A court in Myanmar has rejected an appeal by two reporters of the Reuters news agency, sentenced to seven years in jail for breaking the country’s Official Secrets Act, in a case that rallied press freedom advocates. Lawyers for Wa Lone, 32, and Kyaw Soe Oo, 28, had filed the appeal in November against their conviction, citing evidence of a police set-up and lack of proof of…
Journalists in Gambia have launched a self-regulatory body they hope will offer legitimacy, and far more freedom, to media emerging from a dictatorship that ruled the tiny West African nation for more than two decades. During the 22 years of former President Yahya Jammeh’s rule, journalists were regularly abducted, tortured and killed. The new government has vowed new freedoms after…
This week the Committee to Protect Journalists released a report that revealed that 53 journalists have died as a result of dangerous work this year. This is the rise from the 2017 figures, which totalled 47 journalist deaths related to their work. The report found that the deadliest country for journalists this year has been Afghanistan. Thirteen journalists were killed,…
Time Magazine has named a collective of journalists their ‘Person of the Year’ for 2019. Honourees include murdered journalist, Jamal Khashoggi, imprisoned Reuters journalists U Wa Lone and U Kyaw Soe Oo, Maria Ressa founder of news-startup, Rappler in the Philippines and the staff of the Capital Gazette newspapers in Maryland. The magazine heralds these journalists as guardians of the truth and goes on…
An insightful article and opinion piece by the New York Times that narrates the gradual decline of media freedom in Hungary after the election of far-right prime minister, Viktor Orban. First, the article. “Hungary’s leading news website, Origo, had a juicy scoop: A top aide to the far-right prime minister, Viktor Orban, had used state money to pay for sizable but…
In his very last column at The Washington Post, Jamal Khashoggi stressed the importance of press freedom and the lack of action from the international community. “I was recently online looking at the 2018 “Freedom in the World” report published by Freedom House and came to a grave realization. There is only one country in the Arab world that has been…
The Alliance for Journalist Freedom (AJF) believes one of the key questions currently facing the media is how to rebuild trust in journalism. Speaking on a panel discussing How to Build Trust in Contemporary Journalism at the University of Tasmania, AFJ director Peter Greste said there are several fundamental questions that need public discussion. “We need to rethink the news…
The New York Times today published an editorial that responds to the Boston Globe’s call for outlets across America to publish editorials that denounce President Trump’s hostility to the media. “In 2018, some of the most damaging attacks are coming from government officials. Criticizing the news media — for underplaying or overplaying stories, for getting something wrong — is entirely…
Journalism freedom fighter Professor Peter Greste is spearheading a unique research collaboration to protect media independence, the role of the media in democracy, and the safety of journalists. The University of Queensland and the Alliance for Journalists’ Freedom (AJF) have signed a memorandum of understanding to collaborate on research projects about many aspects of media freedom. Professor Greste, who is also…
