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.
BURUNDI: Burundi bans BBC and VOA in run-up to referendum
RSF: The ban was announced by the National Council for Communication (CNC), which accused the BBC and VOA of “breaching professional ethics” and said broadcasting of their programmes would be forbidden within Burundi for six months beginning on 7 May.
GABON: Gabon public media strike over government meddling
RSF: The striking journalists are demanding a return to editorial independence within the public broadcast media, which continue to be the main source of news and information for the Gabonese public, both in the capital, Libreville, and in the provinces.
MALAWI: Macra summons MBC as CSOs demand the public broadcaster to be freed from ‘DPP Capture’
Nyasa Times: Malawi Communications Regulatory Authority (MACRA) summoned the tax-funded Malawi Broadcasting Corporation (MBC) over concerns of refusing to open up the airwaves for the opposition parties and that its content is largely biased towards the ruling party
NAMIBIA: We are overworked, underpaid – journalists
The Namibian: Namibian journalists say although they bear the brunt of politicians’ anger, they are overworked and underpaid.
NIGERIA: Media critical to democratic dispensation, should avoid divisive broadcast —NBC
Nigerian Tribute: Director-General of National Broadcasting Corporation (NBC) Ishaqu Mobiddo Kawu, on Wednesday, says the media is critical to the nation’s democratic dispensation and as such, should avoid divisive broadcast.
RWANDA: Economic instability; the evolving major threat to freedom of media (Opinion)
The New Times: The debate in media sphere at different levels has for so long pointed to freedom of expression as the core threat to the media industry. […] However, today, the song seems to change the rhythm and verses related to media profitability are more reverberated than those involving professionalism.
SOUTH AFRICA: Media freedom in the Age of Falsehoods (Opinion)
Daily Maverick: Thursday 3 May marks International Press Freedom Day – a celebration of the work that journalists do worldwide to hold people in power accountable and empower citizens. But there’s not much to celebrate – physical risks threaten journalists in the field, economic pressures tighten media budgets, and the rise of fake news has created a crisis of credibility.
SOUTH AFRICA: SABC says dismissing striking workers was justified
The Citizen: The public broadcaster says the licence division employees were dismissed after they embarked on an unprotected strike.
TANZANIA: Tanzania’s bloggers fight back against $930 fee as court grants injunction
CNN: A temporary court injunction has ruled against the Tanzanian government’s legislation demanding bloggers pay a $930 fee to publish content.
THE GAMBIA: The Gambia: A new era of press freedom
Deutsche Welle: As the international community marks World Press Freedom Day, The Gambia’s journalists are finally able to return to work without fear of intimidation following two decades of dictatorship and repression.
TUNISIA: On WPFD, the government rolls back on freedom of expression gains of the Tunisian Revolution
Article 19: In a statement issued today, Tunisian civil society organisations express serious concern at a trend in recent attempts at legislation, which risks the constitutional achievements and guarantees on freedom of expression and access to information since the revolution.
ZIMBABWE: Econet hails broadcast licence in Zimbabwe
Rapid TV News: Econet Media has received Zimbabwe government permission to broadcast television and video content in its home nation via its Kwesé TV division.
ZIMBABWE: PSL, ZBC seal broadcast deal
The Standard: The national public broadcaster, Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation (ZBC) and the Premier Soccer League (PSL) have announced a new partnership that will finally bring top-flight games to television viewers and radio listeners at home.
GENERAL: A snapshot of some of the worst countries for journalists in Africa
Deutsche Welle: The state of media freedom in Africa is a mixed bag of improvement in some countries and an escalation of violations in others. We take a look at some of the worst places on the continent to be a journalist.
GENERAL: Federation of African Journalists to strengthen work in African journalism
Business Ghana: The Federation of African Journalists (FAJ) will strengthen work in African journalism around ethics and authors’ rights including establishing, where appropriate, regional actions to highlight the importance of authors’ rights protection.
BANGLADESH: ‘Pressure gradually increasing on the mass media’
Dhaka Tribune: Mass media is developing all over the world and Bangladesh is no exception. With this development comes legal, political and corporate pressures, as well as demands from the state. To debate the worsening situation, the Bangla Tribune hosted it latest Boithoki in its Dhaka Offices on May 3.
BANGLADESH: Minister: Government taking Digital Security Act concerns into consideration
Dhaka Tribune: Posts, Telecommunications and Information Technology Minister Mustafa Jabbar on Wednesday said the government would not pass the proposed Digital Security Act, 2018 without addressing the concerns of the media professionals.
BANGLADESH: Safety clause suggested for journos in Digital Security Act
UNB: Speakers at a roundtable in the city on Thursday urged to introduce a safety clause for journalists in Digital Security Act to safeguard freedom of press in Bangladesh.
CAMBODIA: Phnom Penh Post: Firing and resignations after sale of Cambodian daily
BBC: Several senior journalists have left Cambodia’s Phnom Penh Post, saying its new owners fired the editor in chief and demanded a story be removed.
CHINA: How China is trying to export its soft power
Deutsche Welle: In recent months, China’s Communist Party has been setting up an international soft power network, while consolidating domestic media to shore up its image at home. William Yang reports from Taipei.
CHINA: In China, State Control of The Media Moves Towards Thought Control
Radio Free Asia: As the ruling Chinese Communist Party achieves almost total control of all forms of news and information seen by its citizens, concerns are growing that the government will soon extend its reach to people’s private thoughts and actions, and possibly across the internal immigration border into Hong Kong.
FIJI:Student journalists speak up – not all glamour but risky in ‘real world’
Pacific Media Centre: Final-year student journalists at the University of the South Pacific took centre stage at this year’s World Press Freedom Day celebrations in Fiji by participating in a panel discussion about media freedom and the challenges being faced.
INDIA: How women have to fight to be journalists in India
RSF: After two events in the past month that shed light on the scale of sexist and misogynistic behaviour towards women journalists in India, Reporters Without Borders (RSF) has taken a closer look at the many kinds of prejudice and hostility to which they are constantly exposed.
INDIA: Indian fact-checkers step up fight against ‘fake news’
Nikkei Asian Review: Web startups aim to debunk bogus reports ahead of state and national elections.
INDIA: Wave of attacks on journalists by party activists in West Bengal
RSF: West Bengal’s journalists have protested about the dozens of attacks to which they were subjected in various parts of the state during the nomination process, which have gone unpunished.
INDONESIA: Indonesian Journalists Prepare to Bring Verification to a Wider Audience
First Draft: First Draft, the Google News Initiative and Internews bring the “Training of Trainers” program to Jakarta
INDONESIA: Prevalence of violence and threat of downsizing undermine Indonesian media
SEAPA via Ifex: Last year, 2017, was marked with a number of distressing facts with regards to the Indonesian press – its freedom, professionalism, and labor-related issues.
JAPAN: In Trump-esque fashion, Abe on offensive against Japan’s established media
The Japan Times: The Abe administration recently terrified the nation’s TV stations by seeking to eviscerate the decades-old Broadcast Act — a move critics say would open the floodgates to forays by internet media companies and possibly “destroy” existing broadcasters long protected by the law.
JAPAN: Japan pushes back against #MeToo movement
Financial Times: Latest scandal highlights country’s aversion to addressing sexual harassment and discrimination
MALAYSIA: Malaysia opposition leader investigated under fake news laws
The Guardian: Mahathir Mohamad is being investigated under law recently rushed through ahead of general election
MYANMAR: After harsh criticism, facebook quietly pulls services from developing countries
The Outline: Facebook enabled ethnic-cleansing-related hate speech in Myanmar; many died and thousands fled. Rather than take responsibility, it’s turning away.
PAKISTAN: Freedom of Expression in Pakistan Continues to Face Challenges
VOA: Freedom of expression in Pakistan has continued to face challenges in the past year, says a report published by Freedom Network, a Pakistani media watchdog organization.
PAKISTAN: Pemra fines 17 channels for airing false news about ban on anti-judiciary speeches
Dawn: The regulator imposed a fine of one million rupees each on Royal News, Din News, Channel- 92, Dunya TV, Channel-5, AAJ TV, Express News, Roze TV, Samaa TV, Dawn News, ARY News, Waqt TV, Bol News, KTN News, Koh-e-Noor TV and Geo News.
PAKISTAN: Surrendering to Silence: An account of Self-censorship among Pakistani Journalists
Digital Rights Monitor: For some years now, media professionals and news industry insiders in Pakistan have spoken of a growing trend of self-censorship among local journalists. The self-censorship is argued to be a defense mechanism against threats, harassment, and acts of physical violence.
PHILIPPINES: Duterte Takes on the Filipino Press
Asia Sentinel: It has become a habit for Maria Ressa, the embattled CEO of the Philippines news site Rappler.com, to face prosecutors from the Department of Justice. On May 7, Ressa again appeared before them in a tax evasion case that appears to be little more than political harassment by President Rodrigo Duterte.
PHILIPPINES: Journalists talk press freedom – ‘be afraid, but do the job’
Asia Pacific Report: The threat against press freedom, say local journalists in the Philippines, one of the world’s dangerous zones according to Reporters Without Borders, comes from the republic’s highest office.
PHILIPPINES: Rights, media groups denounce killing of radio broadcaster
PhilStar: International rights and media organizations condemned the killing of radio broadcaster Edmund Sestoso, saying it illustrated the persistence of a culture of impunity in the Philippines.
UZBEKISTAN: Uzbekistan releases remaining jailed journalists
CPJ: With the pair’s release, there are no journalists behind bars in Uzbekistan for the first time in two decades, according to CPJ research.
GENERAL: Attacks on Journalists, Media Houses Continue Unabated Across South Asia
The Wire: Apart from being targeted by shooters and bombers, journalists were also targeted by the police, political groups; trolling, internet ban emerge as new threats.
GENERAL: Media Freedom: Much more than just the media’s problem
Rappler: From Cambodia and Myanmar to the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Indonesia, countries are facing challenges that are a mix of the usual ones such as hostile action from governments and the use of laws and the courts to limit space for media
REGIONAL: Clampdowns and Courage: The challenge for South Asia’s media
IFJ: Just three days after ten journalists and media workers were brutally murdered in Afghanistan in the countries deadliest day for media, the IFJ’s report documents the clampdowns and violence that is continuing to take a hefty toll on the region’s media and more broadly on freedom of expression.
AUSTRALIA: ABC indexation freeze amounts to cuts
ABC: The Government’s decision to freeze the ABC’s indexation from July 2019 will cost the broadcaster $84 million over three years and will be compounded by the decision to cease a further $43 million in funding to support quality news and current affairs services.
AUSTRALIA: Australia criminalises journalism
MEAA via Ifex: Increasingly, the Parliament passes laws that are about suppressing the public’s right to know and criminalising anyone who reveals information the Government would prefer was locked up.
AUSTRALIA: Budget 2018: Funding freeze for ABC, boost for SBS
SBS: The multicultural broadcaster SBS will get $17 million funding over two years from 2018-19 to support and to contribute to the production and distribution of Australian film, television and radio content.
AUSTRALIA: Budget 2018: ABC funding frozen in $84 million hit to bottom line
ABC: The Government has announced it will freeze the ABC’s annual funding indexation for three years from July 2019, costing the organisation $84 million.
KIRIBATI: Kiribati to get its first TV station
RNZ: Kiribati is set to get its first television station with Wave TV expected to kick off services within a few months. The station plans to provide at least 20 pay and free view channels to 1,000 homes on the main island of Tarawa to begin with and then reassess the feasibility of rolling out across the country.
NAURU: Nauru waives journo fees for PIF
RNZ: Nauru has waived visa fees for journalists covering this year’s Pacific Islands Forum.
NEW ZEALAND: Boosting local journalism for the Southern Lakes
RNZ: The backers of a new media venture in Queenstown and Wanaka say the region risks becoming a “digital backwater” and – like other places in the South Island – it’s starved of good local journalism. How do they plan to put that right?
NEW ZEALAND: Defamation in the social media age – legal analysis
RNZ: Being on the end of malicious gossip is not something just public figures have to endure. But in the internet age, taking action against the perpetrators can be extremely difficult.
NEW ZEALAND: Jim Mather named as incoming RNZ chair
RNZ: The current head of Te Wānanga o Aotearoa Jim Mather, who also led Māori Television for nine years, will replace Richard Griffin as chair of RNZ.
PAPUA NEW GUINEA: No media freedom in PNG, says senior journalist
RNZ: A senior journalist in Papua New Guinea says there is no media freedom in the country and journalists are often working in fear.
TONGA: Tongan publisher says media freedom at a low
RNZ: A prominent publisher in Tonga says media freedom and access to information is the worst that he has seen.
WEST PAPUA: PMC director condemns ‘targeting’ of journalists and silence on West Papua
Asia Pacific Report: An alarming number of “targeted” journalists being killed and West Papua media for independence were just some of the topics covered in a wide-ranging seminar by the director of the Pacific Media Centre last night.
GENERAL: Media in ‘crisis’ – Pacific press freedom comes under spotlight
RNZ: The media industry is said to be in crisis, with some leading Pacific journalists describing a dire state of affairs when it comes to media freedom in the region.
GENERAL: Pacific journalists launch environment group at media summit
Pacific Media Centre: The Pacific Environment Journalist Network (PEJN) has been officially launched in Nuku’alofa, Tonga, on the eve of the opening of the 5th Pacific Media Summit with the aim of getting together journalists interested in reporting on environment issues and giving them the space, training and resources to do so.
BULGARIA: Media in Bulgaria: euphoria, crisis and corruption
OBC: A talk with Dr. Lada Trifonova Price from Sheffield Hallam University on the state of information in Bulgaria, native country of hers on which she has focused her research
CZECH REPUBLIC: Czech Republic’s shrinking media landscape reflects declining press freedom
Deutsche Welle: A Slovakian journalist was murdered, and in Hungary and Poland media are coming under increasing pressure from the ruling Fidesz and PiS parties. But changes for the worse in the Czech Republic are less well known.
CZECH REPUBLIC: Czech TV finds new technology partner
Broadband TV News: The Czech public broadcaster Ceska Televize (CT) has found a new technical operator for its online archive and streaming service iVysilani.
FINLAND: The state of media and communications policy in Finland (Video)
Journalism Research News
FRANCE: Arte and France TV are popular with the French (French)
Le Figaro: In the midst of preparations for a vast public broadcasting reform, Arte and the France Télévisions channels are widely acclaimed by viewers, in a barometer of the image of the historical channels produced by Ifop.
FRANCE: France Télévisions go UHD with Panasonic
Advanced Television: French public broadcaster France Télévisions is buying more than 100 Panasonic AK-UC3000 studio cameras over the next two years as it upgrades its facilities to 4K.
GERMANY: Deutsche Welle marks 65th anniversary
Deutsche Welle: For six-and-a-half decades, Germany’s international public broadcaster has been providing the world with news and information. Deutsche Welle’s offerings are more diverse and widely used than ever before.
HUNGARY: At the heart of Hungary’s battle for democracy: journalism
ICIJ: If nothing else, the Hungarian media experience of the last eight years settles one question: for anyone doubting whether journalism matters, Viktor Orbán knows it does.
HUNGARY: Independent journalists in Hungary brace for tough times in next Orbán term
CPJ: As Hungary’s new Parliament holds its first session, where Prime Minister Viktor Orbán is due to form his third consecutive government after a landslide re-election a month ago, journalists critical of his power will closely monitor his words for hints of what awaits them in the next four years.
IRELAND: RTÉ ‘faces urgent and substantial financial challenges’ – Forbes tells committee
RTÉ: Director General of RTÉ Dee Forbes has told the Public Accounts Committee that the company has inadequate resources, and faces urgent and substantial financial challenges.
IRELAND: RTÉ’s use of Irish as infrequent as most of its commercial rivals – report
The Irish Times: Stations aimed at younger people were best performers among stations surveyed
MALTA: Malta: defamation no longer a crime – but new law has critics
ECPMF: A new law has decriminalised libel in Malta. It follows months of criticism of the southern European country over media freedom, especially after the murder of investigative journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia in 2017, who attacked with dozens of Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation (SLAPP) cases.
POLAND: TVP to launch 4K channel
Broadband TV News: The Polish public broadcaster Telewizja Polska (TVP) plans to launch a 4K channel in time for the World Cup in Russia.
ROMANIA: Can Crowdfunding Save Romania’s Independent Media?
EJO: In recent years, many Romanian journalists left their outlets due to the changes in the media landscape and an increasing lack of credibility because of political meddling. The financial crisis of 2008 had hit the Romanian media hard and especially TV channels came under political influence. Instead of putting up with this, many Romanian journalists started their own independent outlets
ROMANIA: Romanian Public TV Manager Escapes Censorship Grilling
Balkan Insight: MPs from Romania’s ruling Social Democratic Party prevented opposition politicians from asking questions at a hearing with the public broadcaster’s director-general, who has been accused of censorship and insulting reporters.
RUSSIA: Police violence against reporters becoming normal at Russian protests
RSF: Reporters Without Borders (RSF) condemns the violence against journalists that marked the opposition demonstrations in Russia on 5 May. Yet again, media personnel have paid the price for covering streets protests.
RUSSIA: We must rethink Russia’s propaganda machine in order to reset the dynamic that drives it (Opinion)
LSE: To understand how Russian propaganda works, we first have to discard the idea that the Kremlin is in charge of a coordinated media machine acting together with cyber-warriors to attack a single audience. Stephen Hutchings explains why Russian media discourses are much more complicated than often presented.
SERBIA: Are Serbia’s tax inspections being used as a tool to curb the press?
Index
SLOVAKIA: RTVS reporters should not be silenced, Slovak journalists said
The Slovak Spectator: Despite the dismissals or departures of several reporters, the management of the public-service broadcaster does not think there is a reason for concern.
SLOVAKIA: Slovak pubcaster debuts HbbTV service
Broadband TV Europe: The Slovak public broadcaster RTVS has introduced an HbbTV service to cover the Ice Hockey World Championship, which is currently taking place in Denmark.
SLOVAKIA: Slovak public broadcaster under fire after sacking four reporters
Business Insider: Slovakia’s public TV and radio broadcaster has come under fire for sacking four reporters last week who had signed an open letter warning of creeping political pressure in state media.
SPAIN: Facebook will open a center in Barcelona to fight against fake news (Spanish)
InfoLibre: The offices in Barcelona destined to fight the fake news will follow the model of the operational center that Facebook already has in Germany. Its mission is to erase messages, photos and videos that violate the rules of the social network.
SPAIN: Protest against RTVE censorship spills over into prime time
Rapid TV News: The fight of RTVE workers against news manipulation and censorship has gained visibility as most of the network’s hosts brought the protest to prime-time broadcastings.
SPAIN: RTVE rebuilds audience with news, sports
Rapid TV News: Spanish national broadcaster RTVE is continuing to gradually improve its audience figures, mostly thanks to the performance of its news programmes and sports broadcastings.
SPAIN: RTVE workers in the Canary Islands join Black Friday to protest the blockade of the PP (Spanish)
El Diario: Workers and RTVE workers in the Canary Islands have joined the black Friday protest , which began on April 27, a day after the People’s Party (PP) hindered the renewal of public broadcaster’s board of directors.
SPAIN: RTVE workers strengthen fight against censorship
RAPID TV News: One by one, many workers of Spain’s public broadcaster have been revealing censoring and manipulation episodes over the last days.
SPAIN: Senate urges the Government to provide resources for quality international RTVE (Spanish)
La Vanguardia: The Foreign Affairs Committee of the Senate has approved a motion urging the Government to guarantee “sufficient funding” to all international channels of RTVE that allow a quality service to the Spaniards living abroad and the promotion of Spain.
UK: Streaming and DVDs BBC, ITV and Channel 4 in talks to create UK streaming service
The Guardian: NBC Universal also believed to be involved in discussions on how to combat Netflix and Amazon
UK: The data protection bill poses a real threat to the media’s ability to hold the corrupt to account
Independent: Lords and MPs alike have sought to use this bill as a way of sneaking back into law restrictions on the press that the current government has rightly said it will not implement.
REGIONAL: Fighting Fakes – The Nordic Way
Nordicom: “Fake News” understood as propaganda, lies, disinformation and fake factory stories are serious threats to our democracies. The Nordic Council of Ministers is now launching a booklet on how to counter so-called “fake news”.
REGIONAL: France Télévisions, Rai and ZDF team up to take on Netflix
Digital Tv Europe: European public broadcasters France Télévisions, Rai and ZDF have unveiled the first projects to be developed under the rubric of an alliance announced yesterday at the Series Mania event in Lille to address the challenge posed by the likes of Netflix and other subscription video-on-demand providers.
ARGENTINA: Ana Gerschenson: “Public media builds democracy” (Interview – Spanish)
infobae: The director of Radio Nacional talks about her project based on “professionalism and plurality”, very far from the time when the medium was used as a political tool. “We need to recover credibility,” she says. Ratings, popularity, federal programming and her return to conducting a series of interviews.
BRAZIL: Brazilian project MemeNews joins journalism and humor for social transformation
Knight Center for Journalism in the Americas: About a month ago, the MemeNews project started sending a daily bulletin with news headlines and summaries focusing on the Brazilian Legislative, Judicial and Executive branches. But more than being a newsletter, MemeNews wants to engage its readers in the stories they report using one of the best inventions of the internet: memes.
BRAZIL: Brazilian site JOTA creates bot to encourage journalistic coverage of stalled Supreme Court cases
Knight Center for Journalism in the Americas: The bot Rui (@ruibarbot), which launched at the end of April, monitors and publishes via Twitter about slowness in the progress of proceedings before the Federal Supreme Court (STF for its acronym in Portuguese).
CARIBBEAN: Journalists call for more transparency in regional political process
Jamaica Observer: The Association of Caribbean MediaWorkers (ACM) has issued a call for more work to done to bring about increased transparency in the political process in order to create “a Caribbean society that is more embracing of freedom of expression”.
CARIBBEAN: Statement from CBU president to mark World Press Freedom Day
Nation News: The following is a statement from CBU president Gary Allen to mark World Press Freedom Day.
COLOMBIA: Facing challenges, these organizations are working to improve press freedom in Colombia
IJNet: Over the past three decades, Colombia has been listed by press freedom groups as one of the most dangerous countries to be a journalist.
MEXICO: “In Mexico, journalists do not know where bullets come from” (Spanish)
Deutsche Welle: Drug trafficking is today the greatest threat to journalists in Latin America. DW spoke with Ricardo Trotti, director of the Inter-American Press Association (SIP), on World Press Freedom Day.
NICARAGUA: Facing censorship, Nicaraguan journalists and citizens turn to social media
IJNet: As seen in the Arab Spring and the #19S mobilization in Mexico, Nicaraguans managed to organize and report through the only means that the state did not control: the internet.
Knight Center for Journalism in the Americas: Numerous television and radio news outlets in Nicaragua were attacked or experienced signal interruptions during coverage of the wave of protests that erupted throughout the country due to a reform to the Social Security Law by the government of President Daniel Ortega.
GENERAL: Ecuador in mourning, Nicaragua in flames, and violence against journalists
Ifex: April was a difficult month: Ecuadorian journalists who had been kidnapped in Colombia were murdered. Mass protests in Nicaragua left a death toll of nearly 30 people. With the rest of the continent also facing violence, IFEX’s Latin American network spoke out, publicly denouncing the barrage of attacks against free expression.
GENERAL: Journalism “under attack” in Latin America due to violence and authoritarianism (Spanish)
Panam Post: “Governments are primarily responsible for the safety of journalists and they are failing,” said César Ricaurte, president of Fundamedios at a forum in Miami.
Knight Center for Journalism in the Americas: It looks at journalists and media professionals in the region who are innovating with design, storytelling format, distribution methods, business models, transnational collaboration, residency programs, niche markets and more.
Knight Center for Journalism in the Americas: As they have every year since 1993, when UNESCO proclaimed May 3 as World Press Freedom Day, journalists and freedom of expression advocates in Latin America and around the world gathered at conferences and rallied online to discuss the importance of press freedom and ways to the threats it faces.
IRAN: Iranian court imposes total ban on Telegram
RSF: An Iranian court has ordered a complete ban on Telegram, Iran’s most popular instant messaging service, in a decision that has further tightened the Islamic Republic’s grip on the flow of news and information as well as severely disrupting Internet traffic.
IRAQ: Yazidi women speak about unethical practices by journalists
CJR: One of the most horrific stories to emerge from the Islamic State’s reign of terror in Iraq is the systematic rape and enslavement of Yazidi women. […] But the the methods used to report the stories of those abuses have sometimes been problematic, a new study in Women’s Studies International Forum finds.
ISRAEL: Israel shutters Palestinian youth media office in East Jerusalem, citing terrorism
CPJ: Israeli internal security forces and police on April 18 posted a Defense Ministry order to the door of Elia Youth Media Foundation ordering its closure, according to media reports.
PALESTINE: Palestinian news group growing internationally
Al Monitor: The Palestinian Broadcasting Corporation (PBC), which opened an office in Beirut recently, plans to add reporters and facilities globally and is upgrading existing offices. Company officials say the expansion, its biggest ever, will help convey the plight of the Palestinian people around the world.
SYRIA: Radio Sleepytime brings bedtime stories for Syria’s bereft children
The Guardian: Canadian Brigitte Alepin’s brainchild Radio-Dodo is a bilingual radio station with stories, songs and segments to help Syria’s scattered kids get to sleep
SYRIA: Reporting Syria: this is a story about people – an interview with Rania Abouzeid
Open Democracy: A conversation with reporter Rania Abouzeid about practicing journalism, the role of media in the conflict, and the future of Syria.
TURKEY: Defending journalism in Turkey’s climate of fear
Open Democracy: “The one and only way to overcome this situation is the solidarity of journalists around the world standing with us.”
GENERAL: War reporters — the great silence
Deutsche Welle: Journalism is increasingly a “suicide mission,” with foreign correspondents in places like Syria and Yemen the victims of warring factions. And so, others are stepping into the void.
CANADA: There is reason to be hopeful about the future of news. Yes, really (Opinion)
CBC: Demand for good journalism isn’t dead. Just the failed advertising business model that long funded it
CANADA: World Press Freedom Day shines spotlight on Canadian reporting challenges
CTV: The UN’s World Press Freedom Day on Thursday worked to shine a spotlight on the dangers and obstacles reporters face while on the job — and while the challenges in Canada are not as great as those faced internationally, they appear to be growing.
US: Old-school AM/FM radio the most popular media of all, says Nielsen
The Washington Times: With 243 million listeners, radio reaches 93 percent of the U.S. population
US: Joint report on press freedom in US details worsening media environment
CPJ: Journalists and news organizations in the U.S. face a range of intensifying challenges that threaten their right to freedom of the press, according to a report launched today by international press freedom and free expression advocacy groups to mark World Press Freedom Day.
US: Public radio organizations partner to acquire podcast app
Current: NPR, WNYC in New York City, WBEZ in Chicago and This American Life have pooled resources to buy a podcasting app, the partners announced Thursday
10 tips for verifying viral social media videos
Poynter
All the News That’s Fit For GDPR Compliance
EJO: Most news organisations share a combination of distinctive attributes that put them squarely in the scope of the GDPR and force them to comply with even the more stringent GDPR requirements.
Closing the gap between journalists and communities
EJC: A conversation with journalists Henning Bulka and Sophie Casals about opportunities and challenges of hyperlocal journalism
Europe’s journalists are at risk. Here’s what the E.U. could do to protect them. (Opinion)
The Washington Post: If the European Union is to continue to lead the world in media freedom, it needs to do everything in its power to defend its independent reporters
NiemanLab: Facebook is already boosting posts in its feed from news organizations rated through user surveys as more trusted, and ranking lower the posts from organizations rated as less trusted, and will “dial up the intensity of that over time,” Mark Zuckerberg told attendees yesterday during a meeting with news executives in Menlo Park, California.
Information inequality makes voters vulnerable to manipulation
LSE: This vulnerability makes some large news organisations particularly powerful around the world, write Andrea Prat and Patrick Kennedy
Is traditional sports journalism still relevant in the age of social media?
Deutsche Welle: Today, many athletes use social media to market themselves, while sports associations are increasingly streaming events online. This is raising questions about the future of traditional sports journalism.
Media literacy – everyone’s favourite solution to the problems of regulation (Opinion)
LSE: Media literacy is often cited as the solution – but to what problem? In this new blogpost for the Media Policy Project, Professor of Social Psychology at LSE and Chair of the LSE Truth, Trust and Technology Commission, Sonia Livingstone, provides an overview of the current debates about media literacy following a recent Westminster Media Forum seminar about fake news at which she spoke.
New AP Stylebook guidelines, influenced by #MeToo, hurricanes, and online polls
CJR
New data casts doubt on Facebook’s commitment to quality news
CJR: Some recent data on the best-performing news brands on Facebook seems to show that high-quality new sources are getting less engagement on Facebook and lower quality sites are getting a lot more.
Online media to overtake linear TV viewing in 2018
Broadband TV News: Time spent with online media will overtake time spent with linear TV for the first time globally this year, according to GroupM.
The Cohort: We launched free coaching for women in journalism
Poynter
The Uncensored Playlist: how news is being turned into pop to bypass repressive regimes
The Guardian: Music streaming services such as Spotify are freely available even where social media and search engines are banned, so the Uncensored Playlist has recruited journalists from five repressive regimes to spread the news via song
Trends in the Safety of Journalists (Report)
UNESCO
Trustworthy media in a time of distrust: no silver bullet, but the search is on
CIMA: A steady stream of surveys, reports, and barometers continues to confirm what many experience on a daily basis: public trust in news media is on a notable decline worldwide.
Working With Whistleblowers In The Digital Age: New Guidelines
EJO
PSM Weekly is available via email. You can subscribe by signing up to our mailing list at the bottom of the page or email editor@publicmediaalliance.org.
All PSM Weekly stories are provided for interest and their relevance to public service media issues, they do not necessarily reflect the views of the Public Media Alliance.
All headlines are sourced from their original story.
If you have any suggestions for our weekly round-ups, please email PMA at editor@publicmediaalliance.org.
Header image: TV-Studio. Credits: freie-kreation/istock.
Related Posts
