The BBC recently announced plans to launch a new organisation to fund local journalism in Britain. Here are some facts about it: The new not-for-profit, set up in conjunction with Google and Facebook, is to be called the Local Democracy Foundation with a remit to report on council meetings, crime, and other local news. Google and Facebook’s financial backing of the…
The Committee to Protect Journalists marks International Women’s Day by highlighting the cases of female journalists jailed around the world for doing their jobs. Here are a few of the facts: According to CPJ’s recent census, 32 of the 251 journalists currently in jail are women In the Asia-Pacific region, 6 women are imprisoned in China and 2 in Vietnam…
The head of the United Nations has called on governments and the international community to protect journalists and media workers at a time when attacks on the media have become “the new normal”. Secretary-General António Guterres issued the call to action in a speech to the Association of United Nations Correspondents. In just over a decade, more than a thousand…
Maria Ressa, award winning journalist and CEO of Rappler has been arrested in the Philippines, under the accusation of “cyber libel”. Shortly after receiving the arrest warrant, she told CNN reporters “the rule of law has been broken to the point that I can’t see it.” The grounds for arrest are blurred and the arrest warrant was issued too late…
“Journalists need to be the eyes, the ears and the voice for the public… this isn’t about holding [the government] to account for the sake of it, this is about protecting our democracy.” – Peter Greste 2ser 107.3’s Tess Connery spoke with Peter Greste this morning to discuss the need for a Media Freedom Act in Australia. Listen to the…
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s relationship with the press has reportedly fractured and become increasingly complex. According to The Economist, Netanyahu, once the golden boy in the eyes of Israeli media, has created a tangled relationship and then used negative media to his advantage by “playing the victim”, including erecting a billboard of four offending journalists. Read more here. (To read…
It has been 1,110 days since Jason Rezaian, then The Washington Post’s bureau chief in Tehran, was released from Iran’s notorious Evin prison. In that time, he has recuperated, studied at Harvard on a fellowship, restarted his life in Washington along with his wife, Yeganeh, and returned to The Post’s headquarters as an opinion writer. For more read the Washington…
Buzzfeed is laying off 15% of staff in a bid to turn a profit, reports the NYT. To support the loss making news division, Buzzfeed has introduced businesses like selling cookware at Walmart and a toy store in New York. Read more here. Photo credit: Thomson Reuters
How free expression and freedom of the press are under attack in an era of fake news and populism with foreign correspondents Peter Greste and Salil Tripathi.
The Alliance for Journalists’ Freedom (AJF) has appointed Olivia Pirie-Griffiths as fulltime Executive Director.