Our weekly round-up of public service media related stories and headlines from around the world.
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What we're listening to...
Media bosses demand government protect journalists, whistleblowers
ABC: Major media organisations have banded together today to up the pressure on the Government to change specific laws that they say threaten freedom of the media and the right for Australians to know.
What we're watching...
Cameroon atrocity: What happened after Africa Eye found who killed this woman
BBC News: In July 2018, BBC Africa Eye investigated a viral video showing a group of women and children being blindfolded and shot in an unknown location.
But what happened after the story was published?
Global stories
CAMEROON & SWITZERLAND: Swiss complain to Cameroon over ‘unacceptable’ journalist attack
SwissInfo: Switzerland has complained to Cameroon following a reported attack on a Swiss public television journalist in Geneva, outside a hotel where the Cameroon president, Paul Biya, is staying.
EGYPT: Censorship and dawn raids in Egypt as authorities tighten net
Middle East Monitor: Leading Egyptian intellectual Fahmi Howaidi has told Rai Al-Youm that he has been forbidden from writing amid tight censorship of the press in Egypt.
ETHIOPIA: Ethiopian Media Council gets formal recognition
The Reporter: The Ethiopian Media Council has been formally recognized as an independent civil society organization (CSO) under the newly-amended proclamation that governs CSOs.
NIGERIA: Nigeria’s Wavering Commitment to Freedom of Expression
HRW: Nigerian authorities appear to be on a renewed drive to muzzle free speech.
SOMALIA: IFJ condemns closure of two private TV stations (Update)
IFJ: On June 30, the local government of Somaliland has allowed Eryal TV and Horyaal TV to resume their operations.
SOUTH AFRICA: Sanef launches inquiry into media ethics
News 24: The South African National Editors’ Forum (Sanef) confirmed the launch on Monday of an Inquiry into Media Ethics, with a panel of commissioners headed by retired judge Kathleen Satchwell.
SUDAN: Liquid spearheads South Sudan’s first fibre network
ITWeb Africa via Broadcast Media Africa: Pan-African telecoms group Liquid Telecom will implement and operate South Sudan’s first fibre broadband network, connecting the country to the ‘One Africa’ broadband network, which is approaching 70,000km across 13 African countries and to the rest of the world.
TANZANIA: A controversial bill awaits the Tanzanian president’s signature
Deutsche Welle: Tanzania has steamrolled draft amended laws through parliament despite grave warnings at home and abroad that they will further curtail the rights of citizens of the East African country.
TUNISIA: Upcoming elections could make or break Tunisia’s fledgling free press (Blog)
CPJ: Tunisia has secured greater press freedom than many of the Arab Spring countries, but local journalists told CPJ that with elections slated for this year, challenges including funding, transparency, and government pressure remain.
Broadcast Media Africa: At the recently concluded Industry Forum on Content Management for Digital Broadcast Media on the 25th and 26th of June 2019 in Swakopmund, Namibia, it was reiterated that in a digital ecosystem, the manner in which content is created and delivered has the power to make or break Africa’s broadcasters because consumers and audiences have begun to demand quality content that speaks to them and would be sure to switch if their expectations are not met.
AFGHANISTAN: Deathly day for Shamshad TV with one dead and seven injured
IFJ: A media security guard has been shot and killed, while another seven media workers have been injured from a car bomb blast near private broadcaster Shamshad TV in Kabul.
BANGLADESH: Govt can intervene in social media content from September
Dhaka Tribune: Such controls to take heavy toll on freedom of expression, fear rights activists.
CHINA: China’s Long, Hot Summer of Censorship (Blog)
Freedom House: June has been a terrible month for internet freedom in China. July may be even worse.
HONG KONG: Hong Kong protest: China says violent demonstrations ‘totally intolerable’
The Guardian: Beijing’s liaison office says storming of parliament is ‘an extreme challenge’ to the rule of law.
INDIA: Govt suppressing media: Congress in Lok Sabha
The Times of India: Leader of the Congress accused government of ussing “suppressive” against the media.
INDIA: Indian journalist G. Muthuvel attacked, threatened after reporting on police officer
CPJ: On June 19, in the offices of Polimer News in Thoothukudi, in southern India, three men attacked Muthuvel, a reporter with the privately owned broadcaster, kicking and punching him and hitting him with a machete and iron rods, according to news reports and the journalist, who spoke with CPJ via phone.
INDIA: Kashmiri editor arrested for 27-year-old terrorism case
IFJ: A Kashmiri editor was arrested in a late night raid on his home in Srinagar on June 24. The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) and its affiliate Indian Journalists Union (IJU) strongly criticise the circumstances of the raid and the misuse of law as yet another attempt to muzzle the freedom of press in Kashmir.
INDONESIA: Banning Social Media is Not the Answer to Indonesia’s Fake News Crisis
The Wire: Last month, the Indonesian government temporarily blocked access to social media for three days following violent post-election protests in the capital. The government claimed the move aimed to stop the spread of disinformation that could worsen the violence.
JAPAN: UN report raise concerns about free media in Japan
NHK: A UN expert on freedom of expression has submitted a report expressing concerns about media independence in Japan.
MALAYSIA: Media Freedom: Is Malaysia Ready For A More Open Society? – Analysis (Opinion)
Eurasia Review: One of the Pakatan Harapan’s (PH) reform agenda includes greater freedom of speech and the media. To what extent does the current situation on the ground reflect this?
MYANMAR: Lift internet suspension, uphold free expression, say rights groups
SEAPA: Digital rights activists and organizations, in a joint statement, seek the immediate lifting of all restrictions to internet access in nine townships of Rakhine and Chin states in Myanmar.
MYANMAR: Three journalists sued for reporting farmer protest
IFJ: Myanmar’s military has launched legal action against three local journalists following their reporting of a farmer protest in the Kayah State capital, Loikaw.
PAKISTAN: PEMRA gets court go ahead to grant satellite TV licences
Rapid TV News: New satellite TV channels will once again receive licences from Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (PEMRA), following the dismissal by Islamabad High Court of a plea by Pakistan Broadcasting Association (PBA).
PHILIPPINES: A “dictator’s playbook” is threatening democracy. This woman is fighting back. (Watch)
CBSN Originals: In the early days of Facebook, YouTube and Twitter, social media seemed to hold boundless promise. Tech CEOs assured us their platforms offered a better way to connect the world, to share photos, to keep up with friends and family.
PHILIPPINES: SWS: Facebook next to TV as Filipinos’ top source of news
CNN: One in every five Filipino adults use Facebook to consume news, ditching traditional media such as radio and newspaper, a survey by the Social Weather Stations said.
The Online Citizen: On 14 June, renowned veteran journalist PN Balji launched his book Reluctant Editor in which he shares stories from his time as editor of The New Paper and Today with a look behind the scenes on the relationship between the government and mainstream media.
THAILAND: Thailand’s ruling powers ‘increasingly paranoid’ about social media: Pravit Rojanaphruk (Interview)
Deutsche Welle: Five years after the military junta took power in Thailand, new cyber laws may worsen the ruling party’s crackdown on freedom of expression. DW spoke to Pravit Rojanaphruk about the threat to media freedom.
REGIONAL: Citizen journalism helps tackle environmental issues
Vietnam News: Along with professional journalists, local villagers and citizens play an important role in gathering and reporting environmental news events, experts have said.
AUSTRALIA: ABC’s War on Waste triggers national action against mounting waste levels
ABC: The ABC’s War on Waste has sparked major social and environmental change across Australia, triggering more than 450 initiatives by schools, hospitals, businesses, governments and community groups to slash their waste footprint.
AUSTRALIA: Kerry O’Brien defends the ABC and calls out media ‘failures’ in impassioned Logies speech
ABC: Veteran journalist Kerry O’Brien has warned the ABC is being punished because of an “ideological obsession”, in an impassioned Logies speech that saw him turn the crosshairs on his own industry for failing to “cut through fake news”.
AUSTRALIA: Labor accuses government of ‘doing nothing’ on press freedom and moves for inquiry
The Guardian: Labor will move to establish a parliamentary inquiry into press freedom, accusing the government of “doing nothing” in the aftermath of Australian federal police raids on two media organisations.
AUSTRALIA: Media bosses demand government protect journalists, whistleblowers (Listen)
ABC: Major media organisations have banded together today to up the pressure on the Government to change specific laws that they say threaten freedom of the media and the right for Australians to know.
AUSTRALIA: Press freedom a democracy ‘bedrock’, Communications Minister says (Watch)
SBS News: Communications Minister Paul Fletcher has sat down with SBS News’s Anton Enus to discuss the media’s role in democracy, as news organisations unite for press freedom.
NEW ZEALAND: Broadcasting policy unravels in ‘year of delivery’ (Listen)
RNZ: Kris Faafoi was promoted in a cabinet reshuffle this week, but he still has the problem portfolio of broadcasting. The last vestige of predecessor’s policy was killed off this week when the committee appointed to set funding for public broadcasting was dissolved.
NEW ZEALAND: What legal protections are there for Kiwi journalists? (Listen)
RNZ: In the wake of the so-called ‘police raids’ on the home of Australian journalist Annika Smethurst and the ABC, Professor Ursula Cheer of Canterbury University looks at what happens here in New Zealand.
SOLOMON ISLANDS: USP journo students return from Solomons climate storytelling project
Asia Pacific Report: A group of University of the South Pacific journalism students have returned from a week-long trip to the Solomon Islands covering communities at the forefront of climate change.
ALBANIA: Albanian Prime Minister must respect press freedom
RSF: Reporters Without Borders (RSF) and the European Centre for Press and Media Freedom (ECPMF) condemn the behaviour of Albania’s Prime Minister Edi Rama, who has threatened the Chief Political Reporter of the BILD newspaper with legal action.
ESTONIA: Rise of Estonia’s populist right sends journalists packing
Deutsche Welle: Estonia’s conservative populists have taken aim at their media critics since joining the country’s government. High-profile journalists have quit their jobs as a result, and now warn that press freedom may be in danger.
FRANCE: Facebook to give data on hate speech suspects to French courts
RNZ: In a world first, Facebook has agreed to hand over the identification data of French users suspected of hate speech on its platform to judges.
FRANCE: France’s joint SVOD Salto heads to regulator after months-long delay
TBI Vision: After months of delay, French subscription video-on-demand joint venture Salto is finally in the hands of the country’s competition watchdog, the Autorité de la Concurrence.
FRANCE: The Journalist’s Defence Guide: How to react when summoned by the police (French)
Le Monde: Recent cases and summonses of journalists by the police and the judiciary have reignited the debate on the threat to the press and the secrecy of sources.
GERMANY: Commercial broadcasters call for reform in line with the Swiss model (German)
Deutschlandfunk: The association of private broadcasters, Vaunet, continues to push for reforms in its public competition.
GERMANY: Five innovations for ARD and ZDF on the Internet (German)
MDR360: What is the mission of the public service media? In what form can product advertising be made? What content is published on the internet? The “Dos and Don’ts” of ARD, ZDF and Deutschlandfunk are specified in the Broadcasting Treaty. Find out more.
GERMANY: Germany fines Facebook €2M for violating hate speech law
Politico: Germany has fined U.S. tech giant Facebook for violating the country’s law to combat hate speech online, officials said Tuesday.
HUNGARY: Pro-Orban media moguls who destroyed Hungary’s media now targeting European outlets
Coda Story: A buying spree by Orban’s oligarchs across Europe means more far-right news outlets and more danger to EU democracies.
ICELAND: Icelanders Top the List in Social Media Usage
Iceland Monitor: The use of social media is more common in Iceland than in any other country within the European Economic Area, according to Eurostat, Morgunblaðið reports.
IRELAND: Fewer TVs threaten RTE licence income (Paywall)
The Times: RTE has said it is concerned about the decrease in the number of Irish households that own traditional television sets, which threatens its revenue from the licence fee.
ITALY: Elections and public agenda: a story of a media synergy
OBC Transeuropa: Social platforms and traditional media have equal weight in determining the public and electoral agenda, often acting in synergy manner. Sara Bentivegna, Professor of Communication Theories and Digital Media and Political Communication at the Sapienza University of Rome, explains
ITALY: Under 20% of Italian homes are prepared for DVB-T2 changeover
Digital TV Europe: As little as 18% (3.87 million) of Italian homes are ready for the switch to DVB-T2.
MALTA: Finishing the work of a murdered journalist (Watch)
CBS News: Journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia was killed by a car bomb in Malta in 2017. Now major news organizations have formed The Daphne Project to continue her reporting
Press Gazette
PORTUGAL: Portuguese are increasingly paying for ‘online’ journalism (Spanish)
El Pais: All digital media except one reserve exclusive content for subscribers, which pay up to 80 euros annually
UK: BBC Studios plans investment amid ‘hyper-competition’
TBI Vision: BBC Studios (BBCS) is to invest further in UK production companies amid “hyper-competition” in the market, having revealed its contribution to its public broadcaster parent hit almost £250 million ($316 million) over the past year.
UK: Tony Hall: Scrutinise The BBC – But With Facts, Not Myths (Blog)
The Huffington Post: I believe we should always face tough questions but there are five myths we must take on, writes the director-general.
UK: Fears for press freedom under internet abuse law (Paywall)
The Times: Government plans to regulate social media pose a danger to press freedom, the newspaper industry has warned.
UK: Gary Lineker is BBC’s best paid star again, but women close gap
The Guardian: Many female stars have had pay rises, while male news presenters have taken cuts.
REGIONAL: It’s Time That Balkan Women Journalists Fought Back (Opinion)
Balkan Insight: We can only turn the tables on those who systematically harass and attack women journalists if – instead of retreating into silence – we give them hell instead.
GENERAL: Elections at the time of social media, speakers’ talks
OBC Transeuropa: In a recent TED talk in Vancouver Carole Cadwalladr, the journalist who exposed the Cambridge Analytica case, turned the spotlight on the role of social platforms in the Brexit campaign, illuminating the themes of personalised political propaganda and online disinformation.
ARGENTINA: Argentina and China signed audiovisual co-production agreements (Spanish)
Grupo La Provincia: Authorities from Argentina and China signed [an] audiovisual cooperation agreements, which include the exchange of content and productions between the public and private sectors of both countries.
ARGENTINA & ECUADOR: Privatising Latin America’s media
Le Monde Diplomatique: In both countries, new presidents gutted their predecessors’ attempts to create more fairness and access in radio, television and print, and returned control to a wealthy, anti-progressive few.
MEXICO: The IMER and the public (and private) media crisis (Spanish)
Cuestiones: The Mexican Radio Institute (IMER) came close to being wiped out of frequencies on June 25.
NICARAGUA: “Let the media be returned” (Spanish)
Confidencial: After the release of journalists Miguel Mora and Lucía Pineda Ubau, the Special Rapporteur for Freedom of Expression of the inter-American system remains “concerned” that the dictatorship of Daniel Ortega and Rosario Murillo has not yet returned the confiscated drafts of 100% News.
VENEZUELA: Cameraman and congress members attacked at Venezuela’s National Assembly
Knight Center: Just three weeks after Venezuelan journalists managed to return to the country’s National Assembly to carry out their work, a member of a colectivo (groups aligned with the government of Nicolás Maduro) hit a cameraman and some congress members, as members of the Bolivarian National Guard (GNB) looked on and did not intervene, as local media reported.
VENEZUELA: Soldiers block press access to Venezuelan parliament
CPJ: Since May 7, 2019, the Venezuelan Bolivarian National Guard has blocked journalists from accessing the National Assembly, the country’s legislature, during the body’s debates and activities held every Tuesday, according to news reports and local rights organizations.
VENEZUELA: Venezuela’s News Abyss (Blog)
CJR
LEBANON: New daily bucks trend in Lebanon
France24: Lebanon woke up to a new national newspaper on stands Monday, even after a series of prominent dailies have disappeared from print over the past three years.
QATAR: Qatar protests boycotting countries’ threats to target Al Jazeera
Middle East Monitor: Ali bin Samikh Al Marri, Chairman of the National Human Rights Committee of Qatar (NHRC), responded to threats made by the Boycotting Countries (Saudi Arabia, UAE, Bahrain, and Egypt) to target Al-Jazeera in Doha
SYRIA: Hayat Tahrir al-Sham militant group detains Syrian journalist Maan Bakour in Idlib
CPJ: In the morning of June 14, several members of the militant group detained Bakour, a reporter for the Hama Media Office, an online news outlet that opposes the government of Bashar al-Assad.
TURKEY: Turkey’s democratic challenges beyond the election – What to expect for Press and Media Freedom?
ECPMF: One week after the decisive victory of the opposition party CHP over the ruling government’s party AKP in the Istanbul mayoral elections on 23 June, the ECPMF’ journalists in residence Nasan Öscan and Murat Bay are speaking out about Turkey’s democratic challenge and whether we can expect a positive influence on the Turkish media landscape as well.
TURKEY: Detention of journalist Deniz Yücel was unlawful: Turkish top court
Politco: Turkey’s top court has ruled that the detention of German-Turkish journalist Deniz Yücel was unlawful.
GENERAL: PBS correspondent Jane Ferguson explains why covering the Middle East is getting tougher (Interview)
Arab News: When the PBS NewsHour special correspondent Jane Ferguson says that journalists are facing an increased physical threat, she has plenty of experience to draw on.
CANADA: Funding for Canadian content ‘a major issue’, says panel looking at overhauling digital laws
The Hamilton Spectator: A federal review panel whose findings will set the course for changing Canada’s digital and regulatory law released a report Wednesday disclosing key themes and issues that will shape their recommendations.
CANADA: Reflecting contemporary Canada and taking it to the world (Blog)
CBC/Radio-Canada: Since being appointed head of the national public broadcaster, I’ve had the opportunity to travel all across Canada. From Iqaluit and Vancouver, to Moncton and many other cities along the way, I’ve heard Canadians tell me how much CBC and Radio-Canada mean to them, and the role they see us playing in the future. Today more than ever, they count on us to make their voices heard and to share their stories.
CANADA: With the rise of ‘deepfake,’ verifying the news is more important than ever (Comment)
The Globe and Mail: Our political and social discourse may be less angry and divisive than elsewhere, and we may think we aren’t important enough to be a target of disinformation, but let’s not kid ourselves. We are part of a worldwide trend of division and distrust and not immune from lying and manipulation.
US: Another brutal week for American journalism
CJR: Between january and may this year, approximately 3,000 people working in the news industry were laid off or offered a buyout.
US: Apply to FRONTLINE’s Local Journalism Project (Apply)
PBS: A crisis in journalism is presenting challenges to cities and towns across America. The closing of nearly 1,800 newspapers, and thousands of job losses in the news media, make it harder for vital information to reach the public and for reporters to tell the stories that hold authorities accountable and improve lives.
US: One year after shooting in his newsroom, editor of Capital Gazette reflects on press freedom
RSF: On the one year anniversary of the June 28 shooting at the Capital Gazette in Annapolis, Maryland, Reporters Without Borders (RSF) and the Capital Gazette are publishing an exclusive op-ed by the newspaper’s editor Rick Hutzell reflecting on press freedom in the year since the tragedy.
US: ‘Paradox of choice’ leads US viewers back to traditional TV
Rapid TV: Subscription video-on-demand is surging, especially in the US, but even with so much to choose from, indeed because of it, US streaming viewers are gravitating back towards traditional TV preferences when they’re not sure what to watch, says Nielsen data.
US: Veto by Alaska’s governor threatens funding for state pubcasters (Paywall)
Current: State funding to public broadcasters in Alaska is at risk after Gov. Mike Dunleavy vetoed an appropriation approved by the state legislature.
Beyond Saudi Arabia: The World Is Failing Journalists (Opinion)
IPS News: Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi was deliberately killed at the hands of state actors and journalists around the world are increasingly seeing the same fate, said a United Nations expert.
IFJ launches new Global Charter of Ethics for Journalists
IFJ: The document builds on and reinforces the ethical standards laid down by the 1954 IFJ Declaration of Principles on the Conduct of Journalists, the most widely recognised text on journalistic ethics to date.
One Free Press Coalition’s most urgent cases for July 2019: 10 journalists under threat
Deutsche Welle: Journalists often put their own lives on the line or risk detention for their reporting. With press freedom at risk, the One Free Press Coalition is highlighting these 10 most urgent cases for July 2019.
Press Gazette: Tortoise Media, the slow news venture launched by former Times editor and BBC news director James Harding earlier this year, has created a new model to bring in a more “diverse mix of members”.
Daphne Caruana Galizia’s son: ‘They killed my mother but they won’t stop me’
The Guardian: The Maltese writer’s journalist son tells of his pride in her achievements as a BBC radio drama recounts her story.
The Argument For — And Against — Publishing The Traumatic Photo From Mexican Border
NPR: Journalist Julia Le Duc photographed the bodies of Óscar Alberto Martínez Ramírez and his 23-month-old daughter, Valeria, as they lay on the bank of the Rio Grande. They were trying to cross the river from Matamoros, Mexico, to Brownsville, Texas, but drowned in the current.
This game makes players better at spotting disinformation after just 15 minutes, study finds
CBC: An online game that tasks players with crafting and distributing propaganda helps them to better detect disinformation after 15 minutes of play, a new study found.
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Header Image: Large number of press and media reporter in broadcasting event. Credit: suriya silsaksom/iStock
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