Our weekly round-up of public service media related stories and headlines from around the world.
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By Mail & Guardian: The absence of independent media’s a serious blow for the Burundian public who need information every day says Eloge Willy Kaneza of SOS Media Burundi.
KENYA: Nation Media Wins Africa Digital Excellence Awards
Via All Africa: The Nation Media Group Chairman won accolades for three of its products in the ongoing Africa Digital Media Awards ceremony in Johannesburg, South Africa.
MALAWI: British High Commissioner Challenges Malawi Media to Expose Corruption
Via All Africa: Acting British High Commissioner to Malawi, Simon Mustard has challenged the media in the country to expose mal-practices in the fight against corruption.
NIGERIA: Over 100 staff ‘sacked’ as recession hits Nigerian media
By Premium Times: The current economic crisis has forced some Nigerian dailies to cut staff strength in their newsrooms across the country
RWANDA: Young Rwandans create media for the deaf
By Deutsche Welle
SOUTH AFRICA: DA to approach court to have Hlaudi declared unfit for new SABC job
By Times Live: The Democratic Alliance is to approach the Western Cape High Court to have the appointment of former SABC COO Hlaudi Motsoeneng as Group Executive of Corporate Affairs declared invalid.
SOUTH AFRICA: Huffington Post to continue international expansion with South African edition
By CNBC: Huffington Post will launch its 17th edition in South Africa in November, the media company announced on Friday.
SOUTH AFRICA: Remaining SABC board members requested to resign
By SABC: The African National Congress (ANC) in Parliament says letters have been sent to the remaining members of the South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) board, requesting them to resign.
REGIONAL: African Media Agency launches US-Africa business distribution
By BizCommunity: New press release distribution channel launched to enable African companies & governments to efficiently & effectively communicate with the media in the United States, while giving American reporters access to the most influential media on the continent.
AZERBAIJAN: Death Threats to Journalists
By Freedom House: Statement released by Freedom House in response to death threats faced by journalists in Azerbaijan.
HONG KONG: Chinese broadcaster’s free-to-air license application fuels concerns of media encroachment
By Hong Kong Free Press: Chinese broadcaster Phoenix Hong Kong Television’s application for a free-to-air TV licence has sparked concerns about China’s encroachment in the Hong Kong media industry.
HONG KONG: The death of an irreverent Hong Kong magazine
By BBC News: “Irreverent and wry” HK Magazine to be closed after 25 years
INDONESIA: Data matters for development, democratization
By The Jakarta Post
JAPAN: NHK Wins Engineering Emmy Award-Lauded for Contributions to Broadcast Engineering
By ABU
MALAYSIA: Gov’t shackles mean no ‘Merdeka’ for Malaysian media
By Malaysiakini: Direct interference by the government and indirect pressure it applies via twisting the arms of media owners, are adversely affecting the rakyat’s right to be informed, say press freedom activists.
NEPAL: Accountability, nation and society: the role of media in remaking Nepal
By BBC Media Action: This briefing provides an overview of the issues facing Nepal’s media in the context of the country’s current political and development challenges.
PAKISTAN: Can media protect democracy in Pakistan?
By Citizen Times
SOUTH KOREA: Filmmaker resists shrinking press freedom in South Korea
By Bangkok Post: South Korea’s recent fall in global press freedom rankings comes as no particular surprise to Choi Seung-Ho.
PHILIPPINES: Threats against journalists denounced
By Aljazeera: Journalist groups express concern for the safety of media workers covering the work of President Duterte’s government.
THAILAND: Draft regulatory bill threatens media freedom in Thailand
By CJP: Thailand’s military-appointed National Reform Steering Assembly should scrap proposed legislation that would create a new national media regulator
AUSTRALIA: Australian broadcasters call for bigger cut in licensing fees
By The Guardian: Coalition signals it is listening to a demand from the Nine and Seven networks to cut the fee by more than the 25% offered in its overhaul of media regulations
FIJI: The use of social media in Fiji continues to grow
By FBC: Internet penetration in the country has increased immensely over the past year
NEW ZEALAND: Te reo Māori agency puts spotlight on media
By Pacific Media Centre: The new agency responsible for the revitalisation of te reo Māori has focused on New Zealand media and new technology to encourage fluency of the language.
PAPUA NEW GUINEA: Regional journalists call for job safety for PNG media
By IFEX: Pacific journalists say Papua New Guinea media bosses should provide more security and insurance to protect colleagues increasingly under attack.
TIMOR-LESTE: Journalist prosecution attack on press freedom
By Pacific Media Centre: An online petition to drop the defamation case against two East Timorese journalist’s states prosecuting the journalists is an attack on press freedom and right to information.
FRANCE: European Parliament expresses concern over media pluralism in France
By EurActiv: Media freedom and pluralism in several EU countries is degrading, according to a European Parliament report, which focused on France and six other countries
GREECE: Concerns for Media Pluralism
By PMA: In early September the Greek government held a controversial licence fee auction for private television broadcasters, cutting the number from eight to four.
HUNGARY: Protests in Hungary at closure of main leftwing opposition newspaper
By The Guardian: About 2,000 people demonstrate outside parliament as Népszabadság journalists liken suspension of publication to a coup
ITALY: An Italian media group’s approach to making social video work for local news
By Journalism.co.uk: Gruppo Editoriale L’Espresso has been using automation to make video production accessible to everyone in the newsroom
RUSSIA: The Bloodless Murder of Russia’s Independent Media
By Freedom House: Ten years after the assassination of Anna Politkovskaya provoked outrage around the world, the Kremlin is quietly smothering media freedom under a heap of repressive legislation.
SERBIA: Serbian Cartoonist’s Sacking ‘Reveals Govt’s Ties to Media’
By Balkan Insight: After the Serbian daily Politika said it would reinstate its sacked caricaturist, Dusan Petricic, following the PM’s intervention, a media union says this only highlights the government’s close relationship to the media.
UK: Ofcom chief warns BBC it is ‘falling short’ on diversity
By The Financial Times: Sharon White sets out priorities for measuring corporation’s ‘distinctiveness’
REGIONAL: MEDIA must be better equipped to meet the challenges of the digital age
By Film New Europe: The association of the European Film Agency Directors (EFADs) expresses concerns re. proposal from the Council of the European Union to cut 2017 budget of the Creative Europe programme, in particular the MEDIA sub-programme.
ARGENTINA: Television landscape gearing for a shake-up
By Buenos Aires Herald: The Argentine television landscape is set to enter a new era shortly — possibly prompting a new round of skirmishes among the country’s media groups
BOLIVIA: Bolivian journalists reject government’s documentary that seeks to discredit independent journalism
By Knight Center: Journalism in the Americas: A number of journalistic associations in Bolivia have protested against the creation of the documentary “El Cártel de la Mentira” (The Cartel of Lies), which was ordered by the Ministry of the President.
BRAZIL: The attempt to gag Brazil’s state broadcaster
By Equal Times: Just months after interim government moved to assert its power by scrapping the ministries of Racial Equality, Human Rights and Women’s Rights, it now takes aim at public broadcaster.
CUBA: Connecting Cuba: More space for criticism but restrictions slow press freedom progress
BY CPJ
JAMAICA: Symposium on Public Broadcasting: Agenda for the Future
By the Caribbean Broadcasting Union: The Public Broadcasting Corporation of Jamaica (PBCJ) will conduct its inaugural Symposium on Public Broadcasting: Agenda for the Future, from October 18-20, 2016 in Kingston, Jamaica.
JAMAICA: RJR Group Changes Management Structure
By The Gleaner: The RJR Group has announced changes to its management team as part of the operational amalgamation of its new subsidiary, The Gleaner Company (Media) Limited.
NICARAGUA: Nicaraguan magazine accuses the Army and Sandinista party of spying on and harassing its journalists
By Knight Center: Journalism in the Americas
REGIONAL: Digitization could help Latin American public media out of current crisis
Knight Center: Journalism in the Americas: Public media in Latin America have a tradition of serving the government of the day rather than the citizens, and therefore, have gained low ratings and little credibility…
REGIONAL: Latin American network adds pressure for media reform in the region
By Center for International Media Assistance (CIMA): Over the past two years, CIMA and others have been working to diagnose the problems facing independent media across the region.
PALESTINE: ‘Journalism is a dangerous job for Palestinians’
By Aljazeera: Israel is currently imprisoning more than two dozen Palestinian journalists, most without charges or trial.
TURKEY: Even SpongeBob can’t escape Turkey’s post-coup crackdown
By Al-Monitor: The Smurfs, Maya the Bee and SpongeBob SquarePants finally started speaking Kurdish in Turkey last year, courtesy of Zarok TV, the country’s first and only Kurdish-language channel for children. But their voices were silenced last week as the channel fell victim to the Turkish government’s continued purging since the July 15 failed coup.
TURKEY: Raids on opposition stations end broadcast pluralism in Turkey
BY RSF: Reporters Without Borders (RSF) condemns the abrupt closure of many leading opposition radio stations and TV channels in police raids yesterday and voices alarm at the systematic way the authorities are eliminating media pluralism in Turkey.
CANADA: ‘No news is bad news’: Canadian media is collapsing, says journalist and author
By CBC News: A Q&A with author Ian Gill on his latest book that chronicles the decline of Canadian media
USA: PRSS equips stations with metadata technology for emergency messaging
By Current: The Public Radio Satellite System has received a $66,000 grant from CPB to enhance emergency messaging for six public broadcasters in California.
USA: The changing shape of US media, part 1: Washington DC
By The Spinoff: Many people, journalists in particular, are scared about what media ownership contractions and dwindling job opportunities mean for the future of their industry.
USA: Transmedia journalism expands storytelling for deeper impact
By Curent: The days of doorstep newspaper delivery, listening to a live radio show or being part of a national audience watching the debut of a hit TV show are mostly over…
USA: Why it’s important for news organizations to show their corrections
By CJR: As coverage of the presidential race enters the final stretch, CJR Editor Kyle Pope and our resident management guru Jill Geisler look at leaders who lie, social media missteps, and fact-checking the fact-checkers.
Big Data: A tool for journalists to fight stereotypes and prejudice?
By EBU: This year’s Prix Italia Festival looked into how Big Data is changing storytelling in the media.
By Nordicom: Nordicom release new open-source anthology about Market-Driven and Democracy-Driven Freedom of Expression
Digital News Reports: Brand and trust in a fragmented news environment
By Reuters Institute for the study of Journalism: Are digital and social media fuelling a more partisan, less rational political discourse?
Digital Influencers for Public Service Media?
By Jonathon Hutchinson: Looking back at this year’s RIPE 2016 conference in Antwerp, Belgium
PBS TechCon 2017: Call for Proposals
By PMA: DEADLINE APPORACHING: 14 October 2016
Public Service Media in a Networked Society
By RIPE/Media Power Monitor: The complicated relationship between detachment and connection was a focal point of discussions among the 100 or so participants in the RIPE@2016 conference last week at the University of Antwerp in Belgium.
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Header image: SABC Western Cape. Credits: Richard Tanswell/Creative Commons.
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