Our weekly round-up of public service media related stories and headlines from around the world.

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EAST AFRICA: East African States Adopt China’s Playbook on Internet Censorship

Freedom House: As part of its expansionist foreign policy, China has been pursuing security and economic deals with governments across sub-Saharan Africa.


EAST AFRICA: Media in East Africa Under Threat From Punitive Laws (Opinion)

Via All Africa


KENYA: Attack of media on election coverage in bad taste and against the law (Opinion)

The Standard: Reporting of electoral proceedings is at the core of ensuring transparency of the process and thus, any form of interference is not only in bad taste but also against the law.


KENYA: Kenyans need more than fact-checking tips to resist misinformation

CJR


TANZANIA: Ban On Newspapers Unlawful, Says Shadow Minister

The Citizen: Shadow minister of Information, Arts, Culture and Sports Joseph Mbilinyi has described the government’s decision to ban a daily newspaper, Tanzania Daima, as unlawful and a continuation of threats to and attacks on press freedom.


TANZANIA: Tanzania Daima ban adds to press freedom concerns

AlJazeera: A 90-day ban on a popular Swahili daily in Tanzania – the fourth newspaper to be shut down since June – has prompted concern over press freedom in the East African country.


RWANDA: Jail Term for Insulting Rwandan President

The East African: Rwandan journalists could face seven years in jail or a fine of Rwf7 million ($8,353) under a new media law that has been passed by parliament.


SEYCHELLES: Seychelles Broadcasting Corp to Roll Out Digital TV in December

via All Africa: The Seychelles Broadcasting Corporation (SBC) will roll out the Digital Terrestrial Television (DTT) early December, with an official switchover next year, said a top official.


SOMALIA: ‘Getting Away With Murder’ In Somalia, Where Journalists Are Killed With Impunity

Huffington Post: Dozens of journalists have been slain in Somalia over the past decade, but none of their killers have been brought to justice.


SOUTH AFRICA: African Pay-TV Market Heats Up as Subscriptions Surge

Variety: Competitors look for foothold while South Africa’s MultiChoice still dominates.


SOUTH AFRICA: Our fragile media freedom: Journalism is under attack

TheMediaOnline:


UGANDA: Government Targets Radio Stations in Age Limit Crackdown

Via All Africa


ZIMBABWE: Nearly half of all internet traffic in Zimbabwe goes to WhatsApp

Quartz: WhatsApp, is by far the most popular internet app in Zimbabwe, accounting for up to 44% of all mobile internet usage in the country. WhatsApp’s parent, Facebook took up only 1%. Mobile internet is 98% of all internet use in the country.


GENERAL: The African broadcaster is dead, long live the African broadcaster – changing to meet the mobile and digital futures

Balancing Act: Social Media, the mobile Internet and the proliferation of new DTT channels are all nipping at the heels of African broadcasters in the more competitive markets.

ARMENIA: Armenian Journalists Assaulted for Doing their Jobs

HRW: Lack of Effective Investigations Undermines Media Freedom.


CHINA: Protest after Western media ‘troublemakers’ barred from Xi Jinping speech

The Guardian: BBC, the Financial Times, the New York Times and the Guardian all refused access to unveiling of new politburo.


HONG KONG: Media blocked from Politburo leadership conference

IFJ: The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) strongly criticises the blocking of several Hong Kong-based media outlets to cover the press conference announcing the new leadership of the Communist Party on October 24, 2017.


HONG KONG: Of pirouettes and periodic tables, Hong Kong’s public broadcaster aims to bring scientists out of the lab and into living rooms

South China Morning Post: Six-part series follows renewed interest in promoting learning of science, technology, engineering and maths.


INDIA: Prasar Bharati chief A Surya Prakash bats for digital platform for public broadcaster

Indian Express: Prasar Bharati chairperson A Surya Prakash said he had headed a committee which had given its recommendations for the setting up of a digital platform apart from the conventional Doordarshan TV channels and All India Radio (AIR) stations.


INDIA: Smriti Irani calls for strengthening of regional broadcasting services

Livemint: I&B minister Smriti Irani calls for strengthening of regional broadcasting services by making the audience measurement system representative of local languages


JAPAN: A snap election (and global worries over fake news) spur fact-checking collaborations in Japan

Nieman Lab: When Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe dissolved the parliament and called a national election in late September, Japan’s newest fact-checking initiatives saw an opportunity to test the waters.


JAPAN: Japan’s public broadcaster NHK is trying to transform itself with a crazy idea: Let’s get on the internet.

The Splice Newsroom: It’s time to enter the 21st century by moving beyond television.


JAPAN: Supreme Court hears arguments over legality of NHK fee system

The Asahi Shimbun: For the first time, the Supreme Court on Oct. 25 heard arguments on whether Japan Broadcasting Corp. (NHK) can legally force citizens to pay subscription fees to the public broadcaster.


MALDIVES: Broad powers for proposed media regulator

The Maldives Independent: A new media regulator proposed by government-sponsored legislation currently before parliament can impose hefty fines and temporarily shut down newspapers and TV stations.


MALDIVES: Maldives repeatedly slaps Raajje TV with huge fines under defamation law

CPJ: One of the largest TV stations in the Maldives, Raajje TV, says authorities are using newly recriminalized defamation law to try to shut it down by levying exorbitant fines.


PAKISTAN: Charge sheets filed against Farooq Sattar, Amir Khan, other leaders in sedition cases

Dawn


PAKISTAN: Gang Attacks Pakistani Journalist Critical of Military

The New York Times: A prominent journalist and critic of Pakistan’s military was attacked on Friday by an unidentified group of men in the capital, Islamabad, leaving him gravely wounded.


PAKISTAN: Pakistani journalist attacked in Islamabad; three attacks on media groups in Balochistan

CPJ: The Committee to Protect Journalists today called on Pakistani authorities to swiftly investigate and bring to justice perpetrators of multiple attacks against journalist and news organizations in the country this week.


SOUTH KOREA: Main Opposition Enraged over Public Broadcaster Board Membership

KBS World Radio: The conservative main opposition party is threatening to boycott parliamentary affairs over the state broadcasting authority’s decision to add progressive members to the boards of directors for the nation’s public broadcasters.


SOUTH KOREA: Prosecutors Raid Home and Office of Former MBC Chief

KBS World Radio: Prosecutors on Monday raided the homes and offices of former and incumbent senior officials of broadcaster MBC as part of their probe into allegations the National Intelligence Service sought to dominate public broadcasting during the Lee Myung-bak administration.


SOUTH KOREA: South Korea’s public broadcasters are in an impossible political position

The Conversation: Compared with their counterparts in other democratic countries, South Korea’s national public broadcasters are politically vulnerable.


UZBEKISTAN: A Year into New Presidency, Cautious Hope for Change

HRW: Government Needs to Secure Steps Taken to Support Rights.

AUSTRALIA: Queensland police search ABC Brisbane office over cabinet leak

The Guardian: ABC says warrant relates to documents that informed news stories about budget cuts under Campbell Newman.


AUSTRALIA: SBS-Australia to be part of Reconciliation Film Club

ABU: NITV, SBS and Reconciliation Australia have proudly partnered to launch the Reconciliation Film Club, an online platform that supports organisations in hosting screenings of a curated selection of Indigenous documentaries from Australia’s leading Indigenous filmmakers.


NEW ZEALAND: Labour confirms big picture policy on public media

Stuff.co.nz: Clare Curran says expanding the role of RNZ and creating a new Public Media Funding Commission will be one her priorities following her swearing in as a Cabinet Minister.


NEW ZEALAND: New minister wants funding boost to deliver better public service media from 2018

RNZ: The three parties now in our government went into the election with different ideas for broadcasting and the media. Mediawatch asks the new minister Clare Curran: what’s the plan now?


PAPUA NEW GUINEA: Domestic violence: PNG journalist Rosalyn Albaniel Evara’s death sparks outrage, investigation

ABC News: The death of a senior Papua New Guinea journalist and subsequent allegations that she was a victim of domestic violence has again shone a spotlight on an issue that is rife in the Pacific region.


TONGA: Election workshop for journalists and women candidates

Matangi Tonga: An election reporting workshop for journalists, alongside media presentation training for women candidates in Tonga’s 2017 general election, is being held from October 30 to November 3, in Nuku’alofa.


TONGA: Former TBC boss says Tongans denied pre-election talkback

RNZ: The former head of Tonga’s state broadcaster says the end of a talkback show means people are missing out on opportunities to discuss issues leading up to the 16 November election.


TONGA: Tonga Government Accused of Controlling State Media Ahead of Elections

Global Voices: A shakeup at the Tonga Broadcasting Commission (TBC) prompted speculations that the Tongan government has taken more control over the state-funded media.

ALBANIA: Albanian PM insulted journalists for reporting on drug trafficking involving former minister

EFJ: The European Federation of Journalists joins its affiliate the Association of Professional Journalists of Albania (APJA) as well as the Association of Electronic Media of Albania (AEMA) and the League of Albanian Journalists (LAJ) in expressing profound indignation over the insults and the attacks done by Prime Minister of Albania, Edi Rama to the Albanian media on October 25, 2017.


CZECH REPUBLIC: Czech president threatens journalists with mock Kalashnikov

RSF: Pretending to make a joke, he brandished a dummy Kalashnikov bearing the words “for journalists” at a press conference last week.


CZECH REPUBLIC: Politicians slam suggestion that the public broadcaster should be nationalized

Czech Radio: Czech politicians have sharply rejected the idea that the country’s public broadcasters –Czech Radio and Czech Television – should be nationalized.


FINLAND: Reacting to accusations about migration reporting (Video)

Journalism Research News


FRANCE: France leads Europe for multilingual content

Digital TV Europe: France is “the king of multilingual content”, according to new research that shines a light on the ‘linguistic diversity’ of the European TV market.


FRANCE: Françoise Nyssen sets the axes of the public broadcasting reform (French)

LaCroix: Heard Wednesday, October 25, 2017 at the Luxembourg Palace on the basis of a recent Senate report, the Minister of Culture has advocated for a structural reform of public broadcasting on the basis of “three levers”  : the scope of missions, the financing and governance.


GEORGIA: EBU supports GPB’s proposed amends to broadcasting law

EBU: An EBU team has met with the Georgian Parliamentary Committee on Legal Issues to discuss the Georgian Public Broadcaster’s (GPB) proposed amendments to the Broadcasting Law.


GEORGIA: Ivanishvili’s son to ‘award equipment’ to Public Broadcaster

OC MEDIA: The son of former Georgian prime minister billionaire Bidzina Ivanishvili, has said he will gift equipment for a TV studio to the Georgian Public Broadcaster (GPB).


GREECE: Greek journalists on strike over social security

EFJ: The Athens Journalists’ Union (ESIEA) called on a 48-hour strike in all Greek media on Tuesday 24 and Wednesday 25 October to protest against the impact of cutbacks on the health care and social security organisation (EDOEAP) as well as recent job cuts across the sector.


ITALY: Italy’s RAI plans English-language channel

Advanced Television: Italy’s RAI is planning to launch its first English-language TV channel in 2018.


ITALY: Italy’s RAI Invests in DAB+ Radio

Radio World: Will also continue its investments with its traditional FM stations


HUNGARY: Inside Europe: Concern over press freedom in Hungary (Listen)

Deutsche Welle: Elections in Hungary are not scheduled until April 2018, but there’s concern that the government of Prime Minister Viktor Orban is clamping down on critical journalists.


MACEDONIA: EBU Threatens Macedonian Broadcaster Over Debt; Eurovision At Risk

RFERL: Macedonia’s national broadcaster, MRT, faces serious sanctions, including losing the right to broadcast and participate in the 2018 Eurovision Song Contest, due to mounting debts.


MONTENEGRO: Pressures on Montenegrin Public Broadcasting Service

SEENPM: Public Broadcasting Service of Montenegro (RTCG) has recently faced pressures imposed on its Council, whose several members have been identified by the Agency for Prevention of Corruption as being in the conflict of interests.


NETHERLANDS: Dutch public and commercial broadcasters unite to promote diversity

Dutch News: State broadcaster NPO plus commercial companies RTL and Vice have joined forces to fight the discrimination and stereotyping of women who work in the media.


RUSSIA: Opening Up Data in Russia’s Closed System

GIJN: Anastasia Valeeva, a Russian-born investigative journalist who specializes in open data, has been exploring the state of data journalism in her home country.


SERBIA: European Commission: Media in Serbia under constant pressure from the authorities

SEENPM: In its report for European Commission, the expert mission for the protection of journalists in the Criminal Code (TAIEX), states that the Serbian media is under constant pressure from the authorities.


SLOVAKIA: How Fake News Helped Slovak Extremists Become Reality

Coda Story: Websites pushing an anti-Western, pro-Kremlin agenda have put Slovakia’s far right on the cusp of national power


SPAIN: Catalan public media accuse the government of wanting to “hijack” press freedom through the 155 (Spanish)

infoLibre: The workers and the management of Televisión de Catalunya (TVC), Catalunya Ràdio and the Catalan News Agency (ACN) have published a joint manifesto in which they oppose the intervention of Catalan public media by the State Government to the who accuse of wanting to “hijack” freedom of the press.


SPAIN: RTVE raises bet on transmedia, interactive platform

Rapid TV News: Released in September only for a special showing, RTVE’s Playz will be now officially launched with a lineup full of digital, interactive and transmedia formats, live programming and eSports.


UK: BBC apologises over interview with climate denier Lord Lawson

The Guardian: Lawson’s claim that global temperatures are not rising went unchallenged, breaching guidelines on accuracy and impartiality


UK: BBC fears for quality drama in face of Amazon and Netflix

The Telegraph: The BBC could find it increasingly difficult to produce quality drama because of competition from new digital outlets such as Netflix and Amazon, senior TV executives have warned.


UK: Channel 4 move from London could create 7,500 jobs, report says

The Guardian: Government study says relocation could bring almost £600m in economic benefits to the region where broadcaster is moved.


GENERAL: How Europe fights fake news

CJR: Unlike the US, where we rely on corporate efforts to tackle the problems of fake news and disinformation online, the European Commission and some national governments are wading into the murky waters of free speech, working to come up with viable ways to stop election-meddling and the violence that has resulted from false news reports.


GENERAL: Whistleblowers: looking for European protection

Osservatorio Balcani e Caucaso: The second of a series of three thematic itineraries to explore the Resource Centre on Media Freedom through a curated aggregation of contents


GENERAL: #NoImpunity: Crimes against journalists go unresolved

Index on Censorship: Index on Censorship and Reporters Without Borders have highlighted prominent cases of impunity.

ECUADOR: Irregularities detected across all public media (Spanish)

El Comercio: In the Comptroller report, which analyzes the management of TC between 2008 and 2014, the auditors established payments in excess of remunerations to managers and workers for USD 706 439. The administrations of El Telégrafo, TC Televisión and Radio y Televisión Públicas del Ecuador (RTV) were also observed by various irregularities by the Comptroller.


ECUADOR: Politicians stir public media debate (Spanish)

El Comercio: The assembly members reacted to the news of the millionaire losses recorded in public media organisations.


GUATEMALA: Corruption, killings and impunity: A message for Guatemalan authorities

IFEX: Ongoing journalist killings, impunity, and an attempt to silence the head of the International Commission against Impunity in Guatemala raise serious concern among regional freedom of expression organisations.


HAITI: Haitian Journalists Reject Request to Share Anti-Government Protest Videos

Voice of America: Two prominent Haitian journalism organizations have rejected a request to share video recorded during anti-government protests with authorities.


MEXICO: Canal 22 and other public media to form an alliance in the face of emergency (Spanish)

El Universal: Director Pedro Cota says that it should be discussed whether the function of this cultural channel is to report what is happening in the day to day.


PARAGUAY: CPJ calls on Paraguay to reject social media regulations

CPJ: The Committee to Protect Journalists, along with more than 20 international and local rights organizations sent a letter to Paraguayan lawmakers on October 25, calling on them to reject a proposed law regulating anonymous online posts during elections.


GENERAL: Colombian, Mexican and Salvadoran journalists and media outlets among nominees for RSF-TV5 Press Freedom Prize

Knight Center for Journalism in the Americas: Journalist advocacy organization Reporters Without Borders (RSF for its acronym in French) and TV5-Monde honored journalists and media outlets from Colombia, Mexico and El Salvador as nominees for their 2017 Press Freedom Prize.

IRAN: UN Rights Officials Call On Iran To Stop Intimidating BBC Journalists

RFERL: Two United Nations human rights specialists have called on Iran to stop intimidating BBC journalists after the British broadcaster complained to the UN about Tehran launching a criminal investigation of its Persian staff.


PALESTINE: Surveillance of Palestinians and the fight for digital rights

via Ifex: Surveillance of Palestinians has always been part of Israel’s colonial project, but new technologies have made this surveillance even more intrusive and widespread.


TURKEY: Court supports Turkish journalists’ association right to reply to criticism

ECPMF: The European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) on 24th October backed the domestic Turkish court for ordering a newspaper in Sinop to publish a reaction from the local journalists’ association.

CANADA: Canada strengthens the protection of journalists’ sources

IFJ: The International Federation of Journalists welcomes new Canadian law protecting confidential sources of journalists that was approved on 18 October.


CANADA: Canadian film, TV leaders to meet about industry’s ‘prevalent’ sexual harassment

CTV News: Canadian film and TV leaders are acknowledging that sexual harassment has also been a “prevalent” part of the entertainment industry north of the border and have planned a meeting to discuss how to tackle it.


CANADA: Change, disruptive innovation, trust, and public broadcasting in the digital world

CBC/Radio-Canada: Hubert T. Lacroix, President and CEO of CBC/Radio-Canada, was speaking to students at the UBC Graduate School of Journalism about the digital transformation of the national public broadcaster…


US: KRCB tests cross-platform approach to cover California wildfires

Current: KRCB’s radio and television studios are housed in a ramshackle building in Rohnert Park, Calif. We’re just south of the city of Santa Rosa, where several neighborhoods were flattened by the fires this month.


US: Native American journalists break free of mainstream media

RFI: Is a new era for Native American media in the United States opening up? Three Native American journalists talk about challenging stereotypes and bringing a nuanced voice to indigenous issues. They belong to a generation that believes in making things happen, despite all the odds, and not waiting for mainstream media to catch on.


US: NYT CEO: Digital media alone won’t address public’s need for quality news

Current: Public broadcasting will become more, not less, important to audiences over the next decade. Yet political support for public service broadcasting is weaker today than at any time in its history.


US: PBS head: Public Broadcasting provides vital access to information, entertainment

Rapid City Journal: Fifty years after President Lyndon Johnson signed the public television act, and in the wake of calls earlier this year by President Donald Trump to cut its federal funding, public television remains a vital source of education and entertainment for many communities across the nation.

Advice from 24 news organisations to help you tailor your story pitches

Journalism.co.uk: Want to pitch a story or a project to a particular news outlet and not sure where to start? Check out these resources that explain what editors are looking for.


‘Downright Orwellian’: journalists decry Facebook experiment’s impact on democracy

The Guardian: Media professionals in countries such as Guatemala and Slovakia fear for effect Facebook’s news feed changes will have on their already fragile politics.


Fake news hurts trust in media, mainstream outlets fare better: poll

Reuters: Controversies over fake news have damaged trust in media in the United States and elsewhere, but the impact is far worse for social media and online-only outlets than it is for traditional print and TV outlets, a survey has found.


Nothing new about fake news (Opinion)

Open Democracy: Media diversity must mean more than more of the same. The media sphere needs to be a public space where debates occur among and between many different groups and classes.


NYT CEO: Digital media alone won’t address public’s need for quality news

Current: Public broadcasting will become more, not less, important to audiences over the next decade. Yet political support for public service broadcasting is weaker today than at any time in its history.


Open internet principles for democracy: putting media freedom front and center

CIMA


Targeting journalists in the name of national security

Index


The Guardian Mobile Lab’s latest experiment targets public transit commuters with an offline news app

Nieman Lab: “The app is a really good first step for gathering information, using it in a respectful way, and seeing how people feel about that.”


This tool helps you tell stories in your data

Poynter: Are you making charts and graphs for your audience? This week’s tool will help you add context to the data.


This Week’s Top Ten in Data Journalism

GIJN:


What do ordinary people think fake news is? Poor journalism and political propaganda.

CJR


YouTube living room viewing up 70%

Digital TV Europe: Viewers now watch more than 100 million hours of YouTube in the living room every day, up 70% compared to last year, according to Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai.

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