The week in public service media
Our weekly round-up of public service media news stories and headlines from around the world.
8 August – 14 August
Africa
ANGOLA: Parliament Passes Bill On Radio Broadcasting
Via All Africa: New draft law on the exercise of radio broadcasting activity is apparently aimed at implementing the freedoms and guarantees of citizens with regard to freedom of press and expression.
EGYPT: Why Egypt banned its police from talking to the media
By Al-Monitor: In a move that critics say will “further undermine transparency,” Egypt’s parliament approved amendments to the police authority law that bar police officers from providing information to the media without prior authorization from the Interior Ministry.
GENERAL: Social Media and its Influence on Democratization in Africa
By International Policy Digest: In a year of elections, this article looks at press freedom and the role of social media on democratization throughout the continent.
GHANA: Africa Media and Democracy Institute Conference Set for August 25
By News Ghana: The conference will be held in Accra, with the theme “Media, Democracy and Security”.
NIGERIA: Minister appeals to the Media to project Nigeria positively
By Vanguard
SOUTH AFRICA: See how SA’s media are covering political parties this election
By Media Monitoring Africa: Are South Africa’s media living up to their purported role in times of election?
TANZANIA: New media organisation set to promote tourism
By The Daily News: Journalists in Tanzania have been advised to engage in writing constructive issues that protect benefits and the country’s interests.
UGANDA: State Attack On Media Led to Censorship
Via All Africa: A media monitoring report on Uganda has pointed out that the deliberate pushback by the State of media houses reporting on politics has had a chilling effect that has resulted in self-censorship.
Asia
BANGLADESH: Bangladesh journalists could face 14 years in prison for refuting rumor
By the Committee to Protect Journalists: The three journalists could face a maximum sentence of 14 years in prison if charged and convicted under a law governing online publication.
CHINA: China’s state-run media blames free press in India for ‘negative sentiments’ towards Beijing
By The Times of India: State-run Chinese media took pot shots at the free press in democratic India and blamed it for “stirring up negative sentiments” against China.
CHINA: China Media Capital Invests in NextVR, Cubee
By Variety: CMC Holdings, part of China Media Capital, has invested in U.S.-based virtual reality startup NextVR.
INDIA: Prasar Bharati to the rescue as I&B shuts offices
By The Hindu: An intervention by PB, the autonomous public service broadcaster, after a public outcry has led to the reversing of a Ministry of Information and Broadcasting Ministry order effectively closing down seven Regional News Units (RNUs) under All India Radio.
MALDIVES: Further curtailment of free speech in the Maldives
By PMA: The passing of a new defamation law will have further serious consequences for freedom of speech, the media and democracy in the archipelago State.
MONGOLIA: Panama Papers helps break new reporting ground in Mongolia
By ICIJ
PAKISTAN: After two journalists killed in bombing, RSF urges Pakistan’s media to anticipate risks
By RSF: Organisation urges media outlets to anticipate the risks involved in news coverage in the entire region.
PAKISTAN: Pakistan passes Prevention of Electronic Crimes Bill: “The youth of this country is losing hope”
By Index on Censorship: The bill will permit the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority to manage, remove or block content on the internet.
THAILAND: Thai public broadcaster MCOT deploys NETIA Technology
By ABU: MCOT, the state-owned public radio broadcaster in Thailand is now having recourse to new software for its radio automation and playout software suite provided by NETIA.
Australia, New Zealand & the Pacific
AUSTRALIA: ABC source dries up as transcripts of news and current affairs shows curtailed
By The Guardian: ABC dramatically winds back transcriptions of news and current affairs programs
By SBS: Annual initiative focuses on Indigenous language documentary production through dedicated television mentorship.
AUSTRALIA: Over half of Australians listen to breakfast radio
By Roy Morgan Research: Nearly 17 million Australians 14+ (86%) listen to radio during the week, Roy Morgan Research shows—and over seven in 10 listeners tune in at multiple time slots.
AUSTRALIA: Who needs TV? Millennials sidestep traditional news channels for social media
By Finder: Television is still the primary outlet for news consumption for most Australians but millennials are shifting away from traditional channels, sourcing relevant content from social media.
FIJI: Digital television makes headway
By the Fiji Times: WALESI digital television viewers can now expect better audio and picture quality as the trial period commenced this week along the Suva-Nausori corridor.
PAPUA NEW GUINEA: Thomson Reuters to run ‘vital issues’ course for local journalists
By Pacific Media Centre: This first-ever initiative is to further develop skills of journalists in Papua New Guinea to meet international standards and to equip them with better reporting capacities on some of the important issues in the country.
VANUATU: Vanuatu launches new digital TV service for the nation
By Asia Pacific Report: Vanuatu Broadcasting and Television Corporation (VBTC) has launched a new national digital television service and website to mark 50 years of existence of Radio Vanuatu.
Europe
BALKANS: The Future of Public Service Broadcasting in the Western Balkans: The Need for a New paradigm
By Analitika: Public Service Broadcasters (PSB) in the countries of the Western Balkans – Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Kosovo, Macedonia, Montenegro, and Serbia – are in crisis.
CROATIA: Political interference continues at Croatia’s PSB
By PMA: New report by group of prominent international media freedom organisations calls for balanced coverage and independence of public broadcaster HRT ahead of crucial parliamentary election in September.
FRANCE: Parliament voted to restrict journalists’ protection of sources
By EFJ: The EFJ and others have denounced the last-minute amendment voted on Monday 18 July by the French National Assembly, to restrict journalists’ protection of sources, only a few days following the Nice attack.
GENERAL: ‘Countries with strong public service media have less rightwing extremism’
By The Guardian: Summary of new EBU report stating that countries that have popular public broadcasters also have better voter turnout and press freedom
HUNGARY: Media And Press Freedom In Hungary
By rabirius: Blog post by Hungarian photo journalist
RUSSIA: New Russian broadcaster denies claims it produces Kremlin propaganda
By Deadline: A controversial Russian news broadcaster has compared itself to the BBC at the launch of its new Scottish headquarters.
SCANDINAVIA: Finland, Sweden and Norway among the world’s best digital performers
Via Nordicom: Three Nordic countries are among the most digital-savvy countries in the world; only Singapore ranks higher.
UK: ‘BBC has high dependency on Tory government for statistics’
By The Guardian: Conservatives provide nearly three-quarters of statistics cited from politicians, says report for BBC Trust
UK: How Channel 4 News grew its monthly Facebook video views to 200 million
By DigiDay UK: In the last year, U.K. broadcaster Channel 4 News has entirely stopped posting text and static photos to social media to focus almost exclusively on video
Latin America and the Caribbean
By Journalism in the America’s (Knight Center Texas): Freedom of expression organizations criticized the criminal defamation lawsuit that Bolivian President Evo Morales filed against journalist Humberto Vacaflor, winner of the 2016 Freedom Award from the National Association of Bolivian Journalists.
BRAZIL: Brazilian news site launches with stories focusing on gender and the Olympic Games
By Journalism in the America’s (Knight Center Texas): A new Brazilian site dedicated to talking about gender issues through the use of data journalism launched on Aug. 10 with a focus on the 2016 Summer Olympic Games happening in Rio de Janeiro.
BRAZIL: Fact-checking, digital savvy, business woes and other notes about the state of Brazil’s media
By Poynter: Americans are most likely getting their Olympics news from U.S.-based outlets. But what’s the media like in Brazil?
BRAZIL: OlympicWatch: the perils of Rio
By Radio New Zealand: New Zealand media at the Olympic games have painted Rio as a place of peril, while outlets without reporters on the ground seize on clickbait.
CUBA: Seven signs Cuban media is moving toward openness
By Columbia Journalism Review: Significant cracks may be opening in Cuba’s media landscape, free from state control.
ECUADOR: Ecuador reprimands journalist, TV station for investigative reports
By the Committee to Protect Journalists: Regulators have sanctioned an Ecuadorian station and journalist for “media lynching” in relation to investigative reports into the government’s purchase of medical supplies.
VINCENT & THE GRENADINES: ‘Cybercrime Bill will stifle free expression’
By The Jamaica Observer: Regional, international groups register disappointment at passage of legislation by St Vincent
Middle East
ISRAEL: Israel censors social media content that violates ‘Israeli law’
By Middle East Eye: Pro-Palestinian activist finds Twitter posts restricted in Israel following raising of content by Israeli justice ministry
JORDAN: Jordanian writer faces arrest over offensive cartoon
By Aljazeera: Writer Nahed Hattar faces arrest for sharing a cartoon on Facebook deemed deeply offensive to Muslims.
OMAN: Omani editor arrested amid media crackdown
By Middle East Eye: Newspaper editor arrested after airing allegations of corruption and interference in the judicial system
TURKEY: Hassles mount for journalists in Turkey after failed coup
By Columbia Journalism Review
TURKEY: Yavuz Baydar: Turkey cancelling journalists’ passports en masse
By Index on Censorship: More great coverage from Index on the state of press freedom in Turkey following attempted coup.
North America
CANADA: Document compares CBC, BBC as Liberals review public broadcaster
By CBC News: Liberal review of CBC’s future includes comparison with BBC
CANADA: Toronto Star Lays Off 52 Amid News Media’s Seemingly Endless Decline
By The Huffington Post: The Toronto Star has laid off 52 people, including 45 newsroom employees, “in response to a decline in print advertising,” a spokesperson confirmed Tuesday.
USA: Catch up with PSM sessions & presentations from last week’s PMDMC 2016
By Greater Public
USA: Donald Trump takes to Twitter to lecture media on freedom of the press
By USA Today: According to Donald Trump, “It is not ‘freedom of the press’ when newspapers and others are allowed to say and write whatever they want even if it is completely false!”
USA: US election: Is media balance always fair?
By Radio New Zealand
Other
These are some of the coolest experiments in digital news coverage of the 2016 Rio Olympics
By Nieman Lab: This article will be updated throughout the Olympics as new tools are used and developed.
Video Verification Workflow Analysis
By DW Innovation: In the EU funded InVID project we are working hard on solutions to make verification of User Generated Video (UGV) easier and more trustworthy.
If you have any suggestions for our weekly round-ups, please email PMA at editor@publicmediaalliance.org.
These stories are provided for interest and their relevance to public service media issues, they do not necessarily reflect the views of the Public Media Alliance.
All headlines are sourced from their original story.
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