv: Yet another case of Albanian police violence against journalists has been condemned by Reporters Without Borders following an assault at a protest in Tirana on Wednesday 19 January.
AZERBAIJAN: According to the Council of Europe, the new media law violates human rights (Italian)
Balcani e Caucaso: The CoE Commissioner for Human Rights writes to the Azerbaijani president “seriously concerned” that the new law does not respect freedom of expression and the media, urging the authorities to review the reform.
CROATIA: Watchdog Marks Worrying Rise in SLAPP Cases in Croatia (January 14)
Balkan Insight: New study by CASE, the Coalition Against SLAPPs in Europe, lists Croatia among the worst offenders in terms of the number of SLAPPs – lawsuits widely seen as an abuse of the legal system, aimed at silencing media.
CZECH REPUBLIC: Despite election loss, Babiš’s influence over media still matters
IPI: After Czech election result, political influence over the media remains a major problem.
CZECH REPUBLIC: Hungary and Poland Are Omens for the Czech Republic
Visegrad / Insight: Prominent Czech Senator says that the Czech Republic narrowly escaped the fate of Poland’s and Hungary’s media takeover and that more should be done to prevent it from happening in the future.
ESTONIA: The Jupiter website launched the IO page for young people (Estonian – Press release)
ERR: For young people, Jupiter has launched a new page, IO, which brings together entertainment and cultural content in the form of series, films and audio material.
FINLAND: The regional elections attracted the interest of Yle’s channels – more than 2 million viewers reached the television bridge (Finnish – Press release)
Yle: The development of the results of the regional elections was monitored on Sunday 23 January. On the channels of Yle.
FRANCE: Concentration of the media: the leaders of the public audiovisual sector recall their “political and economic independence” (French)
Public Senat: The leaders of public broadcasting, Delphine Ernotte (France Television), Sibyle Veil (Radio France) and Bruno Patino (Arte), were heard on Monday by the commission of inquiry into media concentration.
GERMANY: From flexible to precarious: Why public broadcasters employ so many freelancers (German – Listen)
Deutschlandfunk: Whether they are “Tagesschau” announcers or radio presenters: around 18,000 journalists in public service broadcasting are not permanently employed but work freelance.
GREECE: Greece: Concern over criminal charges against investigative reporters
IPI: The International Press Institute (IPI) was today joined by the undersigned media freedom and freedom of expression organisations in registering their concern over the serious criminal charges levelled against two investigative journalists in Greece linked to their reporting on a major corruption scandal.
IRELAND: RTÉ’s cost savings update won’t be music to everybody’s ears
The Irish Times: Monday marks both a subdued moment for RTÉ’s public service credentials and a quietly significant one for its stop-start cost-cutting efforts. On January 24th, it will offload the National Symphony Orchestra (NSO) to the National Concert Hall (NCH), reducing its annual cost base by about €8 million.
IRELAND: TV licence fee in place for RTÉ ‘utterly broken’, Dee Forbes tells committee
The Journal: The director general of the State broadcaster was appearing before the Committee of Public Accounts this morning.
KOSOVO: Kosovo Public Broadcaster Board Sacks Director for Negligence
The Balkan Insight: Broadcaster board axes Ngadhnjim Kastrati as general director by nine votes to one, citing neglect of ‘irregularities, abuses, lack of work, nepotism … and continued biased reporting.’
MALTA: UĦM takes public broadcaster to task over vaccination policy
Malta Today: UĦM Voice of the Workers is claiming illegality over state broadcaster policy barring unvaccinated personnel from entering PBS premises, unless testing negative for COVID-19.
NETHERLANDS: NVJ argues for legally anchored editorial statute (Dutch)
Spreekbuis: Speakbuis.nl spoke to general secretary Thomas Bruning of the Netherlands Association for Journalists ( NVJ ) about a fresh political wind, the implementation of an editorial statute for public broadcasting, MeToo and the impact of corona.
NORTH MACEDONIA: North Macedonia’s Party Media Milk Budget Money for Ads
Balkan Insight: Unclear rules about state funds for party-political advertising allowed a small group of media to reap big profits during the last local elections.
RUSSIA: Social media platforms must refuse Russia’s demands to censor media, RSF says
RSF: Reporters Without Borders (RSF) calls on Meta (Facebook and Instagram), Google (YouTube), Twitter and Telegram not to comply with the Russian media regulator’s draconian demand for the deletion of accounts held by OVD-Info, a news website that it blocked last month.
SPAIN: A barrier against power (Spanish)
El Adelantado: Macarena Bartolomé, from Segovia, is responsible for TVE’s parliamentary information, a medium that defends its quality and its value as one of the “pillars” of democracy, against political interference.
SWEDEN: This is how Lilla Aktuellt helps children understand what is happening (Press release – Swedish)
SVT: On Monday, Lilla Aktuellt broadcast an attention-grabbing and much-appreciated feature about the situation in Russia / Ukraine and how the conflict affects Sweden.
Deadline: As the BBC dominates the headlines and the future of the licence fee is placed in doubt, another major British public broadcaster Channel 4 looks set to have to wait longer to discover the fate of its own future-defining government decision on privatisation.
UK: Environmental sustainability at forefront of BBC Cymru Wales’s programme making
BBC Media Centre: From January 2022, as part of BBC Cymru Wales’s ambition to be Net Zero by 2030, all TV commissions will complete the Albert Sustainable Production Certification, in a bid to reduce the environmental impact of its productions.
UK: How BBC News topped 20m Instagram followers + why it’s not on TikTok
Press Gazette: BBC News crossed 20m followers on Instagram in December – the first news account in the world to do so.
UK: Local ‘news desert’ increasing risk of US Capitol attack in Britain, says award-winning journalist
Press Gazette: The award-winning journalist who captured the attack on the US Capitol last January has warned an erosion in local journalism has created a “news desert” that is increasing the risk of a similar attack happening in the UK.
UK: Online Safety Bill could impede journalists’ freedom of speech, MPs warn
Press Gazette: The Online Safety Bill fails to protect journalistic freedom of speech as it risks letting tech giants use automated algorithms to accidentally take down reporting, a parliamentary report has warned.
UK: Swap the licence fee for a household fee – and let the BBC buy up Channel 4 (Opinion – paywall)
The Times: Last winter I was in the US. Talking to friends and family, it was clear that knowledge about vaccines was much lower and belief in conspiracy theories much higher than back home.
UKRAINE: The information war over Ukraine
CJR: LATE ON SATURDAY NIGHT, local time, British government officials published a highly unusual press release under an ultra-clickable headline: “Kremlin plan to install pro-Russian leadership in Ukraine exposed.”
UKRAINE & RUSSIA: Reporting on the Russia-Ukraine crisis: The Ukrainian perspective needs more space (German)
Deutschlandfunk: According to Marina Weisband, reporting on the Russia-Ukraine crisis usually focuses on the interests of Russia and NATO. On the other hand, it is relatively quiet around the residents of Ukraine.
REGIONAL: Big SVOD players driving European audiovisual services revenue growth
Digital TV Europe: The top four streaming players accounting for the lion’s share of growth among the top 100 audiovisual players in Europe between 2016-20, according to a new report on media ownership from the European Audiovisual Observatory.
REGIONAL: EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT MAKES PLATFORMS RECOGNIZE MEDIA FREEDOM
EBU: In a decisive plenary vote, MEPs today adopted their position on the Digital Services Act (DSA). Members approved last-minute plenary amendment 513 on media freedom in relation to platforms’ terms and conditions.
REGIONAL: The EBU contributes to the European Commission’s 2022 Annual Rule of Law Report (Position Paper)
EBU: Pressures on press freedom and media autonomy threaten democracy, particularly when applied to public service media. It is a growing menace internationally and affects countries where EBU Members are active.
BRAZIL: Agência Brasil exceeded 250 million visits in 2021 (Portuguese – press release)
Agência Brasil: The audience of the articles published by Agência Brasil had a relevant scope in 2021.
BRAZIL: Folha de S.Paulo journalists sign letter against racism (Portuguese)
Poder360: In the document, professionals express concern about the recurring publication in the newspaper of content they say they consider racist. The letter was delivered to Folha’s editorial board and editorial board.
CUBA: Article 19 warns of the increase in repression against journalists in Cuba (Spanish)
Swissinfo: The covid-19 pandemic and the social protests of the last year have increased the repression of the Cuban State against journalists and activists, especially women, the Mexican NGO Article 19 denounced this Tuesday.
CUBA: The Spanish press agency EFE could leave Cuba “in a few weeks” (Spanish)
VOA News: The Cuban government has withdrawn the press credentials of most of EFE’s journalists and it is feared that the Spanish news agency will soon have to withdraw from the island.
MEXICO: 2022 begins with bloodbath for journalists in Mexico
RSF: Reporters Without Borders (RSF) condemns the murders of two Mexican journalists outside their homes in the space of a week … and urges the authorities to prosecute those responsible and reinforce the mechanisms that protect journalists.
MEXICO: Sentence of the SCJN, an attack against freedom of expression: CIRT (Spanish)
Infobae: The National Chamber of Radio and Television pointed out that it is absurd that the State intends to subject radio and television to bureaucratic controls and sanctions, which break with the flow and rhythm of communication.
MEXICO: Third Mexican journalist killed this year as press corps faces murder crisis
The Guardian: Lourdes Maldonado was shot in Tijuana, a week after another journalist was killed, and a third was fatally stabbed days earlier.
NICARAGUA: Nicaragua recorded the most violent year for the press since 2018
LatAm Journalism Review: Attacks on the media and journalists in Nicaragua during 2021 almost reached 2018 levels, the year in which the resurgence of repressive actions by the government of President Daniel Ortega against communicators and opponents began.
PERU: In Peru, the courts are used ‘like whips’ to silence journalists (Paywall – Spanish)
The New York Times: The author of a book about a businessman and politician has been sentenced to two years in prison, part of a trend in which powerful figures use the courts to punish their critics.
IRAN: Maryam Abasian on the danger of being a queer journalist in Iran
CPJ: Iranian journalist Maryam Abasian, pictured in Istanbul, Turkey in 2021, told CPJ that she was summoned for questioning by Iranian authorities over her sexuality and reporting, prompting her to flee the country last year.
PALESTINE: Rise in online hate speech on Israeli networks targeting Palestinians and Arabs
IFEX: In its latest “Index of Racism and Incitement on Israeli Social Media”, the Arab Center for the Advancement of Social Media (7amleh) found an 8% increase in online hate speech directed at Palestinians and Arabs compared to 2020.
SYRIA: Reporter Kidnapped, Beaten in Northeast Syria
VOA News: Tuesday started like any other day for Jindar Barakat. The reporter, who works part time at a currency exchange, was opening up the store in the northeastern Syrian city of Al-Hasakah. But instead of customers, masked men in military uniform filled the store.
TURKEY: Turkey detains TV journalist for insulting president
ABS-CBN: Turkey has detained a well-known television journalist for comments she made on air about President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, her lawyer said Saturday.
YEMEN: 14 journalists detained in Yemen, 13 of them held hostage by rebel groups
RSF: Reporters Without Borders (RSF) is extremely concerned about the many Yemeni journalists currently detained in different parts of Yemen and calls for their immediate release.
CANADA: Join us on Jan. 26 for our Black Changemakers launch (Event)
CBC News: CBC Quebec invites you to the official virtual launch of our 2022 Black Changemakers series on Wednesday, Jan. 26 at 8 p.m. […] Now in its second year, the Changemakers series highlights individuals whose efforts to make a change are inspiring others across the province.
CANADA: Journalist working to save 136-year-old Ontario community newspaper
News Media Canada: A Canadian journalist who arrived in Canada as a refugee claimant from Pakistan in the early 2000s is looking to restart the local newspaper in the community of Tilbury, Ont., after it was closed in 2020.
Deadline: The AFL-CIO’s Department for Professional Employees is urging Congress to increase federal funding for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting to $565 million in fiscal year 2022 and the National Endowment for the Arts and the National Endowment for the Humanities to $201 million each.
US: As pay transparency becomes law in New York, Colorado pubmedia has been a testing ground (Paywall)
Current: While staffers have called on public media organizations over the last year to adopt pay transparency policies, some states are stepping in and forcing employers to publish salaries in job postings.
US: Biden pledged media reset after Trump – so why so few press conferences?
The Guardian: The president has none of Trump’s hostility to the press but frustration is growing over a lack of engagement with reporters
US: Chicago Public Media is set to acquire The Chicago Sun-Times. (Paywall)
The New York Times: In an unlikely media deal, the big-city tabloid would become a subsidiary of the nonprofit organization that brings listeners “Wait Wait … Don’t Tell Me.”
US: Free press advocates call on Senate GOP to restore media access – Iowa Capital Dispatch
Iowa Capital Dispatch: Free press advocates called Wednesday for Iowa Senate Republicans to reverse their decision to bar journalists from the floor of the chamber.
US: Peacock To Launch Local News Channels From NBC-Owned Stations
Broadcasting & Cable: WMAQ Chicago, WCAU Philadelphia, WBTS Boston and WTVJ Miami have debuted on streaming platform.
US: PBS Announces Long-Term Initiative to Further Support Diverse Voices Across Public Media (Press release)
PBS: At the Television Critics Association Winter Press Tour today, PBS President and CEO Paula Kerger announced a new effort in support of long-term, ongoing and comprehensive initiatives to diversify public media.
US: Public Radio Network Standards & Practices Handbook working group announced : NPR (Press release)
NPR: This week NPR announced the Network Handbook Working Group that brings together journalists from Member stations across the country and NPR to develop a standards and practices handbook – in tandem with NPR’s existing handbook – that focuses on issues of particular concern to stations.
US: Security in covering right-wing rallies is a ‘constant issue,’ say ‘Frontline’ producers (Paywall)
Current: Producing an investigative documentary for Frontline has always required diligent reporting and compelling video, but lately it’s also involved taking security measures to prevent reporters and camera crews from harm.
Attacks on the press: The deadliest countries in 2021
CPJ: At least 27 journalists were killed due to their work in 2021, with India and Mexico topping the list of countries with the most media worker deaths, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists’ final data for the year.
Laboratorio de Periodismo: The Oxford University Research Center has published its annual report on the key issues in the future of journalism. Dealing with the climate crisis is one of the challenges identified as key for 2022.
Edelman trust barometer 2022: Trust in media declines
Press Gazette: A majority of people around the world are concerned that they are being lied to by journalists, according to the latest trust survey from PR firm Edelman.
Free webinar to help journalists report on new COVID-19 developments (Opportunity)
UNESCO: How to report on new COVID-19 variants, vaccine development, medications as well as the variety of sanitary measures? Through a partnership with the Knight Center for Journalism and WHO, UNESCO introduces a new webinar for journalists to support them in professionally addressing such questions.
Politico: From a Big Tech crackdown to the rebirth of local news, 16 future-minded thinkers predict where journalism will be in 15 years.
Netflix faces rocky road after pandemic wins
BBC: The number of Netflix subscribers grew to 222 million last year, but the streaming firm is facing a rocky road ahead as the surge of interest it saw during the pandemic fades.
Podcast: Killing of journalists, a global phenomenon (Listen)
IPI: As many as 46 journalists were killed in 2021 in connection with their work. Of those 46, 28 were murdered in retaliation directly for what they published, 4 were killed while covering conflict, 2 lost their lives reporting on civil unrest, and 1 was killed while on assignment.
Amnesty International: Amnesty International submits this document in response to the call for comments issued by the UN Special Rapporteur on the Right to Freedom of Opinion and Expression to inform her report to the 50th session of the Human Rights Council.
This is what it’s like to be a media company’s first-ever online safety editor
Nieman Lab: Ask any journalist today — especially a woman, person of color, and anyone else from a marginalized community — about how it feels to be a journalist on the internet and the answer will probably be along the lines of exhausting, unpleasant, and scary.
Why the UN’s push for a cybercrime treaty could imperil journalists simply for using the internet
CPJ: Cybercrime is on the global agenda as a United Nations committee appointed to develop a treaty on the topic plans for its first meeting amid pandemic-related delays.
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