News - Alliance for Journalists' Freedom

AJF calls for Thein Zaw’s immediate release

The AJF joins The Committee to Protect Journalists' call for the immediate release of the AP's Thein Zaw who, arrested in Yangon whilst covering the ongoing conflict in Myanmar, has now been in custody since Saturday 27th February, 2021. The AJF seeks to work diplomatically with countries in the region to ensure the public’s right to know is upheld. As...

AJF In Advocacy & Action, Feature, Media Releases, News

Statement re media arrests, Melbourne

Security agencies and media must build better relationships Two media workers from the Herald Sun were arrested by Victoria Police during a protest on Saturday, 20th February. They have since been released without charge. This incident further iterates the great need for a National Working Group, to bring together security agencies and media in order to build trust both in...

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Statement re Facebook decision

Facebook’s Decision is Inconsistent with Press Freedom The Alliance for Journalists Freedom regrets Facebook’s decision to remove Australian news content from its platform. The decision leaves people in Australia, and also those trying to share Australian-made news around the world, with no access to trusted media publishers via Facebook’s main platform. At this stage, however, we understand that Instagram will...

AJF In Advocacy & Action, Feature, Media Releases, News

AJF calls for Cheng Lei’s immediate release

The Alliance for Journalists’ Freedom (AJF) calls for the immediate release of Australian Journalist, Cheng Lei. Chinese authorities detained Cheng last August, under a form of detention that allows the police to imprison a suspect for up to six months without access to lawyers. According to an ABC report, the Chinese authorities advised the Australian government late last week that...

AJF In Feature, News

Record number of journalists jailed in 2020

The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) have released their end of year report, revealing a record number of journalists were jailed in 2020, as governments cracked down on freedoms during the Covid-19 pandemic, and dealt with economic and political instabilities. The AJF is not surprised by these global figures. In 2020 we begun our Asia–Pacific Press Freedom Landscape Mapping (PFLM)...

AJF In Feature, News

Bloomberg journalist latest to be detained in China

Haze Fan, a Bloomberg correspondent in their Beijing bureau, has been arrested by Chinese officials under suspicion of endangering national security. In the last year, Chinese officials have detained 17 foreign journalists and placed restrictions on the visas of at least 12 others. Cheng Lei, an Australian television anchor based in China, has been detained since August. In the wake...

AJF In Advocacy & Action, Feature, News

AJF seeks to resolve press freedom issue in NT

The AJF has offered to help resolve the escalating issue between the NT Government and local digital publication the NT Independent. Banning legitimate news publishers from press conferences is a contradiction to the tenets of a liberal democracy. The Government's concerns about the legitimacy of he publication lie with its owner, not its journalism, and so the AJF seeks a...

AJF In Feature, News

Maria Ressa faces second cyber libel charge

Maria Ressa is now facing a second charge of cyber libel after tweeting a screenshot of a supposedly libellous article. The Alliance for Journalists' Freedom urges the Duterte regime to drop these charges. Ressa filed a motion to quash the recent charge, citing that a journalist should be responsible for the caption accompanying the shared screenshot, not the screenshot itself....

AJF In Advocacy & Action, Feature, News

Journalist Ronnie Villamor killed in Philippines

Filipino journalist Ronnie Villamor has been shot dead at a check point in Central Philippines. Villamor was a contributor to the local independent Dos Kantos Balita weekly tabloid. This is the second shooting of a journalist within the last two weeks, after the shooting of Virgilio Maganes on November 10th. The Philippines is 7th on the CPJ's Global Impunity Index, which...

AJF In Advocacy & Action, Feature, News

Ita Buttrose joins AJF’s call for MFA

Ita Buttrose has joined AJF's call for a Media Freedom Act (MFA). Buttrose, in a speech to the Ramsay Centre for Western Civilisation, noted the need for a MFA to strengthen our democracy and balance our national security laws with the public's right to know. The AJF has been calling for a MFA since we released our White Paper, three...