Our weekly round-up of public service media related stories and headlines from around the world.
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ALGERIA: Algeria’s Independent Press Fears for Its Survival
VoA: Stifled by the internet and 24-hour news channels as well as political pressures, Algeria’s independent press born only 25 years ago is struggling in a crisis that has already killed off dozens of titles.
ERITREA: Impressive reach in Eritrea
Deutsche Welle: Radio Erena, an exile radio supported by Reporters Without Borders, has in the past few years broadcast independent information to Eritrea. But is this radio station actually heard by the people inside the country?
ETHIOPIA: New Film Policy Set to Promote Industry, Cultural Values
Balancing Act Africa: The new Film policy that has come into effect as of November 2017 would help promote the film industry and contribute to the preservation of cultural values, said Ministry of Culture and Tourism.
GAMBIA: One year after Jammeh: Is Adama Barrow’s government keeping its promises?
IFEX: An assessment of how media freedom is faring under the new government and a look to the future.
GUINEA: Presidential Censorship Executed: Radio Station Shut Down
MFWA: BTA FM, a radio station located in the city of Labe, 450 km north of the Guinean capital Conakry, has been shut down for violating a presidential order to all radio stations not to interview a leading member of a striking teachers’ union.
NIGER: RSF urges Niger to enforce media freedom laws
RSF: Reporters Without Borders (RSF) was able to meet with Prime Minister Brigi Rafini and communication minister Sani Hadiza Koubra Abdoulaye during a visit to Niger last week, using the meeting to urge respect for legislation that protects media freedom.
SOUTH AFRICA: Podcasting in South Africa: Not profitable yet, but a powerful medium
The Media Online: Still new to the South African market, podcasting has yet to reach its full potential. But moves are being made to increase its presence.
SOUTH AFRICA: SABC asks for a review of must-carry regulations
Broadband TV News: The South African public broadcaster SABC has asked for an urgent review of regulations that allow pay-TV operators to carry its channels for free.
SOUTH AFRICA: SABC board says probe into R100m MultiChoice deal must go on
The Citizen: Hours after the DA alleged that minutes of an SABC board meeting show that MultiChoice sought to pay the public broadcaster R100m for its 24-hour news channel.
TUNISIA: Innovative Tunisian media holds authorities to account
International Media Support: The Tunisian NGO Al Khatt and its online media Inkyfada are showing the way for press freedom and independent, investigative reporting in a country that still struggles to uphold the gains post-Ben Ali.
ZIMBABWE: A look back through Mugabe’s media legacy
Aljazeera: How did Robert Mugabe shape Zimbabwe’s media landscape?
ZIMBABWE: Calls for media reforms get louder
Zimbabwe Independent: President Emmerson Mnangagwa has been urged by media practitioners and activists to prioritise the implementation of long overdue media reforms, the safety and security of journalists while conducting their duties, as well as the implementation of recommendations of the government-sanctioned Independent Media Panel of Inquiry (Impi) report.
ZIMBABWE: Future of press freedom in post-Mugabe Zimbabwe remains open
IPI: Experts: Only time will tell how committed new President Emmerson Mnangagwa is to change.
GENERAL: The 77 percent: A platform for Africa’s youth
DW: 77 percent of Africans are younger than 35, but they are the least represented. Those 77 percent could shape the continent’s future. With its new multimedia project, DW starts a pan-African debate with Africa’s youth.
BANGLADESH: More journalists arrested under ICT law in Bangladesh
IFJ
CHINA: Understanding social media in China
IJNET: Chinese social networks and messaging apps are hubs for innovation, featuring a range of video, news, e-commerce and other services. Here is what you need to know about China’s social media landscape.
INDIA: RSF condemns murder of another journalist in northern India
RSF: RSF calls on the Indian authorities to take concrete steps to protect journalists after a newspaper reporter was gunned down yesterday (30 Nov) evening in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh. At least three other journalists have been murdered in India in the past three months.
INDIA: Star may have to share IPL live feed with Doordarshan
LiveMint: The I&B ministry is working on a proposal to make IPL available on Doordarshan and has asked the sports ministry to weigh in on the matter
INDONESIA: Indonesian cyber media association: Collective action for digital challenges
CIMA: Independent news producers in Indonesia say the dominant platforms for digital content distribution, namely Facebook and Google, are taking advantage of them and undermining their viability as media businesses.
Nieman Lab: Investigating environmental crimes in Indonesia, The Gecko Project wants “to push these things back into the places where they’re reported out.”
JAPAN: NHK-Japan to upgrade its 8K – UHDTV technology
ABU: In preparation for the Olympic Games 2020 in Tokyo, the Japanese broadcasting world is getting ready for 8K UHDTV.
JAPAN: Success of Paralympics key to positive cultural change in Japan
The Japan Times: With 1,000 days to go until the opening ceremony of the Tokyo 2020 Paralympics, thoughts are turning to how the games can become a positive vehicle for change in a culture often averse to it.
KYRGYZSTAN: Kyrgyzstan Supreme Court Upholds Rulings that Muzzle Free Speech
HRW: Kyrgyzstan’s Supreme Court dealt a heavy blow to freedom of speech today by upholding three defamation rulings punishing critics for apparently insulting the “honor and dignity” of the now former president, Almazbek Atambaev.
PHILIPPINES: Reporting risks grow under ‘The Punisher’
RNZ: Journalists in the Philippines take their life in their hands doing their job. What was already one of the world’s riskiest places to be a reporter has become even more difficult under President Rodrigo Duterte and his ‘war on drugs’.
THAILAND: ‘Distorted news’ deemed health issue in junta-run Thailand
ABC News: The country’s health ministry announced Tuesday it is launching a new smartphone application that will allow users to flag media content they find “inappropriate” so it can be forwarded to government authorities.
THAILAND: Local media advised to broaden reach
Bangkok Post: Local broadcasters and media should increase their international reach to reduce the negative impact of over-the-top (OTT) services.
AUSTRALIA: ABC radio programs PM and The World Today to be halved in length
The Guardian: Staff told shortened formats will ‘leave the audience wanting more’ as Myf Warhurst fronts a lighter offering.
AUSTRALIA: Facebook and Google targeted in Australian media probe
BBC News: Australia’s competition regulator has begun an inquiry into whether the influence of Facebook and Google has harmed the media sector.
NEW ZEALAND: Te reo on the radio too much for some
RNZ: A controversial column condemning the use of te reo Māori on RNZ sparked debate about racism, free speech and even hate speech this past week. Mediawatch looks at the responses and asks a veteran Māori broadcaster if this is a big deal or a storm in a teacup.
NEW ZEALAND: Why RNZ is dedicated to the use of te reo (Opinion)
RNZ: The debate about the use of te reo on RNZ shows both how far we have come as a nation – and how far we still have to go, writes RNZ chief executive Paul Thompson.
GENERAL: Media freedom under the spotlight in PMC 10th anniversary event
Asia Pacific Report: Threats to media freedom in the Asia-Pacific region are under the spotlight at the Pacific Media Centre’s 10th anniversary event today.
BELGIUM: To support changes in the audiovisual sector, RTBF is changing its business model (French)
Les Medias Francophones Publics: The General Administrator of RTBF, Jean-Paul Philippot, explains in detail the ambitious reorganization that the public broadcaster will experience, so that it continues to carry out its missions “in a world that will have become 100% digital”. A new organization based on two poles: content and media.
FRANCE: France Télévisions chief gives shape to cost-cutting plan
Digital TV Europe: France Télévisions boss Delphine Ernotte plans to cut 180 posts as part of a cost-saving drive in the face of the latest wave of cuts to the public broadcaster’s budget, according to a report in the Journal du Dimanche.
FRANCE: How Radio France participated in the Paradise Papers (French)
Les Medias Francophones Publics: At Radio France, the Investigations and Investigation Department was at the forefront of the revelations that France Inter, France Info and France Culture, in particular, echoed.
FRANCE: For Macron, public broadcasting is “the shame of the Republic” (French)
L’Express: On Monday receiving the deputies of the Cultural Affairs Committee of the National Assembly, the head of state delivered a violent diatribe against public broadcasting.
GEORGIA: Georgia’s Public Broadcaster Demands Commercial Advertising Rights
The Messenger: Georgia’s Public Broadcaster (GPB), which is a state-financed TV channel, is asking for the right to broadcast commercial advertisements.
GERMANY: German broadcasters drop Roger Waters over BDS stance
Al Jazeera: A series of concerts by ex-Pink Floyd frontman Roger Waters has been dropped by German broadcasters over his support of the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) movement.
HUNGARY & POLAND: ‘Local media are simply disappearing’: how financial pressures are killing independent media’
The Guardian: From Poland and Hungary to parts of Africa and South America, states are using commercial ruses to squeeze out liberal media.
ICELAND: Media ad revenue in Iceland halved since 2007
Nordicom: The advertising revenue of Icelandic media is now at half of its all-time high in 2007. Newspapers are still the single most important advertising medium in the country, retaining almost 50 per cent in 2015.
IRELAND: Proposal to break link between needing licence and owning TV
The Irish TImes: Oireachtas committee calls for significant changes in funding of public service media.
ITALY: Rai Fiction Looks to Conquer International Audiences
Variety: Italy’s leading broadcaster Rai, which invests nearly €200 million (about $237 million) in roughly 400 hours of content every year, is aiming to become a key player on the international drama scene by making high-end series in both English and Italian.
MALTA: Ten arrested over murder of Maltese journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia
The Guardian: Malta’s PM, Joseph Muscat, offers ‘personal commitment’ that those responsible for the killing will be found.
MONTENEGRO: Jovo Martinović, when investigative journalism ends up behind bars (Interview)
OBC Transeuropa: In Montenegro – NATO member country and EU candidate – attacks against the press are numerous and a journalist may be imprisoned for his investigative work. It is the story of Jovo Martinović, currently under trial.
NORWAY: National FMs Will Shut Down in Norway in December
Radio Magazine: P4 and Radio Norway will shut down their FM transmitters in eastern Norway; NRK stopped transmitting on FM in the area on Sept. 20.
NORWAY: Skam’s creators on the TV show’s explosive success: “Perhaps it will save Facebook”
New Statesman: In the summer of 2014, the commissioner of NRK (Norway’s licence-fee funded public sector broadcaster, similar to the BBC) came up with a hard task for the organisations content developers. It was, simply: make something that will bring teenagers back to NRK.
RUSSIA: Q&A: Russian journalists facing ‘intolerable’ situation
IPI: Threats, attacks on independent voices growing as presidential election looms.
RUSSIA: Russia designates Radio Free Europe and Voice of America as ‘foreign agents’
ABC News: Russia has designated Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) and Voice of America (VOA) as foreign agents, a move aimed at complicating their work in retaliation for what Moscow says is unacceptable US pressure on Russian media.
SERBIA: Serbian Journalists Call on Citizens to Support a Media Freedom Campaign
SEENPM: Serbian journalists and activists rallied in the streets of Belgrade and four other Serbian cities on November 19 to garner support from citizens for demands they have made to Serbian prime minister Ana Brnabic.
SPAIN: The Association of Journalists denounces “aggressions” and “pressures” for the Catalan political situation (Spanish)
El País: The text has been signed by Catalan public media and RAC1
SPAIN: The PP charges against the new Valencian public television: «It will be one more channel of TV3» (Spanish)
ABC ES: The political party claims that the PSPV and Compromís leave the channel in the hands “of friends with the aim of indoctrinating”
SPAIN: TVE journalists reported 50 new cases of censorship and manipulation (Spanish)
InfoLibre: The Council of TVE denounced 50 new cases of censorship and manipulation during the months of July to September in a report which and has been sent to all staff via email.
SWEDEN: The app that teaches you Swedish while you watch TV
The Local: Learning Swedish is no easy task. Classes can only take you so far, and words often ‘look’ different than they sound. […] But now Swedish public broadcaster SVT has developed, SVT Språkplay, a free app that lets you learn Swedish – and watch TV at the same time.
SWEDEN: The Swedes and the Internet 2017
Nordicom: This year, the survey The Swedes and the Internet from the Internet Foundation in Sweden shows for the first time that a majority (56 per cent) of people over 75 years old use the Internet.
UK: Older children are getting wise to fake news
Ofcom: Older children are less trusting of news on social media than from other sources and use a range of measures to separate fact from fiction, Ofcom research has found.
UK: Reality TV: public service broadcasting shows us who we are (Opinion)
The Guardian: In the era of Netflix and Amazon, the original Reithian vision of ‘inform, educate and entertain’ is more important to the national culture than ever
UK: Review could lead to UK broadcasters spending more on children’s TV
The Guardian: Output of ITV, Channel 4 and Channel 5 being looked at by Ofcom, which has already set targets for BBC
UK: The Second Source: A group of women in journalism is working to tackle harassment in the UK media
Journalism.co.uk: The group aims to provide support, resources and networking opportunities for women working in various sectors of the media
UK: Walk in space with new virtual reality experience from the BBC
BBC: Anyone who has ever dreamed of going into space can now see those dreams come true, with the release of a critically-acclaimed virtual reality (VR) spacewalk from the BBC and VR production studio REWIND.
UKRAINE: Increasing violence against journalists in Ukraine
EFJ: The National Union of Journalists of Ukraine (NUJU) just released the outcomes of its “Ukraine’s Journalists Physical Safety Index”. The situation remains worrying in the country: from January to November, NUJU registered 85 physical attacks against journalists.
GENERAL: Google: YouTube should not be regulated like a broadcaster
Digital TV Europe: Google’s European president Matt Brittin has said it is “appropriate” that YouTube is not subject to the same regulations as broadcasters and newspapers.
GENERAL: Pubcasters offering more European films than commercial players
Digital TV Europe: Films produced in Europe made up 28% of films broadcast by a sample of TV channels during the 2015-16 season, according to the European Audiovisual Observatory.
GENERAL: Will Silicon Valley destroy European public service broadcasting?
Financial Times
ARGENTINA: Layoffs at Encuentro, Pakapaka and DeporTV (Spanish)
Diario Sobre Diarios: Workers from state channels said that 21 people will not be renewed the contract that ends on December 31. They warned that it is an “operational blackout” for the tasks they perform.
BRAZIL: Brazil forced to delay DTT switchover
Rapid TV News: Analogue TV will continue to air in some areas of Sao Paulo, Campinas and other Brazilian states longer than expected.
BRAZIL: EBC directors withdraw “public media” from company plans (Portuguese)
Carta Capital: In the midst of intense negotiations with workers on strike, the board gives another blow to the public character of the company. The Board of Directors (Consad) of Empresa Brasil de Comunicação (EBC) approved the withdrawal of the concept of “public media” from its strategic map, a document that guides the company’s objectives and actions.
BRAZIL: Conference reveals growth and consolidation of data journalism in Brazil
Knight Center for Journalism in the Americas: Only a couple years ago, data journalism was starting to mature in Brazil, gaining recognition from the country’s media outlets and awards organizations as an effective method of revealing trends and producing material that would not have been possible before. Today, the country celebrates a consolidated and growing community.
Knight Center for Journalism in the Americas: Inspired by the power of messaging applications to create personal relationships with news readers, a trio of veteran Chilean journalists set out this year to offer a news bot that would keep voters informed during the country’s upcoming elections.
COLOMBIA: Concern in Colombia around new threats to journalists and political and social leaders
Knight Center for Journalism in the Americas: FLIP demanded that the National Protection Unit (UNP) guarantee the necessary protections for the journalists to continue with their trade, while also demanding that the Attorney General’s Office investigate these threats to guarantee freedom of the press in the country.
MEXICO: More forced displacement of journalists seen in Mexico
RSF: Reporters Without Borders (RSF) has alerted the UN and OAS special rapporteurs for freedom of expression to the increasingly alarming problem of Mexican journalists being driven into internal exile by death threats – a problem with disastrous consequences for media freedom in both short and long term.
MEXICO: The recently-launched Spanish-language feed of France 24 is now available in Mexico.
Rapid TV News: The recently-launched Spanish-language feed of France 24 is now available in Mexico.
JORDAN: Investigative journalists gather to debate spread of fake news
The Jordan Times: Over 475 participants from the Arab world gathered at the Dead Sea on Friday for the opening of the 10th Annual Forum for Arab Reporters for Investigative Journalism (ARIJ).
SYRIA: Coping with conflict: making media to support children in Syria
BBC Media Action: By supporting media based in the country to make tailored ‘lifeline’ content – animations, radio dramas, discussion programmes and a documentary – we’re tackling issues around child rights, development and survival.
YEMEN: Yemeni TV employees killed, others taken hostage by Houthi forces
CPJ: Gunmen from the Ansar Allah movement, commonly known as the Houthis, on December 2 stormed the Sanaa headquarters of the television channel Yemen Today and detained the channel’s employees, according to news reports.
TURKEY: TRT to train international media staff
Daily Sabah: Turkey’s public broadcaster TRT has launched the fifth edition of its International Media Training Program to help prepare media members from around the world.
TURKEY: Turkey Crackdown Chronicle: Week of November 26, 2017
CPJ
CANADA: Canada’s entertainment industry pushes for concrete change #AfterMeToo
CBC News: Mia Kirshner leads symposium to focus on survivor-centred point of view.
CANADA: CBC/Radio-Canada 2017-2018 second quarterly report now available online
CBC/Radio-Canada: “As Canada’s public broadcaster, we want to better identify what our audiences want and like. This quarter, with the public research space, we tested a new way to allow them to preview our digital products,” said Hubert T. Lacroix, President and CEO of CBC/Radio-Canada.
CANADA: CBC to launch ad-free paid streaming service as part of revamped TV app
Toronto Star: The broadcaster says that it will cost $4.99 for the ad-free, premium version of the new CBC TV app.
US: New PBS Board Members Elected, Seated at First Meeting of Fiscal Year
PBS: PBS announced the results of its recent Board elections following its first Board meeting of fiscal year 2018.
US: Propaganda or not, forcing RT to register sets a bad precedent
CJR: For those who loathe the Russian government-funded news organization RT and lament its pernicious influence, the fact the US Justice Department forced it to register as a “foreign agent” is sweet vindication. But such a view is short-sighted.
US: Pubcasters look for upside from donated ‘zombie’ licenses
Current: The FCC’s TV spectrum auction is producing unusual and unexpected gifts for a handful of fortunate pubcasters in major markets: donations of commercial TV licenses that turned into “zombies” after their owners cashed out the value of their spectrum.
US: What we found when we asked newsrooms about sexual harassment
CJR
Blockchain: so that newsrooms can go back to doing what they do best
GEN: Blockchain, the hyped up technology behind bitcoin, is venturing into the news industry, promising more transparency, accountability, and a transfer of power to authors. But how can newsrooms leverage this technology if they can’t make any sense of it?
Getting involved in internet governance: An introductory guide
CIMA: Internet governance (IG) refers to all of the policies and processes that are shaping the evolution of the Internet. Given the increased reliance of journalists and media outlets on digital technologies, the overall success of media development is now inextricably linked to decisions made at the diverse set of Internet governance bodies.
Global media freedom is at its lowest level in ten years, report finds
Via IFEX: New ARTICLE 19 metric measures global threats to freedom of expression and information.
How ICIJ went from having no data team to being a tech-driven media organization
ICIJ: Technology is one of the ingredients of ICIJ’s secret sauce in projects like the Paradise and the Panama Papers. The custom-built tools we’ve developed over the years have allowed hundreds of reporters around the world to access millions of files securely at the click of a mouse.
DW Akademie: We are looking for young people from all over the world interested in a comprehensive, exceptional quality journalism program with an international broadcaster.
Paradise Papers: The Power of Collaboration in Investigative Journalism
EJO: The recent publication of the Paradise Papers is another strong indication of the rising importance of global collaboration for investigative journalism.
Why don’t people trust the news and social media? A new report lets them explain in their own words
Nieman Lab: “Rebuilding trust will a long-term process and will require the commitment of publishers, platforms, and consumers over many years.”
‘You can get killed’: journalists living in fear as states crack down
The Guardian: Independent journalists are under siege in a growing list of supposedly freer countries such as Brazil, Turkey, India and Mexico
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Header image: Radio tower in San Francisco. Credits: Orin Zebest/Creative Commons
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