Our weekly round-up of public service media related stories and headlines from around the world.
Click on the drop-down menus below to reveal the latest regional stories.
EGYPT: How surveillance, trolls, and fear of arrest affect Egypt’s journalists
CPJ: As Egypt’s crackdown on the press extends to social media and other communication platforms, many journalists say phishing attempts, trolling, software to monitor social media posts, and a draft law that would require registration for social media users are making them think twice before covering sensitive issues.
KENYA: African media experts to meet in Kenya over elections coverage
News Ghana: Some 50 high-level media practitioners, representatives of electoral bodies and election experts will meet in Nairobi to discuss elections coverage in Africa.
KENYA: State modifies laws governing social media use
Standard Digital: The Government has asked the public to submit views on guidelines meant to deal with hate messages shared through social media.
MOROCCO & TUNISIA: Talk shows, Islamist women and post-Arab Spring media
Al Jazeera: Scholars have analysed the media landscapes of Turkey, Tunisia and Morocco – three countries in political transition.
NAMIBIA: NBC looks for N$80m bailout
The Namibian: Namibian Broadcasting Corporation is struggling to raise N$80 million as part of its N$345 million budget for paying bills this year.
SOUTH AFRICA: Different types of government support could help foster diversity in South African media (Research)
Journalism Research News: There should be more constructive debate about media diversity in South Africa, Julia Plessing of the University of Johannesburg, argues. She studied different types of print media regulation and support in Scandinavia, Latin America and West Africa, and examines these in the South African context.
SOUTH AFRICA: Stop intimidation of journalists – minister
News24: Communications minister Ayanda Dlodlo on Sunday lashed out at those who intimidate journalists, saying that it went against constitutional rights.
SOUTH AFRICA: SABC axes Lotus FM DJ after he called Zuma a ‘zombie’
The Citizen: The SABC fired popular Lotus FM presenter and columnist Ravi Govender yesterday, after he called President Jacob Zuma a “zombie”.
SOUTH AFRICA: Zuma Must Sign Proclamation for Siu Probe of SABC – EFF
viaAllAfrica: The Economic Freedom Fighters has called on President Jacob Zuma to sign a proclamation allowing the Special Investigations Unit (SIU) to probe the South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC).
ZIMBABWE: We won’t be silenced (Op-ed)
The Standard: Lack of media freedom has created a culture of self-censorship, which is very unhealthy for a democratic state.
BANGLADESH: Let’s talk about sex: using radio to educate teenagers in Bangladesh
BBC Media Action
CHINA: China bans streaming video as it struggles to keep up with live content
The Conversation: Streaming video is testing the limits of China’s media control. A recent ban affecting three of China’s biggest online platforms aimed at “cleaning up the air in cyberspace” is just the latest government crackdown on user-generated content, and especially live streaming.
HONG KONG: HK media censored and controlled during Presidential visit
IFJ: On June 30, the Programme Staff Union of the Radio, Television of Hong Kong (RTHK) reported that a popular satire program ‘Hardliner’ was removed from the original program schedule by the Hong Kong Television Broadcasting (TVB).
HONG KONG: Media freedom in free fall 20 years after Hong Kong returned to China
Via Ifex: A generation after Hong Kong was handed back to China, the level of media freedom in the former British colony has never been so low. Physical violence against journalists has declined in recent years but control of the media continues to grow despite the emergence of a few independent but fragile online media outlets.
INDIA: This interactive map proves why India is not a safe haven for journalists
India Today: Journalists face abuse and threat to their life with no concrete steps taken by the administrative authorities.
JAPAN: Japan accused of eroding press freedom by UN special rapporteur
The Guardian: Investigation prompted by concern over government pressure on country’s media over issues such as Fukushima and WW2.
JAPAN: Japan’s public broadcaster mulls fee for streaming
Nikkei Asian Review: NHK eyes ‘cord cutters’ as new revenue source, but competitors oppose idea.
KYRGYZSTAN: Kyrgyzstan holds three trials in one day against independent outlet
CPJ
KYRGYZSTAN: President slams criticism
IPHR: The situation for freedom of speech and civil society in Kyrgyzstan has deteriorated ahead of the presidential election scheduled for 15th October 2017.
MYANMAR: A new candidate for world’s worst media law
Columbia Journalism Review
MYANMAR: ‘Just doing their jobs’: Families decry case against Myanmar reporters
Reuters: Family and colleagues of three Myanmar journalists who face up to three years in prison on charges of contacting ethnic rebels appealed for their release on Thursday, in a case that has raised concerns about Myanmar’s transition to democracy.
MYANMAR: Release journalists charged for reporting in armed conflict area
ARTICLE 19: The charges come amid worsening armed conflict between the Myanmar military (Tatmadaw) and ethnic armed groups in Shan State, where the military has been accused of a series of recent human rights violations.
THAILAND: Thai reform body suggests tight regulations on social media
ABC News (US): A policy-writing body advising Thailand’s military government has suggested imposing stringent restrictions on internet usage, intended in part to identify the posters of all content on services such as Facebook and YouTube.
AUSTRALIA: ABC’s unholy row: church leaders’ fury over religion cuts
The Australian: The ABC is planning to dump its executive producer of religion in a move savaged by Christian and Islamic leaders angry that the broadcaster will elevate a non-specialist to the once prestigious post.
COOK ISLANDS: Cook Islands plays role in Pacific research mapping media culture
Asia Pacific Report: The Cook Islands is part of a 12-nation research project to comprehensively map Pacific Islands journalism culture at a time of immense political, economic, technological and cultural change.
NEW ZEALAND: Māori TV expected to pull ‘Jonah from Tonga’ from screens
Radio New Zealand: Māori Television’s board had no knowledge controversial Australian comedy Jonah from Tonga would be broadcast on the channel and has vowed to axe it.
PAPUA NEW GUINEA: Media Council seeks opinion over Cybercrime Act’s ‘free speech’ impact
Pacific Media Centre: The Media Council of Papua New Guinea is seeking a legal opinion on the effects of the government’s 2016 Cybercrime Act on press freedom, freedom of expression and public access to state information.
TONGA: Tonga Broadcasting Commission to be sold off
Radio New Zealand: Tonga’s national broadcaster, the Tonga Broadcasting Commission is to be privatised.
TONGA: Tonga govt taken to task over broadcaster sell off plan
Radio New Zealand: A prominent publisher in Tonga says the government’s decision to part-privatise the public broadcaster is the result of a personal vendetta.
TONGA: Tonga’s TBC a public service, not govt cash cow says publisher
Radio New Zealand: A prominent publisher in Tonga says the government’s decision to part-privatise the national broadcaster is not a good move.
REGIONAL: Pacific Media Watch on PNG elections, free press and French N-tests
Pacific Media Centre: AUT Pacific Media Centre director Professor David Robie speaks with The Wire host Amanda Jane Robinson in the PMC’s weekly Southern Cross radio programme today about the Papua New Guinea general election. The Pacific Media Watch programme also touches on cybercrime and the impact on media freedom.
ALBANIA: DTT setback in Albania
Broadband TV News: According to the country’s Audiovisual Media Authority (AMA), analogue switch off in the Tirana-Durrës districts, which was due to take place on June 30, has been put back.
CROATIA: The Future of Public Service Broadcasting in Croatia (Publication)
Analitika: This paper analyses the different stages, achievements and challenges of the transformation of Croatian Radio-Television (HRT) into a public service broadcaster.
FRANCE: In difficulty, the chain Franceinfo reviews its fundamentals and sets goals (France – Subscription)
l’Opinion: Public broadcasting executives want their news channel to reach 0.6% audience share by the end of the year.
GERMANY: Bundestag passes law to fine social media companies for not deleting hate speech
Deutsche Welle: German lawmakers have approved a controversial law that would impose high fines on social media companies like Facebook, Twitter or YouTube for failing to swiftly delete posts deemed to exhibit hate speech.
GERMANY: ProSiebenSat.1 calls for new public broadcast regime and seeks funding
Digital TV Europe: German broadcaster ProSiebenSat.1 has called for public funding to be made available to commercial broadcasters to support public service broadcasting that can “reach a larger number of young people”.
IRELAND: 78TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OPENS IN DUBLIN
EBU: Opening the General Assembly, EBU President Jean-Paul Philippot highlighted the many challenges of the Union and the tough decisions that lie ahead…
IRELAND: We must be prepared to fund a free, fair press (Opinion)
Irish Examiner: Public, private, and community media organisations must work together to secure the funding needed to continue their close scrutiny of public life, writes Dr Roddy Flynn.
NETHERLANDS: Dutch public broadcasters set up joint licensing company
Telecompaper: The Dutch public broadcast organisation NPO and all its member broadcasters have formed a commercial company.
POLAND: Pluralism Under Attack (Report)
Freedom House: New report exploring the assault on press freedom in Poland.
SPAIN: RTVE, Hispasat plan Spain’s first live 4K HDR broadcast
Digital TV Europe: Spanish public broadcaster RTVE and satellite operator Hispasat plan to make Spain’s first live TV broadcast using 4K High Dynamic Range (HDR) technology this week.
SPAIN: RTVE negotiates with pay-TV to charge for the recording of its contents (Spanish)
elEconomista: RTVE is working to charge for the extra use that pay TVs make of their series and movies.
SPAIN: The PP presents a motion against a new public TV of the Cabildo
La Opinión: The Partido Popular of Tenerife proposes to support the culture of the existing channels.
UK: BBC to be ‘reinvented for a new generation’
BBC: Plans to reinvent the BBC “for a new generation” and combat competition from media giants such as Amazon and Netflix are due to be unveiled.
UK: Fox’s Sky takeover set for UK competition probe
TBI Vision: 21st Century Fox’s £11.7 billion (US$15 billion) takeover of European satcaster Sky is likely to be referred to the UK’s Competition and Markets Authority.
UK: Introducing Automatically Matched Subtitles
BBC R&D: BBC makes substantial gains in innovative automatic subtitling technology.
UK: Journalists raise fresh Freedom of Information worries in letter to Scottish minister
Common Space: Many of Scotland’s leading journalists have written a second letter raising concerns over Scottish Government transparency, this time to a Scottish minister who has pledged to change the way the government deals with Freedom of Information (FoI) requests.
UKRAINE: Broadcaster Given 20 Days to Appeal EBU Fine
EuroVoix: The Ukrainian national broadcaster has been given 20 days to appeal the 198,000 Euro fine placed on it by the European Broadcasting Union.
GENERAL: Gender equality in the media on the European Parliament’s agenda
IFJ: On Monday 26 June, the Committee for Women’s Rights and Gender Equality (FEMM) of the European Parliament organised a hearing on gender equality in the media in the European Union.
GENERAL: Latest report from the European Broadcasting Union outlines challenges for public service media
Journalism.co.uk: ‘Public service news providers in the modern era have to pay attention to their audience to a degree that they’ve never experienced before’
BRAZIL: Brazilian site teaches journalists how to protect sources and personal data from digital attacks
Knight Center for Journalism in the Americas: Metadata? Encryption? Backdoor? Tor Browser? VPN? PGP? When it comes to digital security for journalists, the amount of technical terms and acronyms can be scary. But tools to ensure online privacy can be crucial to protecting sources, which is why the site Privacidade para Jornalistas (Privacy for Journalists) has been launched in Brazil.
BRAZIL: EBC Radio Launches Joint Programming Focusing on News (Portuguese)
EBC: The Brasília National, Rio de Janeiro National and Amazonas National radio stations are implementing the reformulation of their programming, with a joint grid focused on journalistic information.
COLOMBIA: New TV regulation worries private channels (Spanish)
El Espectador: An ANTV draft resolution that seeks to alleviate charges to subscription television has turned on the alarms of private channels.
ECUADOR: Ecuador’s communications law has sanctioned 675 media outlets and journalists in four years (Spanish)
Knight Center for Journalism in the Americas: When Ecuador approved the Organic Law of Communication (LOC for its acronym in Spanish) in 2013, different organizations inside and outside the country expressed concern about the negative effects that the standard could have on freedom of expression. Four years later, the figures seem to show that the concern was not misplaced.
MEXICO: Can Mexico save its journalists?
BBC News: Journalists are being murdered in Mexico and this is nothing new. This is one of the most dangerous countries for reporters, rights groups say, and more die here than in any other nation at peace.
MEXICO: National Anticorruption System refuses to investigate espionage on journalists and activists (Spanish)
Animal Politico: Under the argument that espionage is not within the catalog of crimes of the National Anti-Corruption System, requests to access information on the case from the Federal Government were denied.
PERU: Peru’s public broadcaster targets European audiences
Rapid TV News: The Instituto Nacional de Radio and Televisión del Perú (IRTP) has announced that its international channel will be airing across all Europe before the end of the year.
REGIONAL: ICFJ Knight Fellowship, Latin America (Funding)
ICFJ: The goal: to strengthen investigative reporting through the adoption of new digital technologies, increase the ability of news organizations to produce high-impact in-depth news reports and create a cadre of investigative reporters with strong regional and international connections.
QATAR: Al Jazeera closure threat mounting
Advanced Television: July 3rd saw Qatar’s Foreign Minister make a special visit to talk to mediators in Kuwait about softening the demands made by Saudi Arabia and its Gulf allies to – amongst other items – close Al Jazeera, and to remove the implied threat to beIN Sports should events escalate.
QATAR: Unacceptable call for Al Jazeera’s closure in Gulf crisis
RSF: Nearly three weeks after Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, United Arab Emirates and Egypt broke off diplomatic relations with Qatar, journalists at Al Jazeera were stunned to learn that the 13 demands for ending this unprecedented regional crisis included the closure of Al Jazeera and other outlets directly or indirectly supported by Qatar.
TURKEY: TRT-Turkey targets more international audiences
ABU: TRT World is expanding its global distribution with global media solutions provider Globecast on the SES fleet.
CANADA: CBC/Radio-Canada recognized as an iconic Canadian brand by Interbrand Canada for Canada150
CBC/Radio Canada: To showcase the influence and impact of Canadian brands in honour of Canada150, Interbrand Canada has released “The Interbrand 150: Iconic Canadian Brands Report: Our Time to Grow.”
US: As Trump wages war on the media, the echoes of Erdogan grow louder
The Washington Post
US: IFJ slams President Donald Trump over violence against journalists
IFJ: The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) today strongly condemned the attacks of the President of the United States Donald Trump against US media company CNN, following a video the President published yesterday on Twitter.
US: LBJ Library honors public broadcasting’s history with new exhibit
Current: The Lyndon Baines Johnson Presidential Library called in the big guns Saturday for the opening of an exhibit marking the 50th anniversary of Johnson’s signing of the Public Broadcasting Act: Sesame Street characters, including a costumed Elmo.
US: NPR, NHPR Lead Public Media at the National Murrow Awards
CPB: From an NPR investigative report on Wells Fargo whistleblowers to a Vermont Public Radio video that uses Legos to show how the Iowa Caucus works, public media organizations were among the biggest winners of the 2017 National Edward R. Murrow Awards.
PBS: New joint effort will ensure that up to 38 million Americans stay connected to vital educational programming, news and public safety communications and speed deployment of mobile broadband in rural America.
US: Study seeks 1,300 journalists’ opinions on improving coverage of mass shootings
IJNET
A reader responds: Why Humanosphere’s hibernation matters
HUMANOSPHERE: On 1st July, Humanosphere is taking a break – possibly never to return. Since 2010, they have been reporting daily on global health, aid and development issues for both mainstream and ‘insider’ audiences.
An attack on one is an attack on all (Publication)
UNESCO: UNESCO’s latest publication on best approached to ensuring the safety of journalists and combat impunity.
Data journalism in broadcast news and video: 27+ examples to inspire and educate (Opinion)
Online Journalism Blog: The best-known examples of data journalism tend to be based around text and visuals — but it’s harder to find data journalism in video and audio. Here are some examples.
Google News launches a streamlined redesign that gives more prominence to fact checking
Nieman Lab: “To give them that multitude of facts, voices, and perspectives, you want the UI to disappear and not be a sense of overload or cognitive load on them but just be transparent.”
Full Fact awarded $500,000 to build automated factchecking tools
Full Fact: Full Fact, the UK’s independent, non-partisan factchecking organisation has secured $500,000 in funding for two new automated tools to transform factchecking and the international battle against fake news. They are called LIVE and TRENDS.
PERFECT STORM: THE MULTIPLE CHALLENGES FACING PUBLIC SERVICE NEWS AND WHY TACKLING THEM IS VITAL FOR DEMOCRACY (Publication)
EBU
Say hello to the new Data Journalism Handbook (Publication)
European Journalism Centre: The Data Journalism Handbook, published in 2011, is the guidebook for data journalists learning, perfecting or just starting their craft. Six years later, in an age of digital information and storytelling, data’s role in every aspect of reporting has even more significance.
Political Bots are Skewing our News Diet
CIMA: Was one of the news headlines you scrolled past on your social media feed today shared by a bot? Depending on the platform and the country you’re in, the odds are surprisingly high that automated computer scripts – political bots – are shaping the type of content you are seeing online.
Nieman Lab: The VR journalism of tomorrow won’t look much like the video and text-based journalism of today.
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Header image: BBC buildings at Media City Salford. Credits: Phil Gradwell/ Creative Commons
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