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Facebook announce news service

Mark Zuckerberg recently announced Facebook’s intention to launch a new news service. In conversation with Axel Springer CEO’s Mathias Döpfner, Zuckerberg discussed the need for this service to enable and strengthen the following: High quality, trustworthy journalism and consideration of the level to which it should or shouldn’t be curated; Monetisation, to ensure fairness to publishers, given Facebook is on…

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Maria Ressa arrested again, over Anti-Dummy Law

Rappler CEO and executive editor, Maria Ressa, has been arrested again, this time for an alleged breach of the Anti-Dummy Law, which seeks to prevent interference of foreign investors within media entities in the Philippines. Rappler stands by its assertion of independence in this regard. Ressa is expected to post bail shortly, for the second time in 2019. For further…

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UN leader calls for action to protect journalists

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…

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Maria Ressa arrested in the Philippines

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…

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The Case For A Media Freedom Act

This is the op-ed by Prof. Peter Greste published in The Australian this morning, to start our campaign for a Media Freedom Act.   One of the central tenets of a successful liberal democracy is press freedom. As voters, we employ our elected officials to run the government on our behalf, and as with all bosses, we have a right…

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Netanyahu’s complicated relationship with media

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…

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A journalist’s 544 days in an Iranian jail

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…

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