Our weekly round-up of public service media related stories and headlines from around the world.
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EGYPT: Egypt’s court media ban limits public access to trials
Al-Monitor: Egypt’s Supreme Judicial Council (SJC) decision No. 1308 published on Aug. 14 to ban media coverage of all trials via audiovisual devices has stirred much controversy in human rights, media and judicial circles.
KENYA: Media handling of Kenya’s election protests calls for some soul-searching (Opinion)
News24: The management of the public’s craving for negative stories is one of the longest standing dilemmas of journalism ethics. Bad news commands more attention than good news and so, as the old creed goes, “If it bleeds, it leads”.
LIBERIA: Journalism Not a Crime – Please Repeal Criminal Defamation Laws (Opinion)
Via All Africa: There seems to be a general apprehension among public officials about enabling the environment for the press to operate freely in most African countries, so much so that they are prepared to treat journalists as criminals.
NIGERIA: Hate Speech: FG directs NBC to Sanction Erring Stations
Vanguard: The Federal Government on Thursday directed the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC) to sanction any radio or television station that broadcasts hate speech.
NIGERIA: Stop Military from Monitoring Nigerians on Social Media, SERAP Tells Buhari
This Day: The Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP), a civil society organisation, has asked President Muhammadu Buhari to instruct the military to immediately end any monitoring of Nigerians on the social media.
SOUTH AFRICA: SABC improves website for fast and secure payment services
Business Report: The South African Broadcasting Corporation’s (SABC) TV Licences division on Tuesday said it will continue to manage and support the division’s ever popular, fast and secure online payment service through its website.
SOUTH AFRICA: SIU to Investigate SABC
Via All Africa: President Jacob Zuma has authorised the Special Investigating Unit (SIU) to investigate certain matters in respect of procurement at the South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC).
SOUTH AFRICA: Zuma finally signs SIU proclamation for probe into SABC
News 24: President Jacob Zuma has finally signed a proclamation that will allow the Special Investigating Unit (SIU) to investigate the “questionable contracts” at the SABC.
SUDAN: ‘Increase in free speech violations by Sudan’s NISS’
Dabanga: International media freedom watchdog RSF has voiced concern about an increase in free speech violations by Sudan’s National Intelligence and Security Service since May, including seizures of newspaper issues, arbitrary arrests, interrogations and prosecutions.
UGANDA: Police officers stone journalists covering story on fire
Via IFEX: Police Officers at Katwe Police Station have today, 24 August 2017, stoned five journalists who were covering staff quarters that had caught fire at the police station.
GENERAL: African, Chinese journalists pledge to deepen cooperation
Graphic Online: Journalists from 11 African countries have participated in the China-Africa Media Forum to brainstorm how to deepen cooperation in the field of communications.
GENERAL: July in Africa: Broken Hearts and Stifled Words
GIJN: July was a particularly ominous month for free expression on the continent. In Southern Africa, the trend was reflected in legislation as much as it was in attacks on journalists.
GENERAL: Internet Shutdowns Stifling Press Freedom
IPS
AFGHANISTAN: Media freedom, access to information debated at UN-backed event in Kandahar
Relief Web: Participants at a UN-backed forum underscored the importance of media freedom and access to information as essential tools that can help foster peace and uphold human rights in Afghanistan’s southern region.
ARMENIA: Switching Off Media’s Diversity In Armenia
OBC Transeuropa: By restricting licenses for digital broadcasting, the Armenian government has ended up constraining media pluralism in the country.
AZERBAIJAN: Azerbaijan’s Turan News Agency Says Director Has Been Detained By Authorities
Radio Free Europe: Azerbaijan’s independent Turan News Agency says its director has been detained by authorities as a suspect in a tax-evasion and abuse-of-power investigation.
AZERBAIJAN: Charges against Journalist, News Agency Silence Independent Media
Freedom House
CAMBODIA: Cambodian government cracks down on independent media outlets
RSF: The Cambodia Daily, an independent English-language newspaper known for criticizing Cambodia’s government, is facing imminent closure, while many independent radio stations have already been closed. This clampdown on independent media outlets has come as Cambodia prepares to hold elections next year.
CAMBODIA: Outcry at Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen’s Bid to Shut Down Independent Media
Time: Journalists and human rights advocates have slammed the Cambodian government’s threats to close renowned local paper The Cambodia Daily and two U.S. funded independent radio stations as a barely veiled attempt to muzzle dissent in the run up to next year’s national elections.
CHINA: China web users debate new rules on online identity
BBC News: Chinese social media users have been debating new rules requiring internet platforms to verify a user’s true identity before letting them post online content.
CHINA: RSF condemns harassment of foreign media in China
RSF: Reporters Without Borders condemns the detainments of journalists working for the Toronto-based Globe and Mail newspaper and Voice of America radio in separate incidents in the past two weeks. They are just the latest examples of harassment of foreign media in China.
HONG KONG: Freedom of expression NGO ‘deeply troubled’ by RTHK’s cancellation of BBC World Service relay
Hong Kong Free Press: Freedom of expression NGO PEN Hong Kong has expressed its support for a petition urging public broadcaster RTHK not to cancel its 24-hour BBC World Service relay.
HONG KONG: Journalism watchdogs lambaste Macau for denying entry to Hong Kong journalists reporting on typhoon
Hong Kong Free Press: Multiple journalism watchdogs have spoken out after four Hong Kong journalists were banned from entering Macau to report on the destruction and clean-up efforts following Typhoon Hato last week.
INDIA: I&B minister condemns attack on media
PTI: Information and Broadcasting Minister Smriti Irani tonight condemned the attack on media during violence in Panchkula but at the same time advised news channels to refrain from “causing panic, distress and undue fear”.
INDIA: Indian Supreme Court in landmark ruling on privacy
BBC News: India’s Supreme Court has ruled that citizens have a fundamental right to privacy, in a landmark judgement.
KYRGYZSTAN: Law protecting President’s “honour and dignity” should be abolished
Article19: Article 19 reviews the Law On Guarantees for Activity of the President of the Kyrgyz Republic (the Law) for its compliance with international human rights standards, in particular related to the right to freedom of expression.
MALAYSIA: A worrying year for freedom of expression
Article 19: In the first half of 2017, the rights to freedom of opinion, expression and information both on- and offline continued to be curtailed in Malaysia.
PAKISTAN: Pemra issues advice to channels over misreporting court orders
The News
PHILIPPINES: Duterte’s war on drugs and those reporting it
Aljazeera: What’s behind the Philippine president’s war on the media and NGOs?
SOUTH KOREA: General strikes look set to commence from Sept. 4 at KBS, MBC
The Hankyoreh: Reporters have accused top management of undercutting journalistic fairness and credibility.
THAILAND: BBC correspondent Jonathan Head has criminal defamation suit dropped in Thailand
The Guardian: Lawyer drops charges against Head, the broadcaster’s south-east Asia reporter, but another Briton still faces prosecution.
UZBEKISTAN: Uzbekistan Puts a Stop to Live Broadcasts After On-Air Bust-Up
Eurassianet: Politically themed live broadcasts have been cancelled in Uzbekistan following [an] on-air confrontation between Prime Minister Abdulla Aripov and the head of the international press club.
AUSTRALIA: CBS agrees to buy embattled Australian customer Ten Network
Reuters: CBS Corp (CBS.N), the United States’ most-watched television network, on Monday said it plans to buy its biggest customer in Australia, Ten Network Holdings Ltd (TEN.AX), and launch its streaming service in the country.
AUSTRALIA: Reform needed to give Australian media fighting chance against Netflix and Facebook, says Govt
ABC: Until America’s number one TV network CBS swooped in to buy the troubled Ten Network yesterday, it was believed Lachlan Murdoch and Bruce Gordon were the frontrunners to claim it, but both men had been thwarted by existing media rules.
AUSTRALIA: SBS refutes claims of anti-Indian propaganda
SBS: SBS is aware there is currently an online petition accusing SBS of being anti-Indian and of publishing anti-Indian propaganda, citing the recent publication of a map of India and the way Kashmir is depicted.
AUSTRALIA: Six VR projects to share $120k funding under ABC/ Create NSW initiative
MediaWeek: Create NSW and the ABC have announced the latest projects set for production under the 360 Vision VR Development initiative, with six new immersive virtual reality (VR) projects sharing the $120,000 fund and a further three projects chosen to receive separate funding from Create NSW.
FIJI: FBC sues Fiji Labour Party
RNZ: Fiji’s public broadcaster and its chief executive Riyaz Sayed-Khaiyum are taking libel action against the Fiji Labour Party over a posting on social media.
FIJI: Rabuka: Media Decree will go
The Fiji Times: The Social Democratic Liberal Party has pledged to make sweeping changes to legislation and government policy towards the media industry if it is voted into government.
NEW ZEALAND: Multimedia spotlight on the fog of war
RNZ: Fairfax Media’s investigative series The Valley is New Zealand’s most ambitious multimedia journalism project yet. It combines TV documentary, interactive content and virtual reality – and for the first time all this was funded from the public purse. What did it reveal?
VANUATU: Vanuatu Govt acts to save ‘dysfunctional’ state broadcaster
RNZ: The Vanuatu government has appointed a new board and a task force to urgently reform the state broadcaster, the Vanuatu Broadcasting and Television Corporation.
BELARUS: Five Belsat TV reporters on trial
RSF: All are correspondents for Belsat TV, a Belarusian satellite TV channel that was forced to base itself in neighbouring Poland, and all are charged under article 22.9 of the Code of Administrative Offences with “illegal production and/or distribution of media content.”
BOSNIA & HERZEGOVINA: Bosnia Ombudsman Report Highlights Worrying Media Trends
Balkan Insight: New ‘special report’ singles out attacks on employment rights, physical assaults and threats and the number of libel cases as special causes for concern in Bosnia’s media.
CZECH REPUBLIC: Czech DVB-T2 transition continues
Broadband TV News: A second transitional DVB-T2 multiplex has been launched in the Czech Republic.
ESTONIA: Estonia ranks highest in Europe in cyber security
Estonian World: Estonia ranks highest in Europe and fifth in the world in cybersecurity, according to the 2017 cybersecurity index, compiled by the International Telecommunication Union.
GERMANY: ARD plans SD switch-off on satellite
Broadband TV News: German public broadcaster ARD wants to terminate the DTH satellite transmission of its TV channels in standard definition (SD) on Astra (19.2° East).
HUNGARY: The state of Hungarian media: Endgame
LSE: Media Policy Project: Hungary has been experiencing significant constitutional and institutional changes in the last seven years as Viktor Orban and his ruling party Fidesz cemented their political power by capturing the constitutional court and other key institutions.
IRELAND: RTÉ appoints Adrian Lynch and Frances Abeton to executive board
The Irish Times: New roles filled by television controller and former Firecrest vice-president.
NETHERLANDS: Dutch pubcaster starts pre-roll ads for connected TVs
Telecompaper: The Dutch public broadcaster has started selling pre-roll ads for its connected TV service, NPO Start.
POLAND: “The most dangerous are the threats from politicians” – press freedom in Poland
ECPMF: The ECPMF is investigating reports of hate speech and disrespect towards journalists at broadcaster Polish Television TVP. The TV network has been the subject of intense discussions about its political agenda since the conservative Law and Justice (PiS) party came to power in 2015.
SWEDEN: Sweden’s government wants newspapers to pay less tax in an effort to combat fake news
The Local: A new proposal from the Swedish government would bring an end to the tax print publications pay on advertising revenue in what is being pitched as an effort to fight fake news.
SWITZERLAND: Digital radio reception reaches nearly 60 percent
OFCOM (CH): Thanks to the influence of DAB+, fifty-seven percent of radio broadcasts are now consumed in digital form. At the end of June 2017, 3.25 million DAB+ devices were in circulation.
UK: The Guardian launches a nonprofit to fund its journalism
Digiday: The Guardian is pushing harder into philanthropy as it — like other news publishers — struggles to find a profitable model for news online.
UK: Mapping Online News Discovery for Computer Users in the UK
RISJ: This report explores how online news content was discovered (and consumed) by computer users in the UK between mid-March and mid-April 2017.
UK: UK TV industry risks losing £1bn a year to Amazon, YouTube and Facebook
The Guardian: Traditional broadcasters such as the BBC, ITV and Sky could follow other industries in losing out to digital ‘middlemen’, says report.
UKRAINE: Pressure mounts on Ukraine’s critical press (Feature)
CPJ: Ukraine cracks down on critics and media outlets considered anti-patriotic in their reporting.
GENERAL: Arrest of media professionals quadruples in first quarter 2017
ECPMF: As shown by reports submitted to Index on Censorship’s Mapping Media Freedom platform in the first quarter of 2017, media professionals were arrested at an alarming rate, with more than a fourfold increase over the fourth quarter of 2016.
CARIBBEAN: CBU Caribbean Broadcasting Awards
CBU: The President of the Caribbean Broadcasting Union (CBU) Mr. Gary Allen yesterday (24 Aug) congratulated the winners of the 2016 Caribbean Broadcasting Awards.
CARIBBEAN: CBU Demands Clear Policy For Regional Broadcasters
The Gleaner: Leading regional electronic media houses are taking a strong position on the need for clear policy and regulatory approaches to ensuring the financial viability of the indigenous broadcast sector.
CARIBBEAN: Sharpen Focus On Threats To Press Freedom, Says Allen
The Gleaner: New president of the Caribbean Broadcasting Union (CBU), Gary Allen, has urged regional media to sharpen their focus on press freedom while underscoring the value of the existing indigenous broadcasters to the region’s continuing development.
CUBA: Cuba’s Internet paradox: How controlled and censored Internet risks Cuba’s achievements in education
Amnesty International
EL SALVADOR: Two Salvadoran news websites threatened for their reporting
CPJ: Beginning on August 22, El Faro and Revista Factum, two digital news outlets specializing in investigative journalism, began receiving direct threats on social media networks including Twitter and Facebook, according to news reports.
MEXICO: First half of 2017: 1.5 daily attacks on journalists in Mexico (Spanish)
Article 19: In Mexico a journalist is assaulted every 15.7 hours. During the first semester of 2017 1.5 daily attacks were recorded and a total of 276 were documented, including 6 journalists killed and 1 more missing. These figures represent an increase of 23% compared to those recorded during the first half of 2016 (218).
TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO: TTT to be revived
Daily Express (Trinidad & Tobago): The Government has decided to shut down State-owned Caribbean New Media Group (CNMG) and revive the Trinidad and Tobago Television (TTT) station.
VENEZUELA: Freedom of the press under fire in Venezuela
Rapid TV News: Following the switch-off of Caracol and RCN last week, Venezuela has now closed down two more radio stations, continuing its crusade against press freedom, according to the country’s union of journalists.
VENEZUELA: Venezuela Eyes Censoring Social Media After Public Shaming Wave
Bloomberg: Venezuela is considering banning messages that promote “hate” and “intolerance” on social media and messenger services, according to Delcy Rodriguez, the president of the country’s all-powerful constituent assembly.
GENERAL: International standards for freedom of expression: A basic guide for legal professionals in Latin America (Publication)
CIMA: The rise of violent attacks on journalists and government harassment of reporters underscores the fragility of press freedoms in Latin America.
IRAN: Protest over union rights block
IFJ: The board of the Association of Tehran Journalists has resigned en-masse in protest at the ongoing refusal of the authorities of allow their registration.
IRAQ: Shifting security situation for journalists in Iraq
Via IFEX: Threats to journalists in Iraq have changed after government forces regained control over the city of Mosul and significantly reduced the territory controlled by the militant group Islamic State.
PALESTINE: Gaza radio station gives a voice to refugees, women
Al-Monitor: On the air since the first week of August, Hawwa radio station in Nuseirat refugee camp in the Gaza Strip aims to become the voice of Palestinian refugees, and women in particular. It is the product of years of preparation, efforts to find funds and volunteer work.
TURKEY: Istanbul: nine more journalists arrested
ECPMF: In recent days Istanbul’s public prosecutor has issued new arrest warrants. Among these are eleven journalists, only two of which have been released on bail. As they are considered to be supporters of Gülen, they risk penalties up to life imprisonment.
CANADA: Atlantic Canada’s Indigenous news site celebrates 2 years online
CBC News: ‘As long as I can pay the bills, I’m going to keep doing this,’ says Kukukwes.com editor Maureen Googoo.
CANADA: CBC/Radio-Canada’s first 2017-2018 quarterly report now available online
CBC/Radio-Canada
US: Groups to deliver petitions to Congress supporting CPB funding
Current: Petitions with more than 660,000 signatures to save CPB funding will be presented to Congress Tuesday morning after a rally for parents and kids near the Capitol.
US: “Incitement, plain and simple”: attacks on media transcend Trump’s rhetoric
RSF
US: NPR taps Chapin to lead rollout of journalism network
Current: NPR took concrete steps Tuesday to begin building a collaborative journalism network by reassigning key newsroom staff to lead the effort.
US: OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media urges US administration to refrain from attacking media
OSCE: United States (US) President Donald Trump’s recent remarks on media are cause for deep concern, the OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media Harlem Désir stated in a letter to Secretary of State H.E. Rex W. Tillerson.
Call for Papers: NORDICOM Review Special Issue
Nordicom: Making sense of small and big data as onlife traces.
The evolving conversation around fake news and potential solutions
LSE: Media Policy Project
How a Vox reporter uses social audiences to inspire his latest video series
Journalism.co.uk: Video reporter Johnny Harris gives us an insight into the production of Borders, the upcoming international documentary series from Vox.
International Day of the Victims of Enforced Disappearances: States that make journalists disappear
RSF: On August 30, the eve of International Day of the Victims of Enforced Disappearances, Reporters Without Borders (RSF) reveals that a growing number of states are finding new ways to make troublesome journalists disappear.
Meet the digital librarians saving social media posts to protect human rights
ABC News: When 18-year-old African-American Michael Brown was shot six times by police in Ferguson, Missouri, Ed Summers and his colleagues quickly began collecting tweets.
Photojournalists experiment with ‘live’ journalism
IJNET: Instead of counting on readers to stay glued to articles while using devices that are overloaded with information and choice, media organizations around the world are experimenting with different ways of delivering their content.
Project Shield offers free protection for independent news sites
IJNET: If you’re a small, independent news publisher, the idea that the biggest internet company in the world is ready to step in and protect you from Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attacks – for free – may seem like an impossible dream.
Want more audience engagement in video form? This startup is betting there’s a business in there
Nieman Lab: “We want to help newsrooms pull content in, which is exactly the opposite of what newsrooms have been doing: pushing content out.”
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