Our weekly round-up of public service media related stories and headlines from around the world.
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GHANA: The Creeping Danger to Press Freedom, Freedom of Opinion in Ghana
MFWA: Over the past two weeks, there have been incidents of threats and verbal assault on journalists and civil society activists in Ghana for exercising their constitutionally guaranteed rights to freedom of expression and opinion.
LIBERIA: Liberia Broadcasting System Employees Plan Go-slow Action
FPA: Workers of the Liberia Broadcasting System (LBS) have resolved to stage an indefinite go – slow action in demand of better welfare.
NIGERIA: 78 percent Nigerians trust the media in new Edelman survey
The Guardian (Nigeria): A trust and credibility survey has revealed that 72% of Nigerians in mainstream institutions of media, government, business and non-governmental organisations consider trust to be the most important factor in the patronage of a product or relationship with an organisation.
SOMALILAND: Somaliland arrests journalists, bans TV stations
CPJ: “During times of conflict, the government ought to be creating a conducive environment for journalists to communicate diverse information to the public, not stifling the press”
SOUTH AFRICA: SABC launches new logo and rebranding
SABC: The South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) has officially launched its new logo and rebranding of SABC News across programming on its television, radio and online platforms.
SOUTH AFRICA: SABC to investigate sexual harassment at the public broadcaster
Times: The SABC is establishing two Commissions of Inquiry that will investigate editorial interference and sexual harassment at the public broadcaster.
SOUTH SUDAN: South Sudan Bans Journalists From Covering Government Events
Via All Africa: The South Sudan Media Authority (SSMA) has banned UN Radio Miraya reporters from covering government events and ordered their arrest if they defy.
TANZANIA: Tanzania keeps tightening restrictions on free speech under president Magufuli
Quartz: Tanzania has just turned 54. Union Day commemorates the union of the Tanganyika mainland and the islands of Zanzibar, following a bloody revolution on the islands in 1964. But the mood is not one of celebration, unity or tolerance of difference. Instead, the government’s creeping authoritarianism is meeting growing dissatisfaction.
TANZANIA: Tanzanian High Court Rejects Review of Online Media Act
All Africa: According to the judgement delivered by the High Court, media stakeholders who filed the case have failed to prove how the regulations would affect their rights.
UGANDA: Social media use taxed in Uganda to tackle ‘gossip’
The Guardian: New law criticised as attempt to block free speech rather than simply raise revenue.
WEST AFRICA: ‘We Are The Enemies Of Our Leaders’: Meet The Journalists Behind West Africa Leaks
ICIJ: The 13 journalists who worked on the West Africa Leaks face everything from threats, lawsuits and intimidation.
ZAMBIA: So this is democracy? Zambia – 2017 (Report)
MISA: Freedom of Expression and of the media in Zambia has remained a dream with the continued suppression of divergent views.
ZIMBABWE: How Zimbabwe’s Magamba TV produces political satire for a new social media-connected generation
NiemanLab: “On the one hand, we know that quite a few government ministers actually watch our stuff….So these dudes, they do watch it, to get a sense of what young people are thinking.”
ZIMBABWE: ZBC To Introduce New Channels: History Channel Among Many Others
Balancing Act: After the completion of digital migration, Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation (ZBC) will introduce a range of new channels. The channels will bring variety to ZBC’s dwindled viewers after years of just watching one channel, ZTV.
GENERAL: 5 opportunities and challenges facing African newsrooms
IJNet: What is the state of media in Africa, and where is it going? The challenge of such a question is that, as much as Africa is not a country, “the media” is not a thing.
CAMBODIA: Cambodia’s Fresh News: is it journalism with Chinese characteristics?
South China Morning Post: Though far from Beijing’s sophisticated control of information, Cambodia’s media landscape is starting to echo China’s, according to Reporters Without Borders
CAMBODIA: CPJ condemns election news restrictions in Cambodia
CPJ: The National Election Committee (NEC), the country’s official election supervisor, issued last week a code of conduct for covering the election that bars journalists from expressing “personal opinion or prejudice” or publishing news that “affects political and social stability,” news reports said.
CENTRAL ASIA: Resistance and defiance: Free expression in Europe and Central Asia in May
IFEX: May saw lots of inspiring examples of resistance, defiance and disobedience – where journalists, activists and citizens refused to be cowed in the face of persecution or intimidation. And, although the month also had its usual share of grim stories, it saw some very positive developments in the most unexpected of places….
CHINA: Forced “vacations” for Chinese bloggers ahead of Tiananmen anniversary
RSF: As the world prepares to mark the anniversary, several Chinese bloggers have gone missing or have suddenly “gone on vacation.” A similar wave of disappearances happens every year in the run-up to the now completely-censored anniversary of the event in which more 1,000 people were killed.
JAPAN: Government panel urges unified rules for broadcast, streamed TV
The Japan News: The government’s Regulatory Reform Promotion Council has submitted to Prime Minister Shinzo Abe a report focusing on the integration of telecommunications and broadcasting in light of the expansion of online video-sharing services.
JAPAN: Japanese broadcaster NHK tutors Tencent on production techniques
Nikkei Asian Review: Public TV giant licenses program ‘formats’ to boost presence in global markets
INDIA: All India Radio and Bangladesh Betar to co-produce radio programs
Asia Radio Today: All India Radio (AIR) and state-run Bangladesh Betar will co-produce radio programs on music, quiz, theatre, tourism and sports among others.
INDIA: Escalation in threat campaigns against Indian journalists
RSF
INDIA: Forget the Cobra That Stings, We Need to Worry About the Media That Poisons
The Wire: Whatever the media owners do or don’t do to fix or further damage our newspapers and television channels, Indian journalism will survive and thrive so long as there are a million mutinies every day in every newsroom.
INDIA: Kashmiri reporters assailed by both security forces and protesters
RSF: Journalist are used to being targeted by the security forces ever since the conflict in the Kashmir Valley intensified in 2016. It happened against last week in Nowhatta, on the outskirts of Srinagar, when reporters went to cover the Friday prayers sermon for Ramadan in the mosque.
MALAYSIA: Filmmakers call for reform of Film Censorship Act
The Star: In line with the new government’s commitment to freedom of speech and expression, a group of filmmakers and human right activists are urging for the Government to reform the Film Censorship Act 2002.
MALAYSIA: Towards a public service media (Opinion)
New Straits Times: We at the Centre for the Study of Communications and Culture are concerned about the recent “revelations” by Communications and Multimedia Minister Gobind Singh Deo.
PAKISTAN: Jang, Geo stopped from coverage of garrison varsity ceremony
The News: The media teams of the Jang Group and Geo were stopped from media coverage of a ceremony at the Lahore Garrison University where Chief Justice of Pakistan Mian Saqib Nisar was due to arrive on the occasion.
PAKISTAN: The Cost of Extreme Media Censorship – a View From Pakistan
The Wire: The latest round of coercive censorship is an attempt to ensure that media narratives conform to the goals and objectives of the intended outcomes of the elections scheduled for the summer.
AUSTRALIA: ABC axes another 37 jobs in wake of $84m budget cut
The Guardian: Jobs lost in technology division are on top of 22 cut from national newsrooms as union says warns scale of ABC downsizing is not sustainable.
AUSTRALIA: Australians should not be fooled by attacks on the ABC (Opinion)
ABC News: The ABC is an organisation known intimately to every Australian and about which every one of us has an opinion. The letters pages of newspapers contain a steady stream of bouquets and brickbats for the public broadcaster.
AUSTRALIA: Why do we need public broadcasting? (Audio)
ABC: In Australia and overseas public broadcasting is constantly attacked as a flawed model, catering to certain groups only and existing on middle class welfare. What’s lost in the arguments is how vital it is to both a healthy democracy and a national identity.
NAURU: Nauru limits media access to Pacific talks
SBS News: Nauru is looking to limit the number of foreign journalists it will allow to cover the Pacific Island Forum.
NEW ZEALAND: When did TV peak?
RNZ: In New Zealand we still watch 2.5 hours a day of regular TV and 18 hours a week watching online on sites like Netflix.
PAPUA NEW GUINEA: Shutting down Facebook in PNG is a reality
Post-Courier: Facebook users in the country can expect a month’s shutdown access to the site in PNG in order for the Communications and Information Technology Department to carry out research and analysis of its use.
ALBANIA: Journalists win test case against SLAPP
ECPMF: Two award-winning Albanian journalists have won a long-running defamation case that sets an important precedent for press freedom.
BALKANS: Online odyssey in the Balkans
EJN: Change is coming, but credibility and support are urgently needed.
CROATIA: EBU publishes recommendations to improve media freedom in Croatia
EBU: A new joint report on media freedom in Croatia has recommended reforming the legislation governing EBU Member HRT to guarantee the broadcaster’s independence.
CROATIA: Hate speech on the rise but hope for change
SEENPM: After a joint mission of media freedom organisations in June 2016 produced particularly bad results, a new delegation did find a more positive situation at the beginning of 2018.
FINLAND: Find facts about Finnish media
Nordicom: Do you want to know more about media economics, newspapers, magazines, radio and television in Finland? Download Statistic Finland’s five articles on the development of the Finnish media market.
FRANCE: France Télévisions to merge channels and focus on digital as Nyssen outlines reform
Digital TV Europe: French culture minister Françoise Nyssen has outlined a series of economy measures and changes to be implemented by public broadcaster France Télévisions as part of the reform of public service media in the country.
GERMANY: Fact-checking around the world: Inside Germany’s Wafana
IJNet: The tool was developed for the German market where Wild said there aren’t usually huge hoaxes that reach large audiences. Instead, misinformation often takes the form of small falsities and incorrect facts that circulate within specific, online communities.
GERMANY: German journalists strike after fifth negotiation round ends without agreement
EFJ: Newspaper journalists went on strike all over Germany on 28 May 2018 after the fifth round of negotiations for a collective agreement between publishers and two German journalist unions, the Deutscher Journalisten-Verband (DJV) and Deutsche Journalisten Union (dju in ver.di), in Berlin ended without a result.
GREECE: Do Working Conditions Of Journalists In Greece Affect Press Freedom?
Athens Live: Guess what; The impact for democracy is terrifying.
IRELAND: RTE is going to make over its news studio this year for the first time in nearly a decade
Thejournal.ie: RTÉ is set to spend €1.7 million on a makeover of its news studio this year.
ISLE OF MAN: BBC Radio IoM would cost £1.5million
Manx Radio: If the BBC were to create a local radio station on the Isle of Man and become the Island’s public service broadcaster, it would cost a minimum of around one and a half million pounds per year to run.
MALTA: “Who will be next?” (Opinion)
ECPMF: Iris Rohmann, winner of the Daphne Caruana Galizia grant from the German Reporter Forum, just got back from Malta, where she is investigating the circumstances of the Caruana Galizia murder on 16 October 2017. She gave us a short roundup of what she found out in just one week.
MOLDOVA: Study Recommends Ample Changes to Media Laws
SEENPM: The study drafted by the Independent Journalism Center (IJC), recommends the repeal of the Press Law and of the Law on Countering Extremist Activity, as well as the review of other laws, such as the laws on the freedom of expression, protection of personal data, advertising and access to information.
POLAND: Poland to Expand Local DAB+ Services
Radio World: Will add digital multiplexes for small, regional broadcasters in more than 30 urban areas.
SLOVAKIA: Reporters quit Slovak public broadcaster to protest at political pressure
Reuters: Twelve reporters from Slovakia’s public TV and radio broadcaster RTVS quit on Thursday in protest at what they called creeping political pressure.
SPAIN: “CambienRtveYa” and “JASniunminutomás” the workers of RTVE claim in the sixth #BlackFriday (Spanish)
InfoLibre: “A new president of the Government has just been appointed and our message remains the same: a pluralistic, true, objective public media, independent of political power”, says the News Council
SPAIN: In Spain, journalists covering corruption are targeted in court
IPI: Officials’ practice of filing unfounded criminal charges poses threat to press freedom
SPAIN: The PDLI launches the ‘Observatory against online harassment of women journalists’ (Spanish)
PDLI: The Platform in Defense of Freedom of Information (PDLI) has launched the “Observatory against online harassment of women journalists” , in collaboration with the Federation of Journalists’ Unions (FeSP), a member of the Platform.
UK: Channel 4 reveals shortlist for new HQ and regional hubs
DIgital TV Europe: Channel 4 has announced the cities and regions that have been shortlisted to house its new national headquarters and two new creative hubs.
Advanced Television: UK commercial broadcaster ITV is considering entering into a £1 billion joint venture with the BBC by buying half of multichannel broadcaster UKTV, according to the Daily Telegraph.
UK: What does the future hold for broadcasting in Scotland?
The Scotsman: It has been a busy few weeks for observers of the broadcasting industry in Scotland. STV announced a restructure of its news operation, with more than 50 jobs at risk, while BBC Scotland revealed that its new channel will not launch until February next year.
UKRAINE: Ukrainian security services faked Arkady Babchenko’s death
EFJ: Arkady Babchenko, the Russian journalist who was reported to have been shot dead in Kiev, has turned up alive at a news conference in Ukraine.
UKRAINE: Ukrainian Journalist Sentences to 12 Years in Camp for Spying (FRENCH)
RTBF: The Russian justice system on Monday condemned the Ukrainian Journalist Roman Souchtchenko to 12 years in a severe regime camp, arrested in October 2016 and found culpable of spying, accusations that he denied and that he has denounced as political in Kiev.
ARGENTINA: Martín Fierro: union protest against cuts in public media (Spanish)
Perfil: At the opening of the Martin Fierro awards, hundreds of people grouped from different media unions to protest against the “emptying” and for the reinstatement of their jobs
GUATEMALA: Spurned by Facebook’s News Feed, Guatemala’s Nómada prepares for a more independent future
NiemanLab: “At the beginning, we were very upset. But at the end, we can thank it because it exploded the bubble we were living in.”
MEXICO: In Mexico, 6 journalists have been killed in 2018 (Spanish)
France24: In recent years Mexico has become a site of high risk for the journalistic profession. Many ask the candidates for the Presidency to include this calamity in their agendas.
Knight Center for Journalists in the Americas: While reporters don helmets to cover violent protests in Nicaragua, human rights and press organizations are calling on the international community to pay attention to attacks on journalists and news media amidst protests against the government of President Daniel Ortega.
ISRAEL: Israel must halt law that could criminalise media (Opinion)
he Guardian: On the day the US moved its embassy to Jerusalem, Israeli soldiers opened fire on unarmed Palestinian protesters who gathered at the border fence on the Gaza Strip.
JORDAN: Understanding hate speech: Jordan’s new definition threatens press freedom
EJN: The revisions, proposed by Jordan’s Legislation and Opinion Bureau to the 2015 Cybercrimes law, attempt to define hate speech. The amendments recommend the criminalisation of online hate speech, based on a very sweeping meaning of the term, which could lead to harsh penalties and extortionate fines.
TURKEY: I Subscribe – to support independent journalism in Turkey
ECPMF: Global campaign launches with call to subscribe to secular daily Cumhuriyet.
TURKEY: Turkey Crackdown Chronicle: Week of May 28, 2018
CPJ
TURKEY: Turkey’s opposition battles media banishment ahead of polls
Al Monitor: Ahead of Turkey’s critical presidential and parliamentary polls on June 24, opposition parties face an unprecedented blackout by mainstream television channels, almost all of which are now in pro-government hands.
IPI: For thousands of journalists in Turkey, working for government-controlled media is the only option. Some of the journalists working at these newspapers find themselves in passive resistance and some are participating in a more active struggle. This is what they had to say.
QATAR: Twitter bots, fake news and propaganda in the Qatar crisis
Aljazeera: Vulnerabilities in the social media platform allow it to be manipulated for state propaganda in the Gulf.
GENERAL: Journalists and human rights defenders under fire, Pride event cancelled: May in the MENA region
IFEX: Celebrated human rights defender receives 10-year prison sentence in UAE; Saudi and Bahraini governments continue crackdown; Palestinian journalists face most violent month in years at the hands of Israeli forces; Egyptian authorities ‘reduce country to almost complete silence’; Tunisia sees guarantees on freedom of expression and access to information at risk; Pride event in Beirut forced by authorities to cancel.
CANADA: Calgary’s news comes in many languages these days
CBC: People turn to multicultural media for comfort, connection and understandable stories
CANADA: CRTC calls for digital creative levy
Advanced Television: As consumption of audio and video content shifts to digital, all services should contribute to ensure a vibrant domestic market, according to the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC).
US: CPB analysis finds smaller stations lagging in revenue growth (Subscription)
Current: Smaller public radio and TV stations continue to struggle financially compared with larger organisations, according to CPB’s latest “state of the system” analysis.
US: NPR finds blogs not ‘resonating’ with readers, shuts down five (Subscription)
Current: A reorganization of NPR’s website next week will eliminate five news blogs.
US: Public Media Rising Up for More Than 50 Years
CPB
5 ways data journalism became more innovative in the past few years
Journalism.co.uk: ‘Newsrooms around the world are aiming for more interactivity and better user journey through data stories’
10 new paradigms for digital journalism
IJNET
Nieman Lab: Against all odds, Facebook’s Trending Topics lasted more than four years.
How women are revolutionising television (Interview)
RNZ: It’s the Golden Age of Television for women. Some of the best, most successful shows on TV are run by women. They are using their power as the creative force behind popular shows to develop interesting women characters and tell stories of all kinds.
Mojo Workin’: Developing And Producing on a Smart Phone (Part 1)
GIJN
PEN International: From cases of harassment, arrests, attacks, imprisonments and killings of writers and journalists around the world – it is clear that the space for free expression is sharply shrinking.
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Header image: TV cameras lined up, covering large public event. Credits: Microgen/istock
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