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

Public media is in peril and facing many challenges. Social media platforms are presenting an existential crisis to public service media. Governments are trying to extend their control and influence on the editorial output of the broadcasters. Funding systems for many are up in the air. Journalists are facing threats, attacks and harassment, both online and in-person. But it’s also an exciting time for public service media – digital platforms provide new opportunities to reach audiences, technology means public broadcasters can be innovative in how they provide a public service.

Every week, PMA compiles all the latest news from the public media and media freedom industry. Have a story to feature? Get in touch!

Public media research

Our PSM Research and Resources page brings together all the latest academic studies looking into the world of public media.

What we're watching...


Resilience in Action: Ukrainian Editors in Conversation

IPI: As the initial shock from Russia’s full-scale invasion fades, Ukrainian editors share how they are confronting the reality that covering the war is not a sprint but a marathon.

What we're listening to...


Our podcast: Authentic Leadership. Episode 5 – Authenticity and solidarity: “We are more united to help and inspire each other”

Reuters Institute: In the final episode of our Authentic Leadership series we hear from two women leaders from Latin America who have each had to find strategies for dealing with some very tough challenges in journalism, including gender discrimination and exposure to harrowing scenes. They both discuss how they have been empowered and empowered others through unity and collective action.

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ALGERIA: Noted thinkers, writers and filmmakers call on Algeria to free jailed journalist seen as independent

ABC News: Ten noted thinkers, writers and filmmakers, including Ken Loach and Nobel literature laureate Annie Ernaux, have signed an open letter calling on the president of Algeria to free a jailed journalist they said was punished for refusing to bow to the government line.


COTE D’IVOIRE: The reality of the fight against disinformation in the media

IJNet: Limiting the spread of false information in the media in Côte d’Ivoire is now an exercise that journalists, whistleblowers and newsrooms will have to do on a daily basis. In what context does misinformation most often occur, how do you restore trust with readers and listeners and restore information to its full potential? 


ETHIOPIA: Ethiopian Media Authority issues final warning to Prime Media (25 May)

Addis Standard: The Ethiopian Media Authority (EMA) has issued a final warning to Prime Television, following a series of alleged infringements of Ethiopia’s broadcasting regulations.


KENYA: Rigathi Gachagua in fresh media attack

Nairobi News: Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua has launched a fresh attack on the media. In his address during the 2023 Madaraka Day celebrations in Embu on June 1, 2023, the DP claimed the media is ‘inciting the public against the passage of the Finance Bill 2023’


NIGERIA: PREMIUM TIMES, nine others join NAMIP innovative cohort

The Premium Times: The Nigeria Media Innovation Program (NAMIP) is thrilled to announce the addition of 10 more media organizations to its innovative business capacity-building coaching initiative. 


NIGERIA: ‘Press Freedom, Freedom of Speech’. What Journalists Want From New Gov’t

The Foundation for Investigative Journalism: Journalists are expected to be the voice of the people and hold power to account, but rarely do the institutions meant to protect them in the discharge of their duties do so.


SENEGAL: TV channel suspended, Internet access restricted amid violence protests in Senegal

RSF: Political unrest and violence in Senegal must not be used as grounds for restricting the right to report the news, says Reporters Without Borders (RSF), condemning a TV channel’s 48-hour suspension, restrictions on access to the Internet and social media, and the ransacking of a journalism school amid widespread violent protests on 1st June.


SENEGAL: Violent Crackdown On Opposition, Dissent

HRW: Senegalese authorities should immediately ensure an independent and credible investigation into the violence during protests in the capital, Dakar, and across the country since May 31, 2023, Human Rights Watch said today. 


SOMALIA: Surviving Somalia’s most dangerous profession: A sit down with the Journalists’ Syndicate Director

Raseef22: Perhaps a journalist fears the oppression and brutality of the authorities in his country, so he resorts to linguistic tricks to soften the impact of his words and achieve the goal at the same time, in line with the popular Arabic saying, “Half-blindness is better than total blindness”, and hoping for a better tomorrow. This approach is familiar to those who work in journalism in Arab countries that rank low in the press freedom index.


SOUTH AFRICA: Judge slams ruling against amaBhungane

GroundUp: An order taken secretly compelling the amaBhungane Centre for Investigative Journalism to hand over documents to the Moti Group of companies within 48 hours, has been effectively set aside.


SOUTH AFRICA: MMA and SOS call upon the SABC Board to advertise for the positions of GCEO and GCFO

SOS: The SABC Board was appointed on the 18th of April 2023. There can be little doubt that the Board has been met with a deluge of demands and will almost certainly feel they are being pulled in different directions. 


SUDAN: Mapping Sudan’s baffling propaganda battlefield on social media

Dabanga: As is the way with 21st Century conflicts, social media is part of the battleground, and the war in Sudan is predictably spawning contradicting propaganda from both sides. 


TUNISIA: ‘The climate is getting tougher; we can expect anything’: Firas Kefi on the media in Tunisia

Middle East Monitor: Last week, dozens of journalists protested in Tunis in solidarity with two Radio Mosaique journalists who were interrogated by the country’s security forces.


UGANDA: EU cautions journalists on integrity, neutrality

Monitor: The European Union envoy to Uganda has called upon media houses and journalists to observe the ethical principles such as neutrality and integrity, when covering stories.


ZIMBABWE: Amabhungane overturns part of Moti secret court order, but gag remains

MG: A secret court order obtained by the Moti Group requiring the renowned non-profit investigative journalism unit Amabhungane to return thousands of company documents by Saturday evening – which allegedly link the Moti Group to a raft of improper relationships with Zimbabwe’s ruling elite – has been over-turned.


REGIONAL: 5 African countries pledged to uphold free internet in 2021 but broke that promise

Technext: The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), in a tweet Thursday, June 1, said that 150 million Nigerians have access to the internet, while over 80 million have access to high-speed internet. 


REGIONAL: AU partners with UNESCO in support of the annual African Media Convention (Press Release)

AU: The African media stakeholders in partnership with the African Union and UNESCO, held the second continent-wide media conference in Lusaka Zambia, from the 11-13th May 2023. This was in commemoration of World Press Freedom Day 2023 under the theme “Shaping a Future of Rights: Freedom of expression as a driver for all other human rights”.


REGIONAL: Investigative Journalism Under Threat in Africa

New Era: Investigative journalists in Africa have to find innovative ways to do their work as resources become scarce and safety concerns grow.

CAMBODIA: Facebook’s Litmus Test in Cambodia

Foreign Policy: A company verdict on Prime Minister Hun Sen’s online incitement could set a precedent for other autocrats.


CHINA: China’s growing comedy scene feels censorship chill

BBC: In mid-May, Chinese stand-up comic Li Haoshi, better known by his stage name House, cracked a joke about his adopted dogs.


CHINA: China pressures Australian press club to cancel Tibetan exile leader’s speech

Radio Free Asia: China is under fire for attempting to prevent the leader of Tibet’s government-in-exile from giving a speech at the Australian National Press Club in Canberra, the Sydney Morning Herald reported.


CHINA & INDIA: How China and India expelled each other’s journalists in tit-for-tat visa spat

The Independent: China’s foreign ministry says Beijing had ‘no choice but to take appropriate countermeasures’


CHINA: Reporters Without Borders: Macau national security law threatens residents and journalists

Jurist: Reporters Without Borders (RSF) denounced on Friday Macau’s decision to expand their national security law, which takes effect this week. The effect of these changes, according to RSF, “increases the pressure on journalists and further threatens the residents’ right to information.”


HONG KONG: Award-winning Hong Kong journalist wins appeal in rare court ruling upholding media freedom

The Independent: An award-winning Hong Kong journalist won an appeal quashing her conviction related to work on her investigative documentary Monday in a rare court ruling upholding media freedom in the territory.


HONG KONG: Hong Kong police detain activists on anniversary of Tiananmen Square massacre

Sky News: It’s been 34 years since government troops opened fire on protesters in Beijing – estimates of the number killed range from several hundred into the thousands.


JAPAN: Be prepared for flood damage! “Disaster prevention points” for rivers Added the Tokyo metropolitan area to the map of NHK’s disaster prevention app (Press Release – Japanese)

NHK: We are entering the season when we are seriously worried about flood damage caused by heavy rains and typhoons. The NHK News/Disaster Prevention App, which is one of the means of obtaining information during a disaster, provides information such as hazard maps, river water level information, and river camera information on maps that can be used when disasters are a concern. 


KYRGYZSTAN: Kyrgyzstan urged to stop abusing legislation to target independent media

IFEX: The recent ruling to close ‘Azattyk Media’ reflects a growing pattern in Kyrgyzstan to draft and arbitrarily implement controversial and ambiguous laws that could be misused to target people and institutions exercising their rights to free expression and information.


MYANMAR: Myanmar court convicts journalist injured by army on 2nd charge, extending jail term to 13 years

Independent: A court in military-ruled Myanmar has convicted a 34-year-old journalist of violating the country’s counter-terrorism law, adding 10 years to the three-year prison sentence she was given last December for filming an anti-military protest.


NEPAL: Silencing journalists and independent media

IPI: Journalists in Nepal face attacks, arrests, judicial harassment, and hostility from both officials and the public. IPI documented at least 31 press freedom violations in the six-month period between October 2022 and March 2023, nearly two-thirds of which were cases of physical attacks or verbal and online threats.


PAKISTAN: Authorities arrest Geo News Executive Producer

IFJ: Police have denied the arrest and disappearance of Geo News Executive Producer Zubair Anjum, despite the media worker being brought into custody from his Karachi home by armed officers on June 6. 


PAKISTAN: Pakistan’s embattled Imran Khan faces blackout on local media

Asia One: Coverage of Pakistan’s former prime minister Imran Khan has disappeared from all mainstream news channels in the country after the media regulator asked networks to block out people involved in rioting in May, a Reuters survey showed on Monday (June 5).


PHILIPPINES: UNESCO condemns killing of Oriental Mindoro broadcaster Cris Bundoquin

Phil Star: MANILA, Philippines — International condemnation for the killing of Oriental Mindoro broadcaster Cresenciano “Cris” Bundoquin last Wednesday continues to mount as UNESCO called the murder part of a “concerning trend” for freedom of expression.


SINGAPORE: MEDIACORP LAUNCHES BLOOMR.SG INCUBATOR PROGRAMME AND THIRD EDITION OF ACCELERATOR PROGRAMME TO NURTURE CONTENT CREATING TALENT (Press Release)

Mediacorp: Mediacorp has unveiled its first ever Bloomr.SG Incubator Programme, designed to groom outstanding content creators and open doors for them to showcase their talents through more high value commercial opportunities and brand collaborations. This new initiative is an extension of Mediacorp’s popular Bloomr.SG Multi-Channel Network (MCN) Accelerator, which is also now open for applications for its third intake.


TAIWAN: Impact of news media on migrants

Taipei Times: Taiwan legalized the entry of migrant workers from Southeast Asia in 1992. Migrant workers are seen as an economic short-term presence that brings material benefits to the nation, but also a degree of conflict.


TAIWAN: “Yaoguo Summer Camp-Fantasy Journey in Different Visions” VR and AR multimedia rich experience Fruit grandma accompanied everyone to review the growth points

Taipei News: This year marks the 25th anniversary of PTV. PTV has continued to cultivate the field of children and children. From the TV show “Fruit Ice Cream” that accompanied children and children to create childhood memories in 1998, it has won the best award at the San Diego International Children’s Film Festival in recent years. 


TAJIKISTAN: Reporting from ‘the roof of the world’: How Pamir Daily News works in Tajikistan

Global Voices; For more than a year, Tajikistan’s eastern Gorno-Badakhshan Autonomous Oblast (GBAO) has been the epicenter of unrest and tensions in the country.


THAILAND: Announcing the list of selection results for the second round of the Drama Program Commissioning 2023 (Press Release)

Thai PBS: As TPA has implemented a project accepting proposals for the production of drama programs and television series. From independent program producers (Drama Program Commissioning 2023) between 30 and 31 January 2023, TPA has completed the selection of dramas and television series.


THAILAND: Media censorship concerns for Pita after BBC profile blocked

The Phuket News: Move Forward Party leader Pita Limjaroenrat expressed concern about media freedom yesterday (May 30) after a local pay-TV provider blocked a BBC profile about him.


TURKMENISTAN: Dogged and determined reporters: How journalism persists in Turkmenistan

Meduza: In April, a delegation from Ashgabat met with U.N. officials in Geneva to discuss ongoing strategic partnerships between Turkmenistan and the United Nations. A dry official statement from Turkmenistan’s Foreign Ministry described rather routine meetings about copyright protections, collaboration in the information sphere, and disarmament. 

AUSTRALIA: Bruce Lehrmann says ABC acted maliciously by showing Brittany Higgins speech, court documents show

The Guardian: Bruce Lehrmann has accused the Australian Broadcasting Corporation of acting maliciously by broadcasting Brittany Higgins’ National Press Club address, saying in court documents it was “wilfully blind” to the risk of her defaming him or making prejudicial comments close to his trial.


AUSTRALIA: National NAIDOC Committee and ABC announce partnership celebrating Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander excellence (Press release) 

ABC: The National NAIDOC Committee and the Australian Broadcasting Corporation are proud to announce that the ABC has been appointed the Official Broadcast and Education Partner of National NAIDOC Week 2023.


AUSTRALIA: The ABC at its worst is vastly better than its competitors. Time to defend it without apology (Opinion)

Crikey: Management need to stop the racial guilt trip and state the obvious: public broadcasting strives to represent Australia, while the commercial networks manufacture Anglo whiteness.


FIJI: REPEAL OF RESTRICTIVE MEDIA LAW, REVERSE OF TRAVEL BANS AND OTHER REFORM COMMITMENTS A POSITIVE SIGNAL FOR CIVIC FREEDOMS

Civicus: The state of civic space in Fiji is rated as ‘obstructed’ by the CIVICUS Monitor. Among civic space concerns documented in 2022 were harassment of the media and the ongoing presence of restrictive media laws that created an environment of self-censorship. 


NEW ZEALAND: How RNZ’s Morning Report solved the mystery of the grey-backed storm petrel

RNZ: RNZ’s Morning Report birdcall has helped solve a mystery about grey-backed storm petrels in Fiordland.


NEW ZEALAND: NZ’s Media Freedom Council slams mayor Brown’s ban attempt as ‘insult to voters’

RNZ: The Media Freedom Committee has called Auckland Mayor Wayne Brown’s exclusion of certain media outlets from his budget speech on Thursday “unacceptable”.


NEW ZEALAND: The long game of investigating Loafers Lodge disaster

RNZ: Years before the Grenfell Tower fire killed 72 residents, it was foreshadowed by another fatal fire in London which was not adequately investigated. A journalist who has worked on that story for six years so far tells Mediawatch New Zealand media must pursue what went wrong at Loafers Lodge and it could prevent something worse happening in future. 


REGIONAL: Latest Island Studies journal features social justice activism and advocacy

Asia Pacific Report: A new edition of the Okinawan Journal of Island Studies features social justice island activism, including a case study of Aotearoa New Zealand’s Pacific Media Centre, in what the editors say brings a sense of “urgency” in the field of diversity, equity, and inclusion in scholarship.

AUSTRIA: INTEGRATED PRODUCTION ON THE NEW ORF MEDIA CAMPUS

EBU:  The past 18 months have seen the completion of several projects underpinning the broadcaster’s strategy towards integrating digital with linear, hybrid production and a new multimedia newsroom. 


AUSTRIA: So it goes on in the direction of the ORF contribution for everyone (German)

Der Standard: The ORF contribution for all households and companies comes as planned – after thousands of critical statements from private individuals and objections from associations and institutions 


BELGIUM: From MNM Blok Party to De MNM Blokhut: through together during the exam period (Dutch)

VRT: The time has come, the study period is approaching for all students. That is why MNM is kicking off various programmes, known and new, to encourage students. 


CROATIA: Croatian Journalists Reject HRT’s ‘No Censorship’ Claims (19 May)

Balkan Insight: Hrvoje Zovko, president of the Croatian Journalists’ Association, HND, told BIRN on Friday that he rejected the claims of the Director General of Croatian Radio and Television, Robert Sveb, and the Croatian Minister of Culture and Media, Nina Obuljen Korzinek, that the public broadcaster was not subject to censorship.


ESTONIA: TV channels might need to seek a permit to be aired in Estonia

ERR: The Ministry of Culture wants to regulate the order in which cable and digital television providers need to present channels. The ministry also wants operators to seek a permit before a channel can be aired in Estonia.


GERMANY: Germany Radio Council adopts guidelines for fulfilling the extended supervisory and control obligations (Press release – German)

Deutschlandradio: As a central topic of the meeting, the committee discussed the new requirements resulting from the new media amendment state treaty for the work of the supervisory bodies of Deutschlandradio. 


GERMANY: SWR app “Newszone”: Too much text? (Listen – German)

Deutschlandradio: With its news app “Newszone”, the SWR wants to reach younger users in a targeted manner. But from the point of view of publishers, the offer is too text-heavy and therefore illegal. 


IRELAND: RTÉ directed by Information Commissioner to release workplace audit

The Irish Times: The Information Commissioner has directed RTÉ to release a redacted version of an internal workplace audit undertaken into its current affairs department, which the broadcaster previously resisted circulating to staff.


KOSOVO: Law enforcement must protect journalists amidst escalating tensions in northern Kosovo

ECPMF: The undersigned international press freedom organisations are highly concerned about the recent wave of violent attacks on journalists in Kosovo, which has been the most intense in the country’s recent history. We call on the authorities to immediately put in place the necessary measures to guarantee reporters’ and media workers’ safety, enabling them to continue to report on the tense protests in the north of the country.


LATVIA: Watchdog requests Latvian public media financing at 0.16% of GDP

LSM: In order to ensure independent, adequate and predictable funding for public service media – Latvian Television (LTV) and Latvian Radio (LSM is also part of the public media framework) – at the European average level, the Public Electronic Mass Media Council (SEPLP) urges the Saeima to raise public media funding to 0.16% of the gross domestic product (GDP).


LITHUANIA: LRT settles and delivers in 2022. activity report: war coverage, point in Washington, enlarged portal and updated visual identity (Press release – Lithuanian)

LRT: The most important broadcasts from all over Lithuania and the world, reports from Ukraine, resonant journalistic investigations and the most significant cultural events – all this is presented by LRT in the latest edition of 2022. 


POLAND: I am filing a complaint with the National Broadcasting Council after the June 4 march. Because TVP broke the law (Opinion – Polish)

Wyborca.pl: Government television is a pathological normality and on Sunday it did nothing that it had not done before: it distorted the facts about the opposition march, manipulated them, glued quarter-truths into whole lies.


POLAND: Press freedom threatened by Poland’s new commission on Russian influence

RSF: Reporters Without Borders (RSF) calls on the European Commission and European Parliament to prevent Poland’s new commission of inquiry into Russian influence on internal security from being used to wage a witchhunt against journalists critical of the government in the run-up to next autumn’s parliamentary elections.


POLAND: The media machine of the PiS camp about the June 4 march. They say it’s a “march of boors” and a “march of hate”

Wyborca.pl: Law and Justice staff and pro-government media are doing their best to push the discussion about the June 4 march to the accusation of allegedly lining it with hatred. 


SLOVENIA: At the founding meeting, the president and deputy of the RTV Slovenia Council were appointed (Press release – Slovenian) 

RTV SLO: Today, the new Sveta RTV Slovenija held its founding meeting. Goran Forbici was elected president of the Council of RTV Slovenia, and Špela Stare was elected to the position of deputy.


SLOVENIA: EFJ welcomes court ruling on RTV SLO reform

EFJ: Following the decision of the Slovenian Constitutional Court to approve the passing of amendments to the law on Radiotelevizija Slovenija (RTV SLO), the European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) joined the undersigned members of the Media Freedom Rapid Response (MFRR) in giving our support to current efforts to depoliticise the public broadcaster.


SLOVENIA: RTV Slovenia condemns offensive and violent attacks on employees (Press release – Slovenian)

RTV SLO: The management of RTV Slovenia is appalled by the behavior of some protesters in front of the RTV Slovenia public institution yesterday. There should be no place for any kind of violence in a democratic society.


UK: Acting Chair of the BBC appointed (Press release) 

BBC: The UK Government has today confirmed Professor Dame Elan Closs Stephens as the Acting Chair of the BBC.


UK: BBC bids for button on remote controls

InformITV: The BBC is calling for a dedicated button to provide a shortcut to its services on all television remote controls. 


UK: BBC Radio 4 begins information campaign to transition listeners from Long Wave

BBC: The BBC has begun an information campaign to help transition listeners of Radio 4 Long Wave (LW) to alternative BBC platforms. 


UK: Commercial broadcasters attack Ofcom advertising proposals

The Financial Times: Commercial broadcasters have attacked plans by the UK media watchdog to permit public service rivals such as ITV to increase their advertising allowance, saying this would hurt news output and viability of smaller channels.


UKRAINE: Resilience in Action: Ukrainian Editors in Conversation (Watch)

IPI: As the initial shock from Russia’s full-scale invasion fades, Ukrainian editors share how they are confronting the reality that covering the war is not a sprint but a marathon.


UKRAINE: War highlights value of radio for Ukraine’s public broadcaster

The Japan Times: Radio and social media have proved to be essential amid the Ukraine war, as broadcasting infrastructure has often been a prime target, an executive at the country’s public broadcaster said during a visit to Tokyo for training by NHK, citing an incident when a television tower in Kyiv was attacked last year.


REGIONAL: Pan-European media project available in two new languages (Press release)

DW: New ENTR channels launch in Bulgarian on May 30, with ENTR Dutch scheduled to launch on June 6. The multilingual digital media initiative ENTR was launched by DW and France Médias Monde in 2021.

ARGENTINA: “40 years of Democracy in the public media”, a new microsite to learn about History in a didactic way (Spanish)

El1 Digital: Within the framework of the celebration of four decades of uninterrupted democracy, the public and educational channels accompany the celebration and reflection with the launch of the free web microsite 40 years of Democracy in the public media.


BRAZIL: Brazil police charge alleged mastermind behind murders of Dom Phillips and Bruno Pereira

The Guardian: Brazilian police have charged the alleged leader of a “transnational criminal organization” with being the mastermind of the murders of Dom Phillips and Bruno Pereira in the Amazon one year ago. 


BRAZIL: Regulating Online Platforms Beyond the Marco Civil in Brazil: The Controversial “Fake News Bill”

Tech Policy Press: Brazil’s President, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, has referred a proposed law to the Congress. Colloquially referred to as the “Fake News Bill,” the draft legislation originates in a proposal made by Senator Viera in 2020 and is aimed at regulating online platforms and instant messaging services in the country. 


COLOMBIA: With a broken voice, Camila Zuluaga denounces harassment by petristas and asked the president to respect the press (Spanish)

El Colombiano: Journalist Camila Zuluaga said she was the victim of persecution and intimidation by supporters of the president, whom he himself has supported on social networks. “It’s the first time I’m afraid of what might happen,” she said. Prosecutor investigates.


COLOMBIA & RUSSIA: Prisa Media defends freedom of expression and rejects the statement from the Russian embassy in Colombia against W Radio (Spanish – 26 May)

El País: The publishing house of EL PAÍS considers that the letter from the diplomatic legation for an interview with a Russian opponent represents a threat against freedom of expression.


GUATEMALA: IAPA: Request for Severe Sentence to Zamora Demonstrates Malice Against Journalism (Spanish) 

IAPA: Michael Greenspon pointed out that several Guatemalan journalists have had to leave the country for fear of manipulation of the justice system.


GUATEMALA: The Guatemalan Prosecutor’s Office requests 40 years in prison for the founder of the Guatemalan newspaper ‘elPeriódico’ (Spanish)

La Nacion: For his part, Gómez has stated that the trial against him is revenge against prosecutors who investigated corruption in the Central American country, indicating that this process has the objective of harming the accused journalist […]


JAMAICA: A voice from the Diaspora: Will the real journalists please stand up? (Opinion)

Jamaica Observer


MEXICO: Authorities must investigate killing of journalist Marco Aurelio Ramírez Hernández

IPI: Investigations must also be carried out into murders of at least two other Mexican journalists this year.


NICARAGUA: Nicaragua – Silencing of critical voices

OHCHR: We have growing concerns that the authorities in Nicaragua are actively silencing any critical or dissenting voices in the country and are using the justice system to this end.


PERU: Peruvian Press Council assures that the independence of the IRTP is at risk (Spanish)

El Comercio: The Peruvian Press Council questioned this Wednesday the appointment of Ninoska Chandia as the new president of the Institute of Radio and Television of Peru (IRTP) for her “professional closeness” with the president Dina Boluarte.


REGIONAL: Invisible, persecuted and in exile: How journalists are resisting in Central America (Spanish)

El País: Three journalists from Nicaragua, El Salvador and Guatemala provide a first-person account of what it’s like to continue reporting on reality despite the authoritarian onslaught in the region and the criminalization of their work.


REGIONAL: World ranking of press freedom: Latin America remains in debt (Spanish)

Bloomberg Línea: Very few Latin American countries stand out for being well positioned in relation to press freedom observed behind closed doors, to the point that only Costa Rica, Argentina and the Dominican Republic appear in the top 50 of a ranking prepared by Reporters Without Borders, which has 180 participants.

IRAN: Journalists who reported on Mahsa Amini’s death stand trial in Iran

CNN: Two journalists responsible for breaking the story of Mahsa Amini, the Kurdish-Iranian woman killed after being held in custody by Iran’s morality police last year, stood trial in an Iranian court this week.   


IRAN: Recent Beating of Reporter Is Nothing New for Iran, Journalist Says

VOA: Following the Wednesday beating of a journalist in Iran by the bodyguards of Hassan Khomeini, the grandson of the country’s first supreme leader, Iranian reporters are saying that such violent harassment is par for the course with the poor state of media freedom in Iran.


TURKEY: Journalists attacked and hindered on presidential election day

IPI: The International Press Institute (IPI), the global network of editors, journalists and media executives for press freedom, condemns the instances of violence and obstruction targeting journalists during the second round of presidential elections in Turkey on May 28, 2023. 


TURKEY: Opposition Turkiye TV probed for ‘insulting’ election coverage

MEMO: Turkiye’s broadcasting watchdog has launched an inquiry into six opposition TV channels for “insulting the public” with their coverage of Sunday’s presidential election runoff, it said on Tuesday, without detailing what the insults were, Reuters reports.


REGIONAL: EUROPEAN UNION REWARDS JOURNALISTS FROM EGYPT, LEBANON AND SYRIA DURING 2023 EDITION OF SAMIR KASSIR AWARD

NNA: On 5 June 2023, the Delegation of the European Union to Lebanon and the Samir Kassir Foundation, announced the results of the 18th edition of the Samir Kassir Award for Freedom of the Press, in a ceremony held at the Sursock Palace Gardens, in Beirut. 

CANADA: Canada should look to its past and Europe for guidance on media policy — but not south

The Conversation: Seventy years ago, Canadian leaders turned away from the British model of media policy that rejected advertising-supported private broadcasting.


CANADA: Catherine Tait reappointed President and CEO of CBC/Radio-Canada (Press Release)

CBC/Radio-Canada: Catherine Tait, President and CEO of CBC/Radio-Canada, is pleased to continue in her role at the national public broadcaster for an additional 18-month term. The Honourable Pablo Rodriguez, Minister of Canadian Heritage, made the announcement earlier today. 


CANADA: Old media may need Bill C-18, but new media need Google and Facebook (Opinion)

Canadian Dimension: The contentious bill could determine the shape of news for decades in Canada.


CANADA: TikTok Faces Trust Crisis in Canada as Negative Sentiment Grows, Warns Horizon Media Canada’s Tipping Point Analysis

Horizon Media: Nearly 60 per cent of Canadians express concern over TikTok’s lingering privacy issues.


US: A Reporter Investigated Sexual Misconduct. Then the Attacks Began.

The New York Times: After publishing an exposé, journalists in New Hampshire faced broken windows, vulgar graffiti and a legal brawl, with important First Amendment implications.


USA: Collaboration Amplifies Public Radio Dominance in the 2023 Regional Edward R. Murrow Awards (Press release)

CPB: From innovative coverage of the midterm elections by Texas Public Radio, KQED and WHYY to a Harvest Public Media/Kansas News Service series on how droughts are transforming life on the Great Plains, public media rose to the top of the 2023 Regional Edward R. Murrow Awards. Public media organizations won a total of 286 awards from the Radio Television Digital News Association recognizing outstanding broadcast and digital journalism in 13 U.S. regions.


US: How should journalists cover Pride in states that have passed anti-LGBTQ+ laws?

Poynter: Journalism has an enormous ability to shape public opinion about queer people, as its troubled history with the community has shown.


US: Journalists to strike June 5 at the largest US newspaper chain

AP: Journalists across the U.S. will walk off their jobs next week at roughly two dozen newsrooms run by Gannett, the largest newspaper chain in the U.S., their union said Thursday.


US: Meta threatens to block news stories in California over new bill

The Week: Meta will remove all news links from Facebook and Instagram in California if state legislators pass a bill that would tax the tech platform’s advertising profits, a company spokesperson threatened on Wednesday.


US: Press Freedom Month: U.S. Mission organises capacity-building workshop for radio journalists

BH: A total of 48 radio reporters, producers, and news anchors from across Nigeria completed a U.S. Mission supported journalism workshop titled “What Makes Great Radio?”


US: US Sanctions Iranian Firm for Helping Government Censor Internet

VOA: The U.S. imposed sanctions on an Iran-based technology firm Friday for its role in facilitating the Iranian government’s censorship of the internet as anti-government protests have swept the country since September.

Citizen Journalism: With newsroom resources stretched thin, local news publishers consider whether and how to embrace community reporting

Editor and Publisher: Who is a “journalist?” It’s a simple question, newly steeped in controversy. As local newsrooms find they don’t have enough resources for comprehensive coverage, some communities are turning to citizen journalists to bridge the information gap.


Death in the Amazon: Dangers of Environmental Reporting

VOA: The latest threat to the life of Txai Surui is still fresh in her mind. Protesting deforestation in the Amazon with other Indigenous people last week, she found herself held at gunpoint.


Estonia announced as new co-chair of the Media Freedom Coalition

MFC: As current co-chairs of the MFC, Canada and the Netherlands are pleased to join Estonia in announcing that Estonia will succeed Canada as MFC co-chair on July 1, 2023.


In defense of journalists

The Hill: Reporters can be pesky and pushy, sticking microphones in people’s faces or shouting questions from afar. 


Media Freedom and Information Access Clinic Talks to OpenAI’s David Robinson ’12

Yale Law: David Robinson ’12 is the Head of Policy Planning at OpenAI, the artificial intelligence laboratory best known for developing ChatGPT. A dozen years ago, he was one of the early students to work with Yale Law School’s Media Freedom and Information Access Clinic (MFIA). 


Online violence is trying to silence women journalists. Here’s how they’re fighting back.

IJNet: Online violence against women journalists today is increasingly organized, targeted and personal. These disinformation-laced attacks place women’s physical and psychological safety at worrying risk.


Regulation essential to curb AI for surveillance, disinformation: rights experts

UN News: Artificial Intelligence (AI)-powered spyware and disinformation is on the rise, and regulation of the space has become urgent, according to UN -appointed independent rights experts.


Stop arguing about objectivity and start serving your audience

Poynter: As big names debate objectivity and journalism, our panel suggests they are missing the point and may not actually disagree


The good, the bad and the ugly when it comes to social media

CBN: In recent years, the rise of social media has revolutionised the way in which we communicate and interact with each other. While social media can be a great tool for staying connected with friends and family, it can also be used in harmful or unlawful ways. 


These 5 trends show how social media is under threat in the Middle East and North Africa

IJNet: For the past 11 years, I have been charting social media trends in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) through a series of annual reports capturing common behaviours, as well as barriers to usage. 


VOA Journalists Discuss Threats to Election Coverage, Exiled Journalists, Disinformation and Cybercrime Laws

VOA: Speaking at the International Press Institute World Congress May 25 and 26, four Voice of America journalists focused on global threats to journalists.


Voicing Against Disinformation

Modern Diplomacy: In the digital era, information dissemination is not an arduous task. Information can reach many places even multiple times. However, not all information that is disseminated is true and accurate. 


Why journalists should use precise language to counter disinformation

IJNet: Fake news” is probably a term you’ve heard before. In part due to its overwhelming use by former U.S. President Donald Trump during his first year in office, the phrase was even named “word of the year” by Collins Dictionary in 2017.


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