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Final printing week for many local and regional newspapers

After announcements in May that News Corp would shut more than 100 local and regional papers, this week spells the last printing week for many of them. Ownership diversity and access to local news are both important aspects of a healthy and free press, so the AJF is hoping this switch to digital will be one that is invigorating, rather...
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The Atlantic on how democracy dies

The Atlantic: This Is How Democracy Dies   The Atlantic published an article in the wake of the court's decision that found Maria Ressa guilty of cyber-libel 'for an article she did not write, edit, or supervise, of a crime that hadn’t even existed when the story was published.'   The piece explains the subtle but constant whittling away of...
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Ressa’s guilty verdict sets extraordinarily damaging precedent

In response to the cyber-libel court case in which Maria Ressa has been found guilty, AJF’s Peter Greste can be quoted as saying the following:   “This ruling sets an extraordinarily damaging precedent for press freedom in the Asia–Pacific region, and the world. “To suggest there was no political pressure in this case would be incredibly naïve. The Philippine government…

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AJF condemns the targeting of journalists in US riots

AJF joins the CPJ in condemning the targeting of journalists in the US riots   The Alliance for Journalists’ Freedom stands in solidarity with our US colleagues. The targeting of journalists covering the demonstrations across the US is an extraordinary step backwards for their democracy, and global democracy. The Committee to Protect Journalists have released the following statement. We stand…

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Smethurst should not have been charged in the first place

27th May 2020 Media Release: Smethurst should not have been charged in the first place   The Alliance for Journalists’ Freedom welcomes the decision by the Australian Federal Police to drop charges against Newscorp journalist Annika Smethurst. The announcement though, coming more than a year after the raids, underscores the need for unambiguous protections for press freedom in Australian law….

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News Corp to cut hundreds of jobs in move to digital

This week News Corp’s Michael Miller has announced a cut of as many as 100 titles and hundreds of jobs in a bid to move to digital-only production to aid the financial security of the company, which has been suffering in the wake of lost advertising revenue. This is a great loss for communities where the local paper is often…

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Covid19 accelerated the media’s woes, but is there hope?

The media industry has been through enormous upheaval due to Covid-19, in part because it was underway before the virus. This recent SMH piece details the closures of multiple media mastheads in Australia. The signs are grim: the closure of AAP; the continuing diminishment of local news in regional areas and the lack of a sustainable funding model for public…

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Support the media, support press freedom

Columbia Journalism Review published an article titled ‘What needs to be done to help the media industry?’ which explores how the disintegration of the traditional financial model and the advent of the coronavirus have decimated media’s future, unless we collectively act to support it. The piece explores the possibility of treating news publishers as non-for-profit organisations, as well as increasing…

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