Our weekly round-up of public service media related stories and headlines from around the world.
As the global Covid-19 pandemic continues and many countries enter a state of lockdown, the need for community solidarity and mutual support has never been greater. But this support requires quality, fact-checked and evidence based news and information.
With this in mind, the Public Media Alliance has compiled an extensive and growing resources featuring recommended tools, advice and sources for journalists and the public alike. The resources can be found via the link below or in the ‘Tools’ section of our website.
The resource will be frequently updated to reflect the changing needs and evolving situation. If you have any recommendations, please let us know.
We also want to hear about your local public media coverage! Email us!
As the coronavirus pandemic worsens, public media are rapidly adapting to best cover the crisis on a local level while also providing for educational needs and vulnerable groups as isolation policies are introduced.
We want to hear from our members about what you are doing to best cover the crisis on a local level. Email us using the link below.
Coronavirus: Resources & best practices
Essential resources for sourcing and reporting news about the coronavirus pandemic
What we're listening to...
How ABC made podcasts a hit during lockdown
Journalism.co.uk: When the coronavirus pandemic forced people to work from home, commuters around the world lost touch with their favourite shows. But the Australian public broadcaster has enjoyed record-breaking months instead.
What we're watching...
How China is limiting freedom of the press in Hong Kong
PBS: China expanded its crackdown on Hong Kong Monday, arresting a prominent pro-democracy activist and media owner.
Global Headlines
Click on the tab menu below to reveal the latest regional stories.
ALGERIA: Journalist’s conviction would prove Algeria is now authoritarian
RSF: If Khaled Drareni, the Algeria correspondent of Reporters Without Borders (RSF), is sentenced to four years in prison, as the prosecution requested when his trial opened in the Algiers district of Sidi M’hamed yesterday, it will confirm that the Algerian state has turned its back on the ideals of the country’s independence, RSF said.
EGYPT: Egypt extends detention of Al Jazeera journalist Mahmoud Hussein
Aljazeera: Egyptian national has been held for more than 1,300 days despite repeated calls for an end to his ‘arbitrary detention’.
ESWATINI: The media is dead, long live the king
Mail & Guardian: The Covid-19 outbreak has highlighted the secrecy about King Mswati’s health, as the Swazi traditional elite continues to struggle with the concepts of information rights and media freedom.
GAMBIA: Gambia still needs to address challenges to press freedom
RSF: Reporters Without Borders (RSF) welcomes the Gambian government’s decision to grant a subsidy to media outlets that have been badly hit by the Covid-19 pandemic. But many challenges need to be addressed to improve press freedom in Gambia.
GHANA: 85th Anniversary of GBC, Its Achievements, Challenges And Prospects (Commentary)
GBC: News commentary on GBC’s 85th anniversary, achievements, challenges and prospects amid Covid-19.
GUINEA-BISSAU: Day of Radio Silence in Guinea-Bissau Protests Attack on Station
VOA: Most radio stations in Guinea-Bissau fell silent for 24 hours on Thursday to show solidarity after a crippling attack on Radio Capital FM.
NAMIBIA: Is Space for Media Freedom Shrinking in Namibia?
All Africa: Dozens of journalists from different media houses have taken a stand against the alleged muzzling of fellow reporters’ freedom and rights to practise their trade without influence.
NAMIBIA: Nampa denies censoring journalist
The Namibian: The state-owned Namibia Press Agency says it has never barred any of its reporters from taking on or writing articles critical of the government or the agency itself.
NIGERIA: Stalled Digital TV Migration Programme To Restart “Very Soon” – Govt. Minister
Broadcast Media Africa: Nigeria’s Minister of Information and Culture, Mr Lai Mohammed, has said the country’s faltering Digital Switch Over (DSO) programme will be resumed – “very soon”.
SOUTH AFRICA: SABC a critical element in the advancement of SA’s language agenda (Opinion)
SABC News: On 01 August 2020, the South African Broadcasting Cooperation (SABC) celebrated its 84th year anniversary of broadcasting, a commendable feat that the Pan South African Language Board (PanSALB) could not let pass without due regard to the public broadcaster’s immense contribution to the development of indigenous language in South Africa.
SOUTH AFRICA: Stop the job cuts, parliament tells SABC
Sunday World: Parliament has again told the SABC leadership to stop the process to retrench 600 workers and terminate the contracts of 1 200 freelancers.
TANZANIA: Crackdown on free press intensifies in Tanzania
The Standard: Tanzanian government has officially banned all local media outlets from broadcasting foreign content without government permission.
TANZANIA: Magufuli issues tough new rules to media houses
The Star (Kenya): Tanzanian President John Magufuli’s government, through the Ministry of Communication, has issued new measures meant to prevent local media from sharing or using unapproved information.
UGANDA: Ugandan police deploy crowd control unit to vet media election campaigns
RFI: The Ugandan police has set up a new ‘Violence Suppression Unit’ to guard TV and radio stations that host politicians during the 2021 presidential campaign. It is part of efforts to stop crowds gathering outside media houses in violation of the country’s curfew. Critics say Covid-19 is being used as an excuse to further stifle dissent.
ZIMBABWE: Zimbabwe Accused of Stifling Press Freedom
VOA: Rights groups in Zimbabwe have denounced the High Court denying bail to journalist Hopewell Chin’ono, who is facing charges of stoking violence in advance of planned anti-government protests.
GENERAL: Digitization without monetization: African news media stuck between a rock and a hard place (Opinion)
Deutsche Welle: Ntibinyane Ntibinyane says that African local news outlets need innovation — and money. The founder of the INK Centre for Investigative Journalism highlights that journalism in Africa is facing increasing threats.
CHINA: Google deletes 2,500 China-linked YouTube channels over disinformation
The Guardian: Move comes amid rising US-China tensions over TikTok and WeChat apps that White House says are ‘significant threats’
HKFP: Hong Kong police have said that they will select which media outlets have close access to their operations on the ground, after keeping several local and international news organisations at a distance during Monday’s unprecedented raid on a pro-democracy newspaper.
HONG KONG: Freelance ITV News journalist Wilson Li arrested in Hong Kong under security law
ITV News: A freelance ITV News journalist has been arrested in Hong Kong over the newly implemented national security law.
HONG KONG: Hong Kong foreign press says journalists being targeted in US-China stand-off
BBC News: Foreign journalists in Hong Kong are facing “highly unusual” visa delays at a time of high tension between the US and China, a group representing international media has said.
HONG KONG: Hong Kong media tycoon Jimmy Lai arrested under new security law
The Guardian: Leading pro-democracy figure detained over alleged foreign collusion as police search Apple Daily offices
HONG KONG: ‘Train RTHK staff to promote national identity’ (Watch)
RTHK: RTHK’s board of advisers have suggested that there should be training for staff to help them better understand the public broadcaster’s charter, as well as its role in promoting civic society and national identity.
INDIA: India: A year of throttling journalism in Kashmir
RSF: On the first anniversary of the Indian government’s sudden decision to strip Indian-administered Kashmir of its semi-autonomy and simultaneously disconnect telecommunications there, Reporters Without Borders (RSF) has examined the current state of press freedom in this northern territory with the help of its journalists.
CNN
INDONESIA: Radio Republik Indonesia finds DRM up to its expectations
Asia Radio Today: Radio Republik Indonesia (RRI) has just conducted measurements proving the DRM in FM is spectrum, energy efficient delivering audio and text in superior quality without any interference even in very crowded FM environments.
JAPAN: News outlets grapple with the complexities of suicide coverage
The Japan Times
JAPAN: NHK to halve number of satellite TV channels
The Japan Times: NHK will reduce the number of its satellite television channels from the current four to two.
KASHMIR: Kashmiri journalists describe new government tactics to control the narrative
CPJ: In April, after Srinagar-based senior journalist Peerzada Ashiq published an article about the families of two militants who wanted to exhume their bodies to perform funeral rites, police in Kashmir launched an investigation and accused him of publishing “fake news.” Ashiq told CPJ that he had sought official comment on multiple channels, but never received a response. After the article was published, he was summoned for questioning at two separate police stations for several hours.
MALAYSIA: Malaysia: Police raid Al Jazeera and two local broadcasters
IFJ: Malaysian police together with Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) raided global broadcaster Al Jazeera and the offices of two local broadcasters Astro and Unifi TV. The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) condemns the raids and expresses its serious concerns regarding the ongoing probe into the global broadcaster and threats against media freedom in Malaysia.
MALAYSIA: Malaysia refuses to renew 2 Al-Jazeera reporters’ visas amid investigation
CPJ: Malaysian authorities should allow Al-Jazeera journalists to report from the country freely and without harassment, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.
MALAYSIA: Why Malaysia’s Muhyiddin fears a free press
Asia Times: Malaysia’s new government is harassing and intimidating journalists in a fierce new clampdown on media freedoms.
PAKISTAN: Demand renewed for release of Mir Shakil-ur-Rahman
The News International: The workers of Jang/Geo Group on Saturday continued protest against the arrest of their Editor-in-Chief Mir Shakil-ur-Rahman and renewed their commitment to continue strive till the acceptance of their demands.
PHILIPPINES: Philippines: Government proposes social media regulation under anti-terror law
IFJ: The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) plans to regulate social media use as part of the controversial anti-terror law. The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) together with its affiliate the National Union of Journalists of the Philippines (NUJP) rejects the proposal and urges the authorities to reject the introduction of the law.
SOUTH KOREA: KBS provides sign language interpretation for’News 9′ (Korean)
KBS
SRI LANKA: Increasing Suppression of Dissent
HRW: The Sri Lankan government of President Gotabaya Rajapaksa is waging a campaign of fear and intimidation against human rights activists, journalists, lawyers, and others challenging government policy, Human Rights Watch said…
THAILAND: Jermsak appointed chairman of Thai PBS board of governors
Thai PBS: Jermsak Pinthong, a former Bangkok senator and a well-known academic, has been appointed chairman of the board of governors of the Thai Public Broadcasting Service (Thai PBS).
WEST PAPUA: PMC protests to Facebook over censored West Papua news item
Pacific Media Centre: The Pacific Media Centre has protested to Facebook over censorship of a West Papuan media freedom news item in what its director, Professor David Robie, has described as an Orwellian example of the “tyranny of algorithms”.
REGIONAL: Human rights defenders and journalists under attack in Southeast Asia
Global Voices: Since July 31, several human rights activists and journalists across Southeast Asia have been arrested, convicted, and experienced harassment which reflect the surge in state-backed attacks on freedom of expression.
AUSTRALIA: ABC increases support for students learning at home due to COVID-19
ABC: The ABC has expanded its free education content to support students learning at home due to COVID-19 restrictions and school closures in Victoria and elsewhere.
Mumbrella: It appears that the final number of redundancies coming out of the ABC sits at 151, of which 81 come from the news division and 55 are voluntary, according to the Media, Entertainment and Arts Alliance (MEAA).
AUSTRALIA: Australian journalists’ visas blocked after Al Jazeera doco
The Sydney Morning Herald: Malaysian authorities have refused to renew the work visas of two Australian journalists who are being investigated for a documentary they made for the Al Jazeera news network.
AUSTRALIA: SBS is looking for the next generation of diverse Australian writers (Opportunity)
SBS: SBS is inviting aspiring writers from diverse backgrounds to share their stories and have their voices heard with the launch of the SBS Emerging Writers’ Competition.
AUSTRALIA: Tensions rise on coronavirus handling as the media take control of the accountability narrative
The Conversation: Media coverage of disasters follows a broadly similar trajectory, even though the disasters themselves might take very different forms.
MELANESIA: Melanesia: New report highlights increasingly hostile media environment
IFJ: A new report, released in the Pacific Journalism Review on July 31, highlights the growing need to address media freedom in the region, particularly in Vanuatu, Fiji, Papua New Guinea and West Papua. The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) is concerned about the ongoing media repression and urges governments across the region to uphold journalist rights.
MELANESIA: Media under strain in Melanesia during challenging era (Listen)
RNZ: Hostile media environments pose growing challenges to Melanesia’s democracies, according to the latest edition of the Pacific Journalism Review.
NEW ZEALAND: Martyn Bradbury: TVNZ block on Māori Party for election debates shameful (Comment)
Asia Pacific Report: TVNZ have made the decision to exclude the Māori Party from their election debates. The argument being forwarded by TVNZ is that the Māori Party is polling too low to be included.
NEW ZEALAND: MPs on the way out strike back at media
RNZ: Politicians’ conduct has sparked stacks of media condemnation lately amid a surge of scandals and sudden resignations. But two MPs quitting politics this past week took a swipe at the media on the way out. One was former broadcasting minister Clare Curran who says our media must be more accountable. But why?
PAPUA NEW GUINEA: Facebook criticised for allowing illegal and harmful content in PNG languages
ABC News: Facebook users in Papua New Guinea say the company has been slow or failed to remove child abuse content, explicit material and fake news, despite reports made using the platform’s own moderation tools.
REGIONAL: Pasifika creatives hopeful NZ On Air renews funding for diverse content initiative
RNZ: Pasifika and Asian creatives are hoping NZ On Air will renew their funding round for its Pasifika and Asian Storytellers initiative. The initiative was part of a one-off extra allocation to NZ On Air from Budget 2018 to support more diverse local content to reach under served audiences in New Zealand.
ALBANIA: Albania: Seizure threatens independence of two Albanian TV channels
RSF: Reporters Without Borders (RSF) calls on the Albanian authorities not to interfere in the editorial line of two TV channels, Ora News TV and Channel One, which have been seized as part of a judicial investigation into their owner, the businessman Ylli Ndroqi.
ALBANIA: Mapping Media Freedom: Big Increase in Threats Reported in Albania During 2020
Exit: Since the beginning of 2020, Albania has registered a total of nine threats against media freedom on the ECPMF Mapping Media Freedom Website.
BELARUS: Belarus police target media, arrest DW correspondent before vote
Deutsche Welle: Authorities in Belarus are targeting independent journalists ahead of Sunday’s presidential election. A DW reporter has been arrested.
BELARUS: Protests without freedom of the press (German)
Deutschlandfunk: Alexander Lukashenko remains President of Belarus – but this time thousands are rebelling against him. There are hardly any media in the country that can report freely. The situation has worsened for international journalists too.
CZECH REPUBLIC: Czech TV enhances HbbTV service
Broadband TV News: The Czech public broadcaster Ceska Televize (CT) has launched a new version of its iVysilani: D application.
DENMARK: Denmark angry at Google censorship of some Danish content, seeks talks
Reuters: Country seeks talks with Google’s parent company as content – including children’s content made by public broadcaster DR – is blocked.
FINLAND: Yle’s former editor-in-chief Atte Jääskeläinen starts as Director General of the Ministry of Education and Culture (Finnish)
Yle: Yle’s former editor-in-chief Atte Jääskeläinen has been appointed to the fixed-term employment of the Director General of the Ministry of Education and Culture. He will start work in early October.
FRANCE: Closure of France 4 postponed: “It’s a partial relief”, says an SNJ union representative from France Televisions (French)
France TV Info: Didier Givodan denounces the disappearance, by the end of August, of France Ô. According to the trade unionist, this deletion cannot be compensated for by programs dedicated to overseas on other channels of the group.
FRANCE: France 4 wins one-year reprieve, France Ô to close
Digital TV Europe: Public broadcaster France Télévisions’ channel for children and young people, France 4, has been granted a one-year stay of execution by the new French culture minister, Roselyne Bachelot, according to news magazine Le Parisien. However, international channel France Ô will cease broadcasting as scheduled on August 23.
GEORGIA: Georgian Public Broadcaster granted right to implement professional cameramen training program
MENAFN: Georgian Public Broadcaster (GPB) has been granted the right to implement a professional cameramen training program based on the decision of Professional Training Program Council, Trend reports citing 1tv.ge.
GERMANY: The end of solidarity (German)
Süddeutsche Zeitung: Great disagreement between the public broadcasters led to the surprising end for the institute for broadcast technology. How shall we continue?
GREECE: The Covid-19 crisis highlights Greece’s media problem
IPI: The highly partisan way in which funds were distributed by the Greek government during the pandemic, reveals that freedom of the press is in a dire state in the country.
HUNGARY: Are Hungarians Willing To Pay The Price For A Free Media?
The Balkan Insight: The journalists who resigned from Index over threats to editorial independence are talking about crowd-funding an ‘Index 2.0’, but the record of successfully setting up such ventures is not encouraging.
HUNGARY: With Index gone, the future looks even bleaker for Hungarian media
IPI: Pandemic adds to squeeze as Orbán regime continues to target independent press
IRELAND: RTÉ: ‘Growing urgency’ to publish salaries of highest earners
The Irish Examiner: RTÉ said there was a “growing urgency” to publish a list of its highest earner salaries in internal emails from more than two months ago – but the broadcaster is still yet to release the figures.
POLAND: Jacek Kurski takes over at TVP
Broadband TV News: Poland’s National Media Council (RMN) has elected Jacek Kurski president of the Polish public broadcaster TVP.
POLAND: Poland to push ahead with limits on foreign media ownership, sources say
Reuters: Poland is ready to craft rules to reduce foreign ownership of media outlets such as newspapers and TV channels, while making further changes to the judiciary, Poland’s de facto leader has signaled, raising the prospect of fresh battles with the EU.
SLOVAKIA: New financing of public broadcasting discussed
RTVS: A major change awaits the whole funding structure of Slovak public broadcaster Radio and Television Slovakia, or RTVS, including the setting of license fees.
SLOVENIA: Incident during TV report from Izola protest prompts warnings about violent climate
STA: The Slovenian Journalist Association (DNS) and public broadcaster RTV Slovenija have condemned and expressed concern over an incident that occurred during Friday’s protest rally in the town of Izola. The incident involved a man verbally abusing whistleblower Ivan Gale and grabbing him and a TV Slovenija reporter in the process.
SPAIN: Rosa María Mateo defends her obligation and her right to appoint the best managers to head RTVE (Spanish)
RTVE
SWEDEN: The radio of the future and the car (Swedish – blog)
Sveriges Radio: The car has always been the radio’s best friend and is still one of the most important places for radio listeners. The technical development is moving fast and Swedish Radio is there in the front seat. The next step is now taken when Sveriges Radio’s app is now available in cars, writes Björn Löfdahl, program director at Sveriges Radio.
SWITZERLAND: Swiss Radio Television: a summer that rhymes with proximity (French)
MFP: Since March 16, Radio Télévision Suisse has been reinventing itself and fulfilling its public service mission by adapting its offer and supporting its listeners and viewers in their daily lives.
UK: BBC apologises for N-word in television broadcast after DJ Sideman quits
The Guardian: Director general admits mistake following 18,000 complaints.
UK: BBC receives 18,600 complaints over use of racial slur in news report
BBC News: The BBC has received more than 18,600 complaints about the use of a racial slur in a TV news report.
UK: ITV suffers huge revenue drop as Covid-19 impact revealed
TBI Vision: UK commercial broadcaster ITV has revealed the extent of the damage caused by Covid-19 on its advertising revenue, with spending down more than 40% in the second quarter of the year.
ARGENTINA: Behind the scenes of the recording of the public media campaign on Covid-19 (Spanish – Watch)
Télam: Actors, musicians and journalists recorded a second batch of videos this Friday to help raise awareness about the need to avoid social gatherings. Who were the party and their messages, behind the scenes.
BRAZIL: Real-time monitoring vs disinformation launched in Brazil
Rappler: The project, currently only available in Portuguese, combines linguistics, social, and data science in fighting disinformation online.
ECUADOR: Public media reports that it paid June and July salaries to 623 workers (Spanish)
El Comercio: Through a statement issued on Wednesday, August 5, 2020, the Public Media Company reported that the payment of wages owed to 623 workers was made for an approximate value of USD 1.5 million.
GUYANA & SURINAME: Democracy wins in Guyana and Suriname (Paywall)
The Economist: The neighbours’ new presidents have contrasting challenges.
JAMAICA: Don’t implement Data Protection Act as is, says PAJ
Jamaica Observer: The Press Association of Jamaica (PAJ) is calling on the Government to pull back, even at this stage, and revise problematic provisions of the Data Protection Act.
MEXICO: Mexico: in less than 24 hours a journalist is murdered and a newsroom shot (Spanish)
IFJ: In a sample of the insecurity situation to which Mexican communicators are exposed, a journalist was killed in Michoacán and a newsroom received more than 70 bullet holes in an attack.
MEXICO: The system is failing Mexican journalists. Here’s how they’re fighting back.
Poynter: As Mexican students lose interest, and as reporters die, go missing, or enter hiding, how will those who are left behind keep the industry alive?
ISRAEL: Israeli Public Broadcaster Files Police Complaints About Death Threats Over Satire Show
Haaretz: Company and producer cite explicit threats of physical harm as opponents of ‘The Jews Are Coming’ plan rally next week
JORDAN: Draconian measures threaten Jordan press freedom
IPI: The International Press Institute (IPI), a global network of editors, media executives and leading journalists for press freedom, today condemned the ban imposed by the Jordanian government on media organizations on reporting about the teachers’ strike.
LEBANON: At least 14 journalists injured while covering Beirut protests
RSF: Reporters Without Borders (RSF) condemns the increasingly frequent violence against journalists by the Lebanese security forces. According to the Samir Kassir Foundation, a Lebanese NGO, at least 14 journalists were injured, many of them by police and soldiers, while covering angry anti-government protests in Beirut on 8 August.
LEBANON: Beirut’s journalists report on the explosion that tore through their lives and city
CPJ: Six minutes after the explosion at the Port of Beirut on the evening of August 4, 2020, Natalia Sancha, a correspondent for the Spanish newspaper El Pais, was on her motorcycle, heading to the scene of the blast. Like so many journalists in the city, she was documenting the catastrophe as she was living it.
LEBANON: Lebanese news agency boycotts politicians’ media events
Arab News: Lebanese news agency LBCI has said it will no longer provide coverage of any politician’s press conference, including Hezbollah’s Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah, following Tuesday’s massive explosions.
TURKEY: As Erdoğan Cracks Down, Turkey’s Independent Journalists Need Digital Skills and Business Acumen
Nieman Reports: “Turkey’s mainstream media has imploded, and it will not come back even after Erdoğan”
TURKEY: Media in Turkey: a testing ground of censorship and control
ECPMF: Turkey is currently the largest prison for journalists in the world, with over 80 media workers in detention. Not content with that, the Turkish parliament has now passed a law that gives the government more control over social networks. An analysis of the situation of the Turkish media
REGIONAL: MENA region’s first original drama series on podcast to be launched by Finyal Media
Zawya: Launching in September 2020, The Basement will feature dynamic voice acting, realistic sound mixing and cinematic music scoring to evoke a sense of noir in an audio-first approach.
CANADA: 6 potential solutions to ease the COVID-19 news media crisis
The Conversation: The ongoing, coronavirus-fuelled media crisis has in fact been in the works for more than 30 years. It is not a new phenomenon.
CBC: CBC/Radio-Canada today announced a new two-game partnership with Twitter Canada that will see the public broadcaster’s tweets featuring live content streams and clips from its coverage of Tokyo 2020 and Beijing 2022 reach a wider Canadian audience through the use of Twitter Amplify.
CANADA: Memo: CBC president and CEO announces whistleblower hotline for staff to report workplace racism
J-Source: ‘This initiative is just one of the ways we are planning to eliminate the structural obstacles and practices that contribute to race-based discrimination at CBC/Radio-Canada’
US: How The Portland Protest Story Escalated And Why News Consumers Were Frustrated
NPR Public Editor: As federal agents guarding the courthouse from Portland protesters grew more violent throughout July, NPR, and member station Oregon Public Broadcasting, offered extensive coverage, including 40 stories and updates in 70 newscasts.
US: How to find a pubmedia job in a pandemic (Paywall)
Current: These are truly tough times to be job-hunting, especially if you want to work in the media. The unemployment rate in the U.S. dropped in June to 11.1% from a high of 14.7% in April 2020. But it’s still the highest it’s been in my lifetime, and probably yours — unless you’re an octogenarian. Media organizations have been shedding like a dog in the summer heat. But that’s not the case in public media — yet.
US: Listeners help Baltimore’s public radio stations survive the pandemic
Baltimore Business Journal: Scott Mullins watched the math change right away for WTMD-FM when the pandemic began in March. As he steered a shift in programming to “engage more with the listener,” the general manager of the Towson-based alternative music station watched as bars, restaurants, venues and events shut down in succession, dealing a “dramatic hit” to the station’s sponsorships.
US: Public media campaign on mental health launches with focus on youth (Paywall)
Current: Well Beings, a national public health campaign led by WETA in Washington, D.C., is rolling out with a digital-first content strategy for its first phase, a multipronged initiative focused on youth mental health.
US: TikTok grants help pubmedia get creative with short-form videos
Current: Can you teach an older institution new tricks? Producers in public media are testing just that by producing videos for TikTok.
Connecting short documentary filmmakers with digital media platforms (Opportunity)
One World Media: Deadline: 12 August. The Global Short Docs Forum 2020 brings together 12 filmmakers selected from a global call, to attend an intensive online training programme and one-to-one pitch meetings. Over four weeks of masterclasses, workshops and mentoring we will take your short doc from conception to commission.
Coronavirus: How the media scapegoats Muslim women (Opinion)
Middle East Eye: Images of visibly Muslim women in stories about the pandemic are contributing to negative stereotypes.
Dragomir on Citizen Participation in the Media
CMDS @ CEU: The link between media funding and citizen participation is one of the key elements in the transformation of today’s journalism, our Director, Marius Dragomir writes in his article published in Quaderns del CAC, the journal of the Consell de l’Audiovisual de Catalunya (Catalan Audiovisual Council, CAC).
Fixers: the unsung heroes of international news reporting
EJO
How Journalism Is Being Targeted And Undermined
IBC 365: Press freedom is facing a dual threat from “fake news” and massive cuts caused by the coronavirus pandemic. George Jarrett looks at how press freedom – cornerstone of broadcasters’ output – can overcome these challenges.
Information inequality in the UK coronavirus communications crisis
Reuters Institute: The coronavirus pandemic is a communications crisis in addition to being a public health emergency.
Newsrooms eye permanent change to working practices after Covid-19 lockdown
Press Gazette: The need to maintain social distancing has meant that newsrooms are still largely empty more than four months after the UK went into lockdown, with most journalists continuing to work from home.
People are using Facebook and Instagram as search engines. During a pandemic, that’s dangerous.
Nieman Lab: Data voids on social networks are spreading misinformation and causing real world harm. Here are some ideas on how to fix the problem.
SVOD commissioners driving demand for LGBT+ entertainment
Broadband TV News: New research from Ampere Analysis reveals SVOD services are ahead of the curve in their commission of SVOD content.
Transparency of media ownership: Twitter started to label some “state-affiliated” media
EFJ: Twitter introduced on Thursday new labels to identify accounts belonging to government officials and senior staff of state-backed media. Key government officials such as foreign ministers, ambassadors and official spokespeople will receive the label, as will accounts belonging to “state-affiliated” media entities, their editors-in-chief and their senior staff, Twitter said.
Twitter will now label state-controlled media accounts
Nieman Lab: Twitter is going to start labeling state-run news organizations as such, it announced on Thursday. It will also explicitly label the accounts of those outlets’ editors-in-chief and their senior staffers, as well as “key government officials, including foreign ministers, institutional entities, ambassadors, official spokespeople, and key diplomatic leaders.”
WhatsApp launches factcheck feature aimed at viral messages
The Guardian: Users will be able to check truthfulness of messages that have come via five or more people
World Television Awards 2020 Postponed Until 2021
AIBD: At the Asia-Pacific Institute for Broadcasting Development (AIBD), the safety and wellbeing of our members is a top priority. We have been closely monitoring updates about the COVID-19. As a cautionary measure and to respond to concerns by stakeholders, we have postponed until next year the World Television Award Judging and Awards Ceremony.
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Header image: Broadcast tower. Credit: pbkwee/Creative Commons
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