PSM Weekly | 30 Aug-5 Sept 2016

NAMIBIA: Proposed bill could regulate & punish media in Namibia

By PMA: A new information bill proposed by the government in Namibia could impact media freedom by punishing professionals who report “irresponsibly”.

NIGERIA: Nigerian public media should be independent to promote democracy

By PMA: Attahiru Jega, former Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), talked about the current state of public broadcasting in Nigeria, calling for structural changes.

SOMALIA: UN report urges Somalia to ensure freedom of expression as it is critical to political transition

By UN News Centre: A United Nations report on freedom of expression in Somalia released today describes progress in state-building in Somalia, but shows the very challenging environment that continues to confront journalists, human rights defenders and political leaders, including numerous killings, arrests, intimidation and closure of critical media outlets.

 SOUTH AFRICA: Court backs SABC bid to bury film about apartheid secrets

By The Citizen: A documentary that tells the story of illegal final assistance by the former government to big business may now never see the light of day.

TUNISIA: Tunisia approves declaration on media freedom

By PMA: Last week Tunisia’s President Beji Caid Essebi signed a declaration granting independent journalism and the right to information.

 ZIMBABWE: Media Groups Call for Global Support of Press Freedom in Zimbabwe

By Voa News: Media protection groups are calling on the international community to pressure President Robert Mugabe’s government to respect freedom of the press in Zimbabwe.

ZIMBABWE: Zimbabwe unrest: Media triggers, media controls

By Al Jazeera: What role does social media play in the current Zimbabwe protests? Plus, journalism caught in the crossfire in Yemen.

AFGHANISTAN: Afghanistan: Security Forces Assault Reporters

By Human Rights Watch:  Afghan authorities should urgently investigate allegations that security forces physically assaulted and detained journalists after violence broke out during a protest in central Bamiyan province on August 29, 2016, Human Rights Watch said today. 

 INDIA: Copyright issue: Immediate relief for audio streaming website unlikely

By LiveMint: Even though the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP) brought Internet broadcasting under the ambit of the copyright law on Monday, an immediate relief for audio streaming websites is unlikely as the Copyright Board is currently dysfunctional without any member or chairman.

INDONESIA: Solutions to Boost Indonesia’s ICT and Media Industry to be Unveiled at Inaugural Communic Indonesia and Broadcast Indonesia

By Yahoo Finance: An international showcase of innovation and technology for the continued development of Indonesia’s digital landscape begins tomorrow with the launch of Communic Indonesia and Broadcast Indonesia 2016.

 THAILAND: NBTC asked to ban broadcasting of suspects’ images

By Bangkok Post: The National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission (NBTC) enforce a prohibition on TV news broadcasts showing criminal suspects because it is a violation of civil rights, said deputy permanent secretary for justice Tawatchai Thaikiew.

AUSTRALIA: How does Australia’s free-to-air TV industry compare with the world? 

By Mumbrella: The starter gun to race and capture TV audiences was triggered a while ago, so how far has the Australian free-to-air TV industry gone, and more interestingly, how fast compared with the rest of the world’s FTA markets?

AUSTRALIA: Media reform bill tabled in parliament

By The Australian: Powerful independent senator Nick Xenophon has called for TV licence fees to be slashed after the Turnbull government tabled a landmark media reform bill.

 PAPUA NEW GUINEA: Papua New Guinea makes move from analogue to digital TV

By PMA: At a conference in Papua New Guinea last week, the government expressed support for the nation’s move from analogue to digital broadcasting.

BALKANS: European Commission eager to foster media pluralism and public service media in Western Balkans

By EFJ: A delegation of the European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) met with Johannes Hahn, EU Commissioner for European Neighbourhood Policy & Enlargement Negotiations to discuss how to improve working and social conditions for journalists and how to foster high quality public service media (PSM) and media pluralism in the Western Balkans.

ICELAND: Iceland’s Free Press – Too Good To Be True?

By EJO: For a long time, Iceland was seen as a shining example of press freedom – too good to be true, perhaps. But more recently, the country’s politicians have been attempting to influence the media.

IRELAND: BAI launches Broadcast Code public consultation

By RadioToday: The BAI has launched a public consultation on the draft General Commercial Communications Code.

KOSOVO: Public media in Kosovo under attack over demarcation deal
By PMA: Kosovo’s public broadcaster, RTK, suffered a second attack last week on its premises by a group that is against the government’s demarcation deal with Montenegro.

REGIONAL: Leaked bill forces broadcasters to put TV online across EU

By Euractiv: Broadcasters may be forced to show content across the EU, not just in the country where they’re based, under draft legislation put forward in the face of strident opposition from major companies across Europe.

UKRAINE: Pro-Russia TV station in Kiev evacuated after fire

By The Guardian: Local news reported that TV Inter’s headquarters in Kiev caught fire on Sunday after a group of around 20 protesters gathered outside and set tyres alight.

MEXICO: Mexico preps virtual DTT reorganisation

By Rapid TV News:  Mexico’s Instituto Federal de Telecomunicaciones (IFT) has assigned virtual channels to each DTT signal in order to simplify users’ access to free-to-air (FTA) digital TV.

 REGIONAL: Latin American public media search for successful funding models

By Knight Center – Journalism in the Americas Blog: In this second article of a series addressing public media in Latin America, researchers independently talked to the Knight Center about current and potential solutions to finding financial autonomy, what they consider to be one of the major challenges to the consolidation of an independent public media system.

JORDAN: 72.5% of reports on elections in print media rely on one source

By Jordan Times: The Jordan Media Institute (JMI) on Saturday issued its first report on Jordanian media outlets’ coverage of the parliamentary elections.

JORDAN: Amman bans independent coverage of Jordan’s royal family

By Middle East Eye:  Press freedom lobbyists warn of slide into censorship as only news based on royal court bulletins will now be allowed.

LEBANON:  Lebanese Journos on Chopping Block

By The Huffington Post: The ax is falling hard, and fast, on Lebanese journalists as media cut budgets, hire younger staffers, increase their online presence, seek cheap solutions, duke out their political and sectarian differences, but still fumble over monetization and quality content.

TURKEY:  Turkey expands assault on independent media

By Al-Monitor: Mustafa Akyol writes that the attempted military coup in Turkey on July 15 and subsequent crackdown by the Turkish government has “opened a whole new chapter in the nation’s history”.

USA: Colleagues help fellow public broadcasters after floods in Louisiana

By PMA: After the destructive flooding that afflicted Louisiana early this month, public media professionals are helping their colleagues.

 USA: KPLU officially begins broadcasting as KNKX

By The News Tribune: As of early Wednesday, after a 10-month struggle, public-radio station KPLU is independent and is broadcasting as KNKX (pronounced “connects”).

 CANADA: Canadian TV regulator to lean on broadcasters over choice

By Reuters: Canada’s television regulator said on Friday it will use the pending expiry of broadcast licenses as leverage in talks with distributors to judge their adherence to new rules forcing them to offer channels individually.