Our weekly round-up of public service media related stories and headlines from around the world
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What is...
Our weekly explainers for key public media terms, phrases and values.
Week 34: What does TRANSPARENCY look like?
Transparency from public officials allows journalists to better inform the public and ultimately contribute to democracy. But media organisations also need to be transparent in how they are managed, funded, and use their resources. Transparency is a core public media value, contributing to their accountability to the public that funds them, their editorial independence, and public trust. Transparency can look like clearly worded and publicly available management and financial reports, charters, and guidelines that can be used to hold public media responsible to their mandates. Some public broadcasters, such as the USA’s NPR, have an ombudsman or public editor who serves as the public’s representative to newsrooms by receiving and responding to public queries, comments, and criticisms of programming as well as to issues of adherence, journalistic standards and ethics. But as with editorial independence, transparency requires a firm commitment from those both within and outside of the public media organisation. After all, as recent events at Hong Kong’s RTHK have demonstrated, a clearly defined charter is not enough to protect the values of public media.
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Essential resources for sourcing and reporting news about the coronavirus pandemic
What we're reading...
New UNESCO handbook: How to transform coverage of migrants and refugees?
EFJ: UNESCO just published an open-access handbook for journalism educators, media organisations and associations on how to report on migrants and refugees.
What we're listening to...
Demands for greater scrutiny – and media push back
RNZ: The opposition’s unhappy about the scrutiny the media are applying to the government, especially over vaccines – but some reporters pushed back at criticism of them this week.
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Global Headlines
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BURUNDI: Burundian president attacks RFI reporter covering surge in Covid cases
RSF: Reporters Without Borders (RSF) calls on Burundian President Évariste Ndayishimiye to combat a month-old surge in Covid-19 cases in his country instead of verbal attacking a Burundian journalist who has been covering it.
GAMBIA: President Adama Barrow puts his seal of approval on ATI law
Via IFEX: President Adama Barrow signs The Gambia Access to Information Bill into law, less than two months after the country’s National Assembly passes it.
GHANA: Africa media rights group to relocate HQ from Ivory Coast to Ghana
GhanaWeb: A delegation from the Union of Journalists for African Free Press from Cote d’Ivoire and Cameroon has called on the Director-General of the Ghana Broadcasting Corporation, GBC, Professor Amin Alhassan in Accra, on the decision to relocate the Headquarters of the Union from Cote d’Ivoire to Ghana.
GHANA: Director General of GBC clarifies issues on Corporation’s funding mechanism
GBC: Director General of the Ghana Broadcasting Corporation, GBC, Professor Amin Alhassan says it is time to have a full-scale conversation on how to find a permanent solution to the Corporation’s funding mechanism, to enable it to deliver on its mandate.
KENYA: Parliament partners with KBC for more airtime on house proceedings (27 August)
KBC: Parliamentary Committee on Broadcasting and Library has partnered with the Kenya Broadcasting Cooperation (KBC) with the aim of securing more airtime for house proceedings to the benefit of the public.
NAMIBIA: NYC invites media literacy programme applications
The Namibian: The National Youth Council (NYC) of Namibia, in collaboration with Unesco and Namibia National Commission (NatCom) for Unesco, is calling on the Namibian youth, individuals and youth-led organisations to submit applications for the media and information literacy (MIL) programme.
NIGERIA: Nigeria’s broadcasting regulator queries Channels TV over ‘anti-government’ interview
MFWA: In what seemed to be yet another move by the Nigerian government to suppress press freedom, the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC), which regulates the activities of broadcasting stations in the country, on August 24, queried privately-owned Channels Television for granting interviews allegedly considered to be critical of President Muhammadu Buhari.
SOUTH AFRICA: SABC’s funding model blamed for broadcaster’s financial woes
SABC: Steve Swart, the African Christian Democratic Party (ACDP) member of the Communications and Digital Technologies Committee, says the funding model is at the centre of the South African Broadcasting Corporation’s (SABC) financial woes.
SOUTH AFRICA: Sentech’s distribution costs negatively affecting SABC’s financial viability
SABC: The high distribution costs charged by signal distributor Sentech has shown a negative impact on the financial viability of the South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) in the 2019/2020 financial year.
SOUTH SUDAN: Vice tightens on South Sudan’s journalists
RSF: Reporters Without Borders (RSF) condemns an increase in the harassment of journalists and media outlets in South Sudan, amid civil society calls for the resignation of President Salva Kiir and Vice-President Riek Machar.
TANZANIA: Tanzania suspends second newspaper in less than a month
Reuters: Tanzania suspended on Sunday another newspaper accused of false stories even though President Samia Suluhu Hassan had pledged to uphold media freedoms quashed by her predecessor.
TUNISIA: Tunisian police violence against nine journalists covering protest
RSF: Reporters Without Borders (RSF) condemns police violence against nine reporters covering a demonstration in Tunis on 1 September that was the first street protest since the authorities declared a state of exception in Tunisia on 25 July.
GENERAL: Change of Date: WAMECA 2021 Awards rescheduled for October 22 (Event)
MFWA: The 2021 edition of the West Africa Media Excellence Awards has been rescheduled for Friday, October 22, 2021. This means both the Conference and Awards Ceremony will be held on the same day (instead of two separate days as earlier advertised).
AFGHANISTAN: Afghanistan: fewer than 100 out of 700 female journalists still working
The Guardian: Women forced out of jobs despite Taliban promises to allow them to keep working, survey finds.
AFGHANISTAN: Armed Taliban fighters accost TV host in middle of show (Paywall)
The Times: Heavily armed Taliban fighters made an appearance on Afghan national television, surrounding the host of a political debate programme as he told viewers to “not be afraid”.
AFGHANISTAN: Can Afghanistan’s Leading Broadcaster Survive the Taliban?
The New York Times: Tolo came to prominence with hard-hitting news, raucous reality shows and lurid Turkish soap operas. Now there are ominous signs that a violent media clampdown is underway.
AFGHANISTAN: Ex-BBC journalists in Kabul say corporation ignored pleas for help
The Guardian: Fourteen Afghans including presenters, reporters and producers are now in hiding from the Taliban.
AFGHANISTAN: Press freedom in Afghanistan: How to help journalists under attack
DW: After the Taliban took power in Afghanistan, lives of journalists are in imminent danger. The One Free Press Coalition has put together what governments and individuals can do to help journalists in Afghanistan.
AFGHANISTAN: Taliban Return Signals ‘End to Press Freedom,’ Afghan Journalists Say
VOA: A free and independent media will not be possible in Afghanistan, despite assurances from the Taliban, say some journalists at privately owned news outlets.
CHINA: China’s media cracks down on ‘effeminate’ styles
BBC News: China’s broadcasting regulator has said it will ban “effeminate” aesthetics in entertainment shows and that “vulgar influencers” should be avoided.
HKFP: City Forum is the latest in a series of programmes to be scrapped under RTHK’s new broadcasting chief.
CNN: The media company behind the now-shuttered Hong Kong tabloid Apple Daily is shutting down after its entire board resigned, citing “a climate of fear” over the city’s controversial national security law.
HONG KONG: Space for Journalism Shrinking ‘by the Day,’ Hong Kong Journalist Says
VOA: Veteran journalist Steve Vines is still adjusting after his sudden departure from Hong Kong, the city he called home for more than half his life.
INDIA: DD News crosses 4 Mn Subscribers on YouTube, Prasar Bharati gains total of 15 Mn since 2017 (26 August)
News on AIR: In keeping with the changing broadcasting landscape, technology and viewers’ demand, Prasar Bharati’s digital platforms across Doordarshan and All India Radio have evolved over [the] past few years, in turn, growing manifold in terms of subscribers, followers, likes and views.
INDIA: Modi likely to launch Sansad TV this month
Hindustan Times: The plan to set up Sansad TV was proposed by an expert committee headed by Prasar Bharati CEO Surya Prakash in 2019. It was aimed at cutting costs, streamlining channel management and rejigging content to make it attractive for viewers and advertisers.
JAPAN: ‘A huge step forward’: NHK brings human touch to computer-generated sign-language commentary (Paywall)
The Japan Times
KASHMIR: ‘It Is Humiliation for Us’: Internet Shutdown Blocks News In Kashmir
The Wire: The administration imposed restrictions on movement and communication around midnight soon after the word spread that Hurriyat stalwart Syed Ali Geelani passed away.
KYRGYZSTAN: RSF condemns Kyrgyzstan’s adoption of law restricting online free speech (27 August)
RSF: Under the guise of fighting online disinformation, Kyrgyzstan’s president has signed a law allowing the authorities to summarily suppress information at the request of any citizen who says they are being defamed. Reporters Without Borders (RSF) calls for the immediate repeal of this law, which could be used to censor the media.
MYANMAR: Danny Fenster: Jailed for telling the truth in Myanmar – with no end in sight
HKFP: The plight of Danny Fenster highlights the crackdown on local and foreign journalists since the military seized power, writes Robert Gerhardt.
NEPAL: FF welcomes Labor Court order that asks Radio Nepal to reinstate three journalists sacked two years back (26 August)
Freedom Forum: Freedom Forum is happy to share a story of success for justice to working journalists. It heartily welcomes the Labor Court order that has asked the State-owned Radio Nepal to reinstate the three journalists who were sacked without prior information two years back.
PAKISTAN: Pakistan’s Dubious New Media Controls
Polygraph.info
PAKISTAN: Pakistan: Censoring Journalism in the Name of ‘Media Development’ (Opinion)
The Wire: A sweeping plan to require government licensing of journalistic activity and ban the “bringing into ridicule the head of state, or members of armed forces, or judicial or legislative organs of the state” will sound the death [knell] of press freedom.
SINGAPORE: Singapore prime minister wins more defamation suits against bloggers
Rappler: New York-based Human Rights Watch says the suits versus bloggers are stifling freedom of speech and political opposition.
SOUTH KOREA: KBS executives answer viewers’ questions… Direct communication with viewers on the occasion of the 2nd viewers week (Press release – Korean)
KBS: KBS executives , including CEO Yang Seung-dong, will directly answer various questions from viewers.
SOUTH KOREA: KBS significantly expands free digital services in commemoration of September Broadcasting Day (Press release – Korean)
KBS: Korea Broadcasting Corporation (KBS), the representative public broadcaster of Korea, will start a special viewer service on the occasion of the broadcast day on September 3.
SOUTH KOREA: President Moon unlikely to veto ‘fake news’ bill
The Korea Times: The conservative main opposition People Power Party (PPP) is increasingly urging President Moon Jae-in to veto a controversial media law revision, widely referred to as the “fake news” bill.
AUSTRALIA: ABC achieves record news audience (Press release – 26 August)
ABC: The ABC is recording the biggest news audiences in its history as Australians seek trustworthy sources to help them navigate pandemic conditions at home and keep across critical international events such as the situation in Afghanistan.
AUSTRALIA: Christian Porter wins legal battle to stop publication of secret parts of ABC defence
The Guardian: Federal court ruling prevents publication of unredacted defence to former attorney general’s dropped defamation claim.
AUSTRALIA: Meet the trailblazing ABC News female camera operators and why we want more women behind the lens (Feature – 27 August)
ABC: Scan a media pack at a news conference during rolling coverage of the COVID-19 pandemic and you’ll generally see a balance of male and female journalists, but women behind the camera are few and far between…
AUSTRALIA: SBS wants to hear from diverse voices for new podcasts (Press release)
SBS: SBS wants to hear from diverse Australian voices who have new ideas to share, as it continues to grow its collection of distinctive podcasts.
AUSTRALIA: Sky News Australia denies broadcasting Covid misinformation, saying YouTube is ‘totalitarian’
The Guardian: CEO Paul Whittaker also tells media diversity inquiry Sky News Australia does not deny climate change, and accepts it is happening.
FIJI: Fiji news media ‘acted responsibly’ in questions over AG’s ego, says FMA
Asia Pacific Report: Fijian Media Association president Stanley Simpson says a journalist who asked Attorney-General Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum to respond to comments made against him by opposition National Federation Party leader Professor Biman Prasad have acted responsibly.
NEW ZEALAND: Covid 19 coronavirus Delta outbreak: ‘Anger and misinformation’ growing (Opinion – 20 August)
NZ Herald: RNZ reporter Ben Strang was on the streets before the latest lockdown when he was attacked, and writes that it feels like there is more animosity towards the Government and media this time around.
NEW ZEALAND: Demands for greater scrutiny – and media push back (Listen)
RNZ: The opposition’s unhappy about the scrutiny the media are applying to the government, especially over vaccines – but some reporters pushed back at criticism of them this week.
NEW ZEALAND: Media confront thorny questions raised by terror attack
RNZ: When terrorism struck again on Friday, the media were confronted with shocking reports and images – but also thorny questions about what happened and why – and how much they could reveal.
NEW ZEALAND: The generational divide widens in latest NZ On Air audience survey
NZ On Air: Young New Zealanders are continuing to lead a march away from traditional media, Netflix is still growing at pace, but TV is still the media New Zealanders spend the most time with overall in a day.
NEW ZEALAND: TVNZ’s long-serving boss creates a vacuum
RNZ: TVNZ chief executive Kevin Kenrick will leave the state-owned broadcaster next February after nine years at the helm. TVNZ will now have to find a new leader as the government progresses plans to create a new public media entity incorporating TVNZ and RNZ by 2023.
AUSTRIA: ORF boss Weißmann before the next stages of director election and new ORF law (German)
Der Standard: The next few weeks should bring the ORF and its next boss Roland Weißmann a lot further: In addition to the appointment of the future management team on the Küniglberg and in the federal states, a new ORF law with significantly more digital options could come faster than previously announced.
BELARUS: RSF Urges International Support For ‘Persecuted’ Belarusian Journalists
RFE/RL: Reporters Without Borders (RSF) is calling for international solidarity with Belarus’s “persecuted” independent journalists as a crackdown on media and civil society intensifies following last year’s disputed presidential election.
BELGIUM: RTBF, RTL and several French-language media launch a platform to support flood victims
RTBF: The July floods are unprecedented. The consequences on the ground are enormous. The shock wave will be felt for a long time to come. RTBF and RTL want to continue to support citizens, to support victims.
CZECH REPUBLIC: Czech Television publishes the Rules of Pre-election and Election Broadcasting (Press release – Czech)
Česká televize: Czech Television will offer 14 regional debates in the pre-election broadcast for the elections to the Chamber of Deputies of the Parliament of the Czech Republic…
CZECH REPUBLIC: René Zavoral will continue to lead Czech Radio for six more years (Spanish – 26 August)
Radio Prague International: Seven of the nine councilors of Czech Radio elected René Zavoral by secret ballot on Wednesday to continue with a second term as general director of the public entity.
ESTONIA: Film Directors guild: Austerity plan will lead to end of Estonian film
ERR: The Estonian Guild of Film Directors sent a manifesto to the media on Monday which says if a 42 pecent decrease in film funding occurs under the government’s plans for cuts then this will lead to the extinction of Estonian film culture.
FINLAND: Common good and public value – for almost a century (Finnish)
Yle: Did Finland really exist before Yle was founded? So all of us Finland and every Finnish society? And how much Finnish community is there today when Yle turns 95? And what’s left of that when we start the second century of public service in a few years?
FINLAND: Yle Arena’s use of smart TV is growing – renewed applications serve even better (Finnish – Press Release)
Yle: The use of Yle Areena on smart TVs is growing – in 2020, there was one hundred percent growth in the entire audience. That is why the Arena applications for smart TVs are also being renewed.
Variety: Manuel Alduy, a well-respected French film and TV industry veteran who joined France Televisions as head of cinema and international development in January, discussed the broadcaster’s strategy to ramp up its scope and attract younger audiences.
FRANCE: Netflix Loses Market Share in France
Media Player News: Netflix in June reportedly lost market share in France, the one European market where the SVOD pioneer struggled to connect with consumers after launching in 2014.
FRANCE: The global media franceinfo celebrates its 5th anniversary (French)
France Televisions: France Télévisions, Radio France, France Médias Monde and the INA announce the strengthening of their cooperation in the field of information
GERMANY: Bundestag election: How the ARD wants to reach first-time voters (German – 22 August)
ARD: With numerous program offers, the ARD provides information on candidates, parties and election programs relating to the federal election on September 26th. In doing so, the editorial offices also have an eye on the young voters in particular…
GERMANY: DABplus again with strong growth in the radio market (Press release – German)
ARD: ARD and Deutschlandradio see their strategy for digital radio confirmed.
GERMANY: Supervisory body approves 2020 annual and consolidated financial statements (Press release – German)
Deutschlandradio: In its 10th session of the current term of office, the Radio Council of Deutschlandradio dealt intensively with the ruling of the Federal Constitutional Court on the radio license fee…
GERMANY: Two-thirds of German households can receive digital radio (German)
Horizont: Two-thirds of households in Germany are now able to listen to digital radio. This is evident from the digitization report of the media companies, which was published on Monday in Berlin.
GERMANY: ZDF in a virtual exchange with producers (Press release – German)
ZDF: Great interest in the second online edition of the ZDF Producers Day.
ITALY: Netflix concerned over investment obligations
Advanced Television: Netflix has expressed concern over plans by the Italian government to double the investment obligations in Italian and European programmes.
MALTA: Press freedom watchdog raises concerns over local disinformation campaign
Malta Today: European Media Freedom Rapid Response offers a message of solidarity to the journalists and activists affected.
POLAND: Jourová meets Polish PM amid tension on rule of law, media freedom
Euractiv: The European Commissioner for Values and Transparency, Věra Jourová, visited Poland on Monday and Tuesday (30-31 August), as tensions remain high over rule of law and media freedom in the biggest eastern member state.
RUSSIA: Russians rally against govt pressure on independent media
The Independent: Several dozen Russians have gathered in Moscow to protest the crackdown by Russian authorities on independent media.
RUSSIA: “Taking control?” Updated RSF report on Internet censorship in Russia
RSF: A few weeks before parliamentary elections in Russia on 19 September, Reporters Without Borders (RSF) is publishing a country report showing how massively the state leadership under President Vladimir Putin has restricted freedom of the press and freedom of expression in recent months.
RUSSIA & UK: Sarah Rainsford: My last despatch before Russian expulsion
BBC News: I’m writing this in the middle of the night at my kitchen table in Moscow, looking over towards the dim red stars and golden domes of the Kremlin. But by the time you read it I’ll be on my way back to England, expelled from Russia as a national security threat.
Global Voices: Serbian public broadcaster RTS stopped using Twitter in protest.
SLOVENIA: Slovenia: MFRR calls for firm response after storming of public broadcaster RTV
IPI: The International Press Institute (IPI) and its partners in the Media Freedom Rapid Response (MFRR) today strongly condemn the attack on the Slovenian public broadcaster RTV Slovenija (RTVS) by Covid-19 deniers and anti-vaccination protesters last Friday.
SLOVENIA: Ban imposed on rallies of Covid deniers in front of RTV Slovenija (Paywall)
Sta: The Ljubljana Administrative Unit has acted upon a proposal from Ljubljana police to ban rallies of the coronavirus deniers who stormed the public broadcaster’s headquarters on Friday. It told the STA on Monday the decision on the ban will enter into force as it is handed to the organiser of the rallies on Tuesday.
SPAIN: RTVE launches ‘The great citizen consultation’ on the Corporation (Press release – Spanish)
RTVE: RTVE has launched this Monday ‘ The Great Consultation’ , an ambitious and unprecedented transmedia campaign of citizen participation to find out what public radio and television people want and the role that citizens expect from it. A campaign that will be, not only analog and on the street, but also digital, to reach Spanish citizens of all ages and that we will be able to see in digital media, RRSS and on all RTVE screens.
SWEDEN: Hesa Fredrik and Important Communication to the Public (VMA) turns 90 and 35 years old (Press release – Swedish)
Sveriges Radio: This year, Hesa Fredrik and Important Communication to the Public (VMA) turn 90 and 35 years old, respectively. Sweden’s warning system is an important part of our preparedness for crises and wars. On average, about 50 VMA messages are sent out each year.
SWEDEN: SVT Nyheter gathers strength on climate monitoring (Blog – Swedish)
SVT: The UN’s climate report from the IPCC was presented in early August. The effects of the climate crisis in our time and for our future became very concrete.
UK: BBC’s director of news Fran Unsworth to leave the corporation
BBC: The BBC’s director of news Fran Unsworth is to leave the corporation early next year, it has been announced.
UK: BBC TO HOST CLIMATE CREATIVES FESTIVAL ON SUSTAINABILITY
IBC365: The event, which will take place on 5 October, will include a presentation from the BBC’s R&D consumer media technology team, The Blue Room, with research on the carbon cost of the television and associated technologies – revealing where the potential savings can be found.
UK: Ministers reject BBC plea for licence fee to keep up with inflation
The Times: The BBC licence fee will rise by less than the rate of inflation over the next five years because ministers are concerned about hitting households with higher bills, The Times has been told.
UK: Ministers struggle to find people to interview Paul Dacre for Ofcom job (31 August)
The Guardian: Downing Street’s second attempt to appoint Paul Dacre as chair of the media regulator Ofcom has hit another snag, with ministers struggling to find people willing to interview the former Daily Mail editor for the job.
UK: The government’s ‘escalation in hostilities’ against the BBC
The Week: Ministers reject plea for cost of licence fee to keep up with inflation.
UK: TV production companies fear Channel 4 privatisation threatens ‘indy’ scene (Paywall)
The Financial Times: Broadcaster’s unique structure seen as underpinning development of UK’s independent sector.
UK: Unsworth departure opens up battle over future of BBC News
The Guardian: Exit likely to set off competitive and politicised recruitment process to find replacement at corporation.
REGIONAL: New factual investment in the Nordic region’s largest natural disasters (Norwegian)
Nordvision
ARGENTINA: New training for journalists and professionals of Radio and Television Argentina (RTA) (Spanish – 30 August)
Defensoría del Pueblo CABA: The institution’s Childhood, Adolescence and Gender Program gave talks on gender violence and media coverage of information related to this problem.
ARGENTINA: With 2,400 million for audiovisual contests, culture and media seek to reactivate the industry (Spanish – 31 August)
Argentina.gob.ar: The Ministry of Culture of the Nation and the Secretariat of Media and Public Communication announce the launch of Renacer Audiovisual , a program aimed at reactivating the audiovisual industry, with a projected investment of $ 2,400,000,000 and with the main objective of generate new jobs in all regions of the country.
BRAZIL: Bolsonaro: New bill will limit tech giants’ power to remove content
BBC: Brazil’s President Jair Bolsonaro has signed a decree aimed at restricting the powers of social media companies to remove accounts and content.
COLOMBIA: Public TV received 69 million visits on online platforms (Spanish – 27 August)
TVyVideo + Radio: MinTic presented the results of the Extended TV study, carried out by the firm Kantar Ibope Media, in which it was revealed that 68,534,652 minutes of content from regional channels were consumed between July 2020 and July 2021.
CUBA: Cyber Law Gives Cuba New Way to Silence Critics, Analysts Say
VOA: Cuba has introduced new controls over online content deemed to affect national interests, in a move described as “Orwellian” by independent media and activists.
CUBA: IAPA: “Independent journalism in Cuba is going through its most critical period” (Spanish)
Swissinfo: Independent journalism in Cuba “is going through its most critical period in decades,” the Inter-American Press Association (IAPA) warned this Friday when it delivered a report to the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR). the results of his recent “virtual mission” to the Caribbean country.
ECUADOR: Five points for debate in the Communication Law (Spanish – 25 August)
La Hora: Regulation or self-regulation; the Communication Council; guarantees to journalists; the reply and rectification; and the radioelectric spectrum are the five points that cause debate in the International Relations Commission of the National Assembly.
ECUADOR: Galo Roldós Arosemena is the new manager of Comunica EP (Spanish)
El Telégrafo: Roldós assumed the powers of the entity in an event that was attended by the president of the Board of Public Companies, Hernán Luque; and the general manager of the Public Companies Coordinating Company (EMCO), Gabriel Castro.
ECUADOR: Pachakutik proposes direct allocation of frequencies to community media (Spanish – 25 August)
El Comercio: Of 28 articles, six repealing provisions and a final one, the bill to reform the Organic Law of Communication (LOC) is made up, which was presented this Wednesday, August 25, 2021 by assembly members of Pachakutik and a coalition of community media.
GUYANA: OM Solutions installed AEQ intercom at NCN (Spanish – 31 August)
TVyVideo + Radio: NCN has recently developed the complete renovation of the company’s main production center, which includes digitization and transformation into a scalable IP production platform for Television.
MEXICO: Mexico’s Journalists Speak Truth To Power, And Lose Their Lives For It
NPR
MEXICO: Public radio coverage reaches 57% of the national territory (Spanish)
Milenio: The Public Broadcasting System reached a coverage of 57.5% of the national territory, with a network of 27 repeater stations in 22 entities.
NICARAGUA: Nicaragua: Crackdown on independent media escalates ahead of elections
IPI: Press freedom in Nicaragua has taken a turn for worse in past weeks as long-time president Daniel Ortega and his government have continued their authoritarian crackdown on independent media, dissident voices and political opponents.
LEBANON: Journalists react to deportation of Reuters journalist from Lebanon
Arab News: The deportation of senior Reuters correspondent Suleiman al-Khalidi from Lebanon has been criticized by journalists in the Arab world.
SAUDI ARABIA: Saudi state media companies to start moving from Dubai to Riyadh
Reuters: Dubai-based Saudi state-owned media companies will start moving staff this month to the capital Riyadh, sources said, as Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman presses ahead with plans to remould the kingdom as a regional business hub.
SYRIA & US: Trial Brings ‘Some Justice,’ Say Families of Journalists Killed by Islamic State
VOA: The families of two freelance journalists killed by the Islamic State group in 2014 say the trial of one of the militants responsible has brought some justice for their sons.
TURKEY: IPI Interview: Online attacks on women journalists in Turkey
Free Turkey Journalists: “Women journalists are sometimes attacked for the news they share, and sometimes for their thoughts.”
TURKEY: ‘Oppression and censorship have become entrenched in Turkey’
Bianet: Releasing its 40th monthly media monitoring report, the Progressive Journalists Association says, “We will either make our voices heard freely or we will perish.”
CANADA: A VERY FIRST INDIGENOUS PROGRAM ON ICI PREMIERE (Press release – French)
Radio-Canada: Caroline Jamet, Executive Director, Radio, Audio and Greater Montreal, and Sylvie Julien, Senior Director of ICI PREMIÈRE , are very happy to present for the first time a program dedicated to the different Indigenous cultures…
CANADA: CBC/Radio-Canada’s first 2021–2022 quarterly report now available online (Press Release)
CBC/Radio-Canada
CANADA: Everything you need to know about the federal election and CBC News (Blog)
CBC News: Coverage on multiple platforms aims to hold candidates to account so you can make an informed choice.
CANADA: Get the facts: CBC is not an election fact-checker for Facebook (Press Release)
CBC/Radio-Canada: A recent Postmedia News article, carried by Sun newspapers across the country, claims that “Facebook Canada to lean on CBC as election fact checker”, to “check media coverage for accuracy”. This is untrue and repeats a story that first appeared on the Blacklock’s Reporter website…
CANADA: The future of CBC/Radio-Canada is at stake in this election (Opinion)
Toronto Star: While the CBC provides broadcasting services in both English and French, it receives much less funding from government than public broadcasters in most other countries, where typically programming is provided in only one language.
US: 5 lessons we learned turning our podcast into animated shorts for public TV (Paywall)
Current
US: Library Of Congress And NPR Announce National Book Festival Podcast Series
NPR: NPR and the Library of Congress are proud to announce a collaboration between the National Book Festival and several of NPR’s most popular podcasts.
US: My small public media station went all in on family leave. Yours can, too
Poynter: It’s time to start thinking that maybe we have created newsrooms and pay plans that only attract people who aren’t trying to support a family.
US: PBS Commemorates the 20th Anniversary of 9/11 with Special Programming
PBS: In commemoration of the 20th anniversary of the September 11th terrorist attacks, PBS presents a special lineup of new and encore programs that offer insight into the events and their aftermath as well as a special concert performance of Verdi’s Requiem from GREAT PERFORMANCES and The Metropolitan Opera.
US: PBS KIDS’ Linda Simensky on the Power of Public Broadcasting
Worldscreen: As the only children’s programming block on U.S. public television, PBS KIDS has undertaken the mandate to deliver content that is educational, entertaining and authentically reflects the world that kids are living in today.
US: Public Media Perspectives on September 11, 2001
CPB: As the nation commemorates the 20th anniversary of the devastating terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, public media coverage and programming will provide wide-ranging perspectives.
US & AFGHANISTAN: USAGM Still Working to Evacuate Journalists from Afghanistan
VOA: More than 100 USAGM employees and contractors are still in Afghanistan along with their families despite assurances from the U.S. State and Defense departments that they would be evacuated during the Kabul airlift that ended Monday.
3 ways news organizations can improve accessibility right now
Poynter: By considering the ways people navigate the digital world differently, news organizations connect with their audiences in a more compassionate way.
BBC News focuses on explainers and human voices when covering Afghanistan on social media
Journalism.co.uk: The UK public broadcaster gained more than 150m views in one month across social media platforms through essential knowledge and exclusive videos on the Taliban.
Five reasons you can’t miss GIJC21 (Event)
Judith Neilson Institute: Every two years, the world’s investigative journalism community comes together for a giant training symposium and networking hub — the Global Investigative Journalism Conference.
Health journals make joint call for urgent action on climate crisis
The Guardian: Editorial in publications worldwide urges leaders to take measures to stop ‘greatest threat to public health’.
How We Report on Pain, Death and Trauma Without Losing Our Humanity
ProPublica: Investigative reporting can mean bearing witness to the worst moments of people’s lives. Here’s how some of our journalists approach the gut-wrenching task of writing about suffering.
Misinformation on Facebook beats factual news when it comes to clicks, study finds (Paywall)
The Washington Post: A new study of user behavior on Facebook around the 2020 election is likely to bolster critics’ long-standing arguments that the company’s algorithms fuel the spread of misinformation over more trustworthy sources.
New UNESCO handbook: How to transform coverage of migrants and refugees?
EFJ: UNESCO just published an open-access handbook for journalism educators, media organisations and associations on how to report on migrants and refugees.
Pay TV is hiding elite sports from fans – and making women less likely to take it up, report finds
iNews: Just one in three fans across Europe has access to premium sport channels and girls are ‘not able to see and have experience of inspirational role models’.
The challenge of dismantling digital disinformation (Spanish)
El Tiempo: Disinformation online is not a problem that no society can afford to ignore.
The draconian rise of internet shutdowns
Wired: Ten years on from the Arab Spring, internet shutdowns are increasingly used to stifle democracy. But what comes next could be worse.
The Phantom of a divided society (German – Listen)
Deutschlandfunk: Lying press shouts from the outside and distribution struggles inside. There are a number of controversies in the media industry. From the point of view of communication scientist Lutz Hachmeister, however, this is not a new phenomenon: “This is a shell re-update of an ancient conflict.”
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