AFGHANISTAN: Two detained amid rising attacks on Afghan media under Taliban rule

IFJ: Television presenter Moheb Jalili was beaten and abducted by Taliban militants on April 17 and reporter Reza Shahir was detained by the Taliban on April 19, in the latest of a series of attacks to press freedom in Afghanistan.

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CHINA: How Chinese state media paints an alternative picture of the Ukraine war

SCMP: Ever since February 24, the day Russian troops crossed the Ukraine border and began firing missiles and dropping bombs, Beijing has had to balance itself on a narrative tightrope based on its twin policy of leaning towards Russia and away from the US.

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HONG KONG: Hong Kong Arrest Signals ‘Erosion of Press Freedom’

VOA News: The arrest in Hong Kong of a journalism professor has disturbed academics and journalists alike.

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HONG KONG: Hong Kong’s Human Rights Press Awards cancelled, citing legal risks

HKFP: The winners of this year’s Human Rights Press Awards were expected to be announced on May 3, which is also World Press Freedom Day.

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HONG KONG: No need to ‘defend’ press freedom ‘because it exists,’ Hong Kong leadership candidate John Lee says

HKFP: Hong Kong’s sole chief executive candidate John Lee has said that press freedom exists in the city, so there is no need to ask him to “defend” it.

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HONG KONG & CHINA: Free media in Hong Kong almost completely dismantled – report

The Guardian: Free media in Hong Kong has been almost completely dismantled by the government crackdown, clearing the market for an expanded pro-Beijing and state-owned media sector, a new report has said.

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INDIA: An SOS for India’s Democracy and Media (Opinion)

The Wire: As we face the very real danger of losing our democracy, it is important for us to believe that we can and will pull ourselves back from calamity.

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INDIA: India Blocks 16 YouTube Channels For Spreading Hate, Fake News

NDTV: The blocked YouTube channels and the Facebook account had a cumulative viewership of over 68 crore and were spreading “false, unverified information to create panic, incite communal disharmony and disturb public order in India”.

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INDIA: India doesn’t need a media market regulator. Industry actually needs more economic freedom (Opinion)

The Print: Economic regulations make it harder to recoup investments made on content and drive firms towards consolidation for greater efficiencies.

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INDONESIA: Presenting the Home of the Archipelago, RRI Informs the Flow of Homecoming and Return for Lebaran 2022 (Indonesian)

Suara Merdeka: The Republic of Indonesia Radio Public Broadcasting Institute (LPP RRI ) again presents information on the flow of going back and forth for Eid 2022.

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JAPAN: Raise Rights on Southeast Asia Trip

Human Rights Watch: Japan’s Prime Minister Fumio Kishida should press the governments of Indonesia, Thailand, and Vietnam to improve their human rights records during his upcoming visit to the three countries, Human Rights Watch said today. Kishida will reportedly visit the countries from late April to early May, 2022.

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KAZAKHSTAN: Kazakh Lawmakers Approve Controversial Bill Allowing Them To Shut Down Social Media Platforms

RFE/RL: The Kazakh parliament’s lower chamber, the Mazhilis, has approved a controversial bill that would allow authorities to shut down social media and messaging platforms to protect users from cyberbullying. 

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KYRGYZSTAN: Civil society organisations voice concern over Kyrgyzstan’s assault on free expression and independent media

IFEX: Recent legislative changes, an increase in the harassment of independent media outlets, and a series of attacks on journalists reveal an alarming trend of shrinking press freedoms. 

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MALAYSIA: Media, officials urged not to fan hatred of Rohingya amid hunt for escapees

Radio Free Asia: Officials are investigating why a Rohingya man died at detention center hours before riot.

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PAKISTAN: A political crisis and a polarised media (Watch)

Al Jazeera: Pakistan’s media is in a lose-lose situation – caught between politicians and the military. Plus, the crushing of speech in Bangladesh.

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PAKISTAN: Newly appointed Information Minister Marriyum Aurangzeb announces PMDA’s disbanding

Dawn: Information Minister Marriyum Aurangzeb announced on Tuesday that the Pakistan Media Development Authority (PMDA) was being disbanded in “whatever shape or form it was working”.

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PAKISTAN: Pakistan govt to bring law to eliminate ‘fake news’

The Print: Newly sworn-in Information Minister Marriyum Aurangzeb on Saturday said that an amendment would be made to the Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (PEMRA) laws to “eliminate fake news”. 

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PAKISTAN: PPF condemns acts of violence, threats against media following Imran Khan’s ouster (Statement)

Pakistan Press Foundation: Pakistan Press Foundation (PPF) condemns the recent acts of violence against the media community. In the weeks following the removal of the government led by Imran Khan there have been multiple incidents of physical violence as well as the online harassment of media personalities.

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PAKISTAN & AFGHANISTAN: PFUJ supports evacuating Afghan journalists

IFJ: The Pakistan Federal Union of Journalists (PFUJ) has been working to provide every possible support to the Afghan Journalists to evacuate Afghanistan and remain in Pakistan for an interim period before leaving for European countries. 

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PHILIPPINES: Revilla seeks Facebook’s explanation on ‘censorship’ of posts from govt agencies, officials

CNN Philippines: Senator Ramon “Bong” Revilla Jr. on Tuesday questioned Facebook’s flagging and removal of some posts made by government entities, saying the country’s affairs should not be “controlled” by the private company.

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SINGAPORE: Singapore editor jailed for defamation over corruption claims

The Guardian: The editor of a now-closed Singaporean news outlet has been jailed for three weeks for defamation over a letter published on the site that alleged corruption among government ministers.

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TAIWAN: TBS chairwoman resigns over invasion news ticker

Taipei Times: Taiwan Broadcasting System (TBS) chairwoman Tchen Yu-chiou (陳郁秀) and Chinese Television System (CTS) acting general manager Chen Ya-ling (陳雅琳) have resigned over the erroneous airing of news tickers announcing a Chinese invasion of Taiwan, CTS said yesterday.

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VIETNAM: Amnesty International blasts new proposed social media regulations in Vietnam

Radio Free Asia: An international rights group condemned the Vietnamese government’s plan to adopt new regulations to tighten control over social media platforms in the communist one-party country where leaders already have little tolerance for public criticism or dissent.

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REGIONAL: Content takedowns on social media facilitate censorship in Asia (Opinion)

Thomson Reuters Foundation: Rules introduced in Vietnam, India, Bangladesh and Indonesia over the past year enforce shorter and stricter time frames for tech companies to remove content, to the detriment of people’s right to freedom of expression and information.

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REGIONAL: Kurdish leaders commemorate Kurdish journalism day

Rûdaw: The Kurdistan Region’s President Nechirvan Barzani and Prime Minister Masrour Barzani released separate statements on Friday congratulating Kurdish journalists and stressing the need for free media and responsible journalism, on the 124th anniversary of the publication of the first Kurdish newspaper.

AUSTRALIA: ABC presenter ‘takes a break’ after accusations of bias

The Sydney Morning Herald: ABC Weekend Breakfast presenter Fauziah Ibrahim has “taken a break from on-camera duties” while the broadcaster is “reviewing recent social media activity” by her that may constitute a breach of its recently updated guidelines.

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AUSTRALIA: Anzac Day 2022 on the ABC (Press release)

ABC: The ABC will cover Anzac Day services in all states and territories on Monday 25 April as marches return to towns and cities across the country.

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AUSTRALIA: ‘Have a shred of empathy’: Coverage of Katherine Deves’ comments is harmful, transgender advocates say

SBS: Advocates say trans and gender diverse people are “not political footballs” and ongoing debate over the Liberal candidate’s comments is not only hurtful but inciting hate and causing distractions to important election issues.

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AUSTRALIA: Pacific must hear our voices, but we must listen to theirs (Opinion)

The Sydney Morning Herald: For many who watched as China expanded its influence in the Pacific, the Labor announcement of an $8 million a year boost to the ABC’s services in the region should it take power will be welcome. The question being, is it too little, too late?

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AUSTRALIA: Rightwing media no longer wield power as they once did. So why is Labor letting them set the election agenda? (Opinion)

The Guardian: Each time News Corp turns its sights on a new target, Twitter campaigners blame an unprecedented “Murdochracy” for the dire state of our political culture.

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AUSTRALIA: SBS Emerging Writers’ Incubator returns, supporting greater diversity in Australian screenwriting (Press release)

SBS: Applications are open for the SBS Emerging Writers’ Incubator, a nationwide initiative from SBS in partnership with Screen Australia, state and territory agencies Screen NSW, Screen Queensland, Screen Territory, Screenwest, the South Australian Film Corporation and VicScreen, and with the assistance of the Australian Writers’ Guild, supporting the development of under-represented screenwriting talent.

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AUSTRALIA: SBS making the 2022 Federal Election accessible for multicultural communities, including live streaming the leaders debate in Arabic and Mandarin (Press release)

SBS: SBS will be streaming live Arabic and Mandarin translations of the 2022 Sky News / The Courier-Mail People’s Forum, the debate between Prime Minister The Hon. Scott Morrison MP and Opposition Leader, The Hon. Anthony Albanese MP. 

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AUSTRALIA: The rise of scaremongering and online misinformation during Australian elections (Listen)

The Guardian: The Australian Electoral Commission has voiced alarm at scaremongering about potential election fraud spreading via social media. 

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NEW ZEALAND: ​​Public Media Entity Establishment Board Appointments

Scoop: The Minister for Broadcasting and Media has confirmed the nine-member Establishment Board to lead the work on creating a new public media entity in New Zealand.

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NEW ZEALAND: TVNZ-RNZ merger: Former NZ First MP in charge of planning, Barbara Dreaver and Briscoes director also on board

NZ Herald: Nine people including corporate bosses and a former minister have been appointed to lead work in creating a new public broadcasting behemoth.

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SOLOMON ISLANDS: ‘Respect’ work of journalists and media, Masi tells Solomons police

Asia Pacific Report: The Media Association of Solomon Islands (Masi) has called on the police to respect journalists and media workers when carrying out their work in a public space after officers harassed two media people trying to film the prime minister, reports the Solomon Star.

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REGIONAL: Labor’s Pacific plan is underdone and risks further politicising foreign policy (Opinion)

The Conversation: The news China has negotiated and signed a defence cooperation agreement with the Solomon Island has exposed the Australian government to a barrage of criticism.

BELGIUM: The VRT will lay off 116 employees by 2025 and the soap opera “Thuis” will be outsourced (French)

RTBF: The management of the VRT is putting a new transformation plan on the table with fewer human resources since more than two hundred employees will fall by the wayside by 2025, i.e. one tenth of the staff. 

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CYPRUS: THANASIS TSOKOS APPOINTED DIRECTOR GENERAL OF CYPRUS BROADCASTING CORPORATION CYBC

EBU: After serving for several years as Chairman, Vice President and Member of the Board of Directors of the Cyprus Broadcasting Corporation CyBC, Thanasis Tsokos has been appointed Director General of the public service broadcaster.

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ESTONIA: March was a record month for ETV and ETV + (Estonian)

ERR: The war in Ukraine significantly increased the volume of current affairs programs and topics on ETV and ETV + programs in March. Viewers’ interest in the current program grew, with the share of both ETV and ETV + viewing time in March being the highest in recent years.

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FINLAND: Yle: New music strategy for the entire company (Danish)

Nordvision: A company with a hundred-year history must find its role in the new music consumption.

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FRANCE: Radio audiences: France Inter smiles, Europe 1 suffers (French – Paywall)

Le Monde: The radio audience measurement for the period January-March 2022, unveiled Thursday April 21 by Médiamétrie, confirms the supremacy of the public station, and the collapse of the station now under the control of Vincent Bolloré. 

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GEORGIA: Public TV Board Chair Elected

Civil: The Georgian Public Broadcaster’s board of trustees elected today Georgian Dream-named member Vasil Maglaperidze as its chair for a three-year term.

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GREECE: Media freedom under assault

Al Jazeera: Journalists in Greece working to hold those in power to account are facing increasing pressures.

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HUNGARY: How opposition-led towns in Hungary have become independent news deserts (HVG)

IPI: Circulation of government-acquired local newspapers has plummeted in rural Hungary, while state-funded propaganda is distributed for free, explains HVG.

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HUNGARY & RUSSIA: Pro-Kremlin Online Rhetoric Thrives in Orban’s Hungary

Balkan Insight: As the European Union imposed a new wave of sanctions targeting Russia’s economy, false news about the war in Ukraine and pro-Moscow propaganda continued to circulate online in EU member state Hungary.

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LATVIA: Kaspars Odiņš starts working as a member of the LTV Board (Latvian)

LTV: As of today, April 25, Kaspars Odiņš will join the team of Latvian Television (LTV), becoming a member of the Board of LTV in matters of program and service development. 

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MACEDONIA: Public Broadcasting Service during the COVID-19 Age (Opinion – 5 April)

EJN: The role of the public service under pandemic conditions is unique and it cannot be compared to anything else. During the COVID-19 pandemic– an enigma even to the scientists – the force of the public service broadcaster defines its place in the society. 

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MALTA: Television by the people (Opinion)

Times of Malta: Democracy requires public broadcasting. We don’t have it. We have a State-owned, government-controlled company that curates the government’s message and tells people what to think.

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RUSSIA: Endless media freedom crackdown

IFJ: While the censorship law adopted after the invasion of Ukraine criminalised the exercise of journalism in Russia, new and even more restrictive provisions are being considered.

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RUSSIA & UKRAINE: Russian troops in Ukraine are compiling lists of journalists for questioning

RSF: As Russian soldiers in the mostly occupied Zaporizhzhia region draw up “lists of leading local figures to be kidnapped” and search for journalists in order to make them collaborate or to silence them, Reporters Without Borders (RSF) reminds the Russian authorities that targeting journalists is a war crime.

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SPAIN: José Manuel Pérez Tornero: “RTVE will be the great media platform and showcase for the cultural and creative industry” (Press release – Spanish)

RTVE: RTVE, in its firm commitment to culture, increases its programming with ambitious projects to offer ” the culture you want “. In this way, public broadcasting is consolidated as a benchmark in cultural outreach and entertainment.

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SLOVENIA: Calls mounting for resignations over yesterday’s TV election debate (Paywall)

STA: Calls for the resignation of the director general of public broadcaster RTV Slovenija and TV Slovenija editor-in-chief are mounting after Thursday’s election debate turned sour with several opposition leaders leaving after some of the participants accusing each other of past mistakes and after the host seemed to lost control of debate.

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SWEDEN: A record-breaking collaboration is in goal – but the work of examining Sweden’s 21 regions continues (Press release – Swedish)

SVT: In a unique project, Assignment review together with SVT’s local newsrooms has examined Sweden’s 21 regions. Of course, SVT reviews the regions continuously, but now we have joined forces for an extra large investment – which has resulted in hundreds of news items around the country.

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SWEDEN: That is why SVT is opening an editorial office in Härjedalen (Press release – Swedish)

SVT: SVT is now inaugurating the 45th editorial office in the country, in Sveg. There are several reasons why SVT wants to be close to the citizens, writes Mark Cummins, editor-in-chief and responsible publisher.

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SWITZERLAND: Computer hacking: RTS satisfied with Dominique Giroud’s confirmed conviction (Press release – French) 

RTS: RTS takes note of the confirmation of the conviction of Dominique Giroud by the Appeals Chamber of the Court of Justice of Geneva. Convicted at first instance of having wanted to hack into the computers of two journalists investigating his tax and legal disputes, the winemaker appealed and asked for his acquittal on January 10. Today, the Court confirms the offenses committed in this hacking attempt.

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SWITZERLAND: Switzerland set to reduce TV and radio licence fees after surplus

The Local: Switzerland has announced plans to reduce the annual TV and radio licence fee, after a larger than expected surplus over recent years.

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UK: BBC publishes plan to support levelling up across the UK (Press release)

BBC: The work builds on the BBC’s ongoing Across the UK plans announced last year.

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UK: Earth Day 2022 – BBC announces new planet friendly initiatives across radio, TV and digital (Press release)

BBC: The BBC announces a raft of initiatives across radio, TV and digital services to help us all make more planet friendly choices and to champion those making a difference to our environment.

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UK: Households cancel streaming services to cut costs, report says

BBC News: The rising cost of living in Britain has led to households cancelling their streaming subscriptions, new research suggests.

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UK: New Board appointment for Channel 4

Ofcom: Ofcom has today announced the appointment of Michael Lynton as a non-executive director to the Board of Channel 4 for a term of three years, commencing 25th April 2022.

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UK: RSF joins 19 organisations in urging Home Secretary Priti Patel to reject Assange extradition

RSF: Reporters Without Borders (RSF) has joined 19 organisations in urging UK Home Secretary Priti Patel to reject the US government’s request to extradite Wikileaks publisher Julian Assange. 

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UK: The BBC’s Award Winning 50:50 Project sees strong progress on Disability and Ethnicity representation (Press release)

BBC: The 50:50 initiative, which originated in BBC News, uses a data-driven methodology to monitor content and fundamentally shift gender representation within the media.

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UK: Why the UK government’s new school curriculum resource body should partner with the BBC (Opinion)

EJO

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UKRAINE: Journalists Covering Ukraine War Often at Crossroads Between Story, Safety

VOA: As Russia’s war in Ukraine enters its third month with details of atrocities mounting, journalists covering the conflict are taking a more cautious approach.

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REGIONAL: EU agrees on internet rulebook for Google, Facebook, other tech giants

RTÉ: EU member states, the European Commission, and the European Parliament have reached agreement on new rules requiring large tech companies to do more to police illegal content on their platforms and to pay a fee to regulators monitoring their compliance.

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REGIONAL: European broadcasters call for legal protections for journalists amid ‘unprecedented’ spike in violence

Press Gazette: European public service broadcasters have warned of an “unprecedented” spike in violence directed against journalists and called for reporters to get prioritised legal protection against attacks and abuse.

ARGENTINA: Alicia Kirchner set up a system of public media to “improve the image of the government” (Spanish)

Infobae: The governor of Santa Cruz created a structure in which she merged the state media and gave it new functions, including monitoring social networks

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ARGENTINA: Cecilia Flachsland: “The only possible democracy is with public media” (Spanish)

Télam: In view of the launch of a new program, which includes nearly 30 productions added to its screen, the director of Canal Encuentro, Cecilia Flachsland, carried out an analysis of the function, content and history of this educational public channel and underlined that “the only possible democracy is with public means”.

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ARGENTINA: RTA and Vietnamese public media strengthen their alliance (Spanish)

Prensario: The president of Radio and Television Argentina (RTA), Rosario Lufrano, the general director of The Voice of Vietnam, Do Tien Sy, and the ambassador of that country in Argentina, Thanh Duong Quoc, signed a protocol that further expands cooperation between both countries for the exchange of content.

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BOLIVIA: A wave of attacks against journalists triggers calls for a protection mechanism in Bolivia

LatAm Journalism Review: Six journalists covering incidents related to the seizure of agricultural land in the province of Guarayos, Bolivia, were abducted on Oct. 28, 2021.

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CHILE: Knowledge Systems: Plenary only approves paragraph that recognizes public media (Spanish)

Pauta: Articles that propose the creation of bodies such as the National Council of Communications and a National System of Public and Community Media return to the commission. Nor do they recognize independent and pluralistic character.

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COLOMBIA: MEDIA AND CITIZENS WILL BE ABLE TO KNOW THE RISKS TO INFORMATIVE PLURALISM ON COLOMBIAN OPEN TV (Spanish) 

TrendTIC: The Communications Regulation Commission (CRC) presents the results of the Study of Risks to Informative Pluralism in Colombian open television, a resource for the media themselves to guide their autonomous processes to be more plural and diverse.

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DOMINICAN REPUBLIC: Journalists suffer aggression and difficulty accessing information in the DR (Spanish)

Diario Libre: Freedom of the press in the Dominican Republic has been tarnished by the recent aggression suffered by journalists and by the obstacles they have in accessing public information, as the Inter-American Press Association ( IAPA ) denounced yesterday in its preliminary report.

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EL SALVADOR: Journalists from El Salvador go to the Supreme Court before “gag” (Spanish) 

DW: The APES said that the reforms are “ambiguous” and that it falls to “judges who respond to the ruling party to determine whether what we publish violates any law or not.”

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JAMAICA: Radio Jamaica acquiring 1834 Investments

Jamaica Gleaner: The boards of 1834 Investments Limited and Radio Jamaica Limited are announcing that they have entered into a Scheme Implementation Agreement which will lead to the amalgamation of both companies.

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MEXICO: Deadly violence against Mexican journalists must end

Open Democracy: Between cartels and corrupt politicians, the country is among the most dangerous to be a journalist. Eight have been killed so far this year

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MEXICO: Free, secure, open: DW Akademie releases new software Colmena for local media

DW: DW Akademie and its Mexican partner organization REDES A.C. have developed an open source software to help local media to reliably inform their communities in times of crisis.

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NICARAGUA: Four years after social protests against the authoritarian government in Nicaragua, Ortega has turned the country into ‘a prison,’ say exiled journalists

LatAm Journalism Review: Four years after the start of this relentless repression of social protests by the Ortega and Murillo regime — in which even publicly waving the national flag or wearing blue and white became a crime —, the streets of Nicaragua are now silent.

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REGIONAL: Save The Date! – 53rd Annual General Assembly to be held Aug 15-17, 2022 (Event)

CBU: The 53rd edition of the CBU’s Annual General Assembly will be held in partnership with the Tobago House of Assembly on the island of Tobago, from August 15th to 17th, 2022.

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REGIONAL: The IAPA will assert that democracy needs viable means (Spanish) 

El Nacional: The Inter American Press Association (IAPA) announced this Thursday at the end of its six-monthly meeting that it will redouble its efforts in order to help the viability of the media and assert that they are important for democracy.

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REGIONAL: The Latin American media sees the energy transition only from an economic and business perspective, according to a study (Spanish)

El Diario: The data comes after examining 1,200 articles from the main media and was compiled by Climate Tracker. How to report on climate change and the consequences on biodiversity.

IRAN: Deceit, denials, delays: How Iran keeps its public in the dark (Report)

Article 19: Iranian authorities systematically violate people’s right to protest and assemble, deceive and lie about the violations they commit and unlawfully keep people seeking transparency and accountability in the dark.

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ISRAEL & PALESTINE: Four years of violence against Palestinian journalists covering “March of Return” protests

RSF: On the fourth anniversary of Palestinian journalist Ahmed Abu Hussein’s death from the Israeli sniper bullet that fatally wounded him as he covered one of the “Great March of Return” protests near the Israeli border in the Gaza Strip, Reporters Without Borders (RSF) announces that it has registered more than 140 Israeli violations against Palestinian journalists since these weekly protests began in March 2018.

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LEBANON: New declaration on freedom of the press in anticipation of the legislative elections (French)

IFJ: The Lebanese Journalists Syndicate (SJL) adopted a statement on April 19 urging candidates for the next legislative elections to support the press and reform the sector.

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SYRIA: 5 years of peace building through independent media in Syria

Free Press Unlimited: Five years ago the Ethical Journalism for Syrian Media programme continued to support the emerging Syrian media sector focusing on strengthening their institutions and make their foundations more sustainable. 

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SYRIA: New cybercrime law is another attempt to repress freedom of expression online

GCHR: On 18 April 2022, Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad ratified the Cybercrime Law No. 20 of 2022, which includes penalties ranging from one month to 15 years in prison, while fines range from 200,000 to 15 million (approx. 26,700 EUR) Syrian pounds for a group of acts classified by the law as cybercrimes. 

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TURKEY: Euronews no longer required to obtain broadcasting license to operate in Turkey (13 April)

SCF: The Turkish edition of the Lyon-based Euronews media outlet will no longer be required by Turkey’s media watchdog, the Radio and Television Supreme Council (RTÜK), to obtain a broadcasting license because it has removed the content that necessitated the license, Turkish Minute reported, citing a RTÜK member.

CANADA: A student’s POV: Greening CBC/Radio-Canada at QCEI (Blog)

CBC/Radio-Canada: Dila Atalay is studying politics, philosophy, and economics (PPE) at Queen’s University in Kingston, Ontario. She has lived in a variety of different countries and has a passion for writing. 

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CANADA: CBC/Radio-Canada engaging with Indigenous communities across Canada about better reflecting Indigenous cultures (Press release)

CBC/Radio-Canada: CBC/Radio-Canada wants to hear from Indigenous communities about what they want from their public broadcaster. Twenty engagement sessions are scheduled to be held between April 26 and September 27, 2022. 

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CANADA: Celebrate World Press Freedom Day with CBC (Event)

CBC News: On World Press Freedom Day, when the UN General Assembly has declared this year’s press freedom theme to be Journalism under digital siege, the Canadian Museum for Human Rights and CBC Manitoba have partnered to offer a virtual discussion on this year’s theme.

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CANADA: Celebrating the first anniversary of the Mauril app (Press release) 

CBC/Radio-Canada: The Mauril app is celebrating its first anniversary! Since its introduction, Mauril has helped tens of thousands of people across the country learn French and English, at no cost, with stimulating and entertaining content from CBC/Radio-Canada. 

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CANADA: News or Not? (Event)

CBC News: In the lead up to World Press Freedom Day, the Canadian Museum for Human Rights and CBC Manitoba have partnered to offer students and teachers access to a one-time online event called News or not? Fake news, journalism and you. The topic and content are suitable for classes from grades 6 and up.

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US: Audience initiative led by Sesame Workshop’s Cooney Center backs station projects co-created with Gen Z (Paywall)

Current: Tara Wren experienced a eureka moment during a 2020 public media conference presentation on audience research. As experts from the Joan Ganz Cooney Center at Sesame Workshop discussed the impact of public media’s inconsistent programming for middle- and high-school students, Wren, director of education for Mississippi Public Broadcasting, realized the long-term implications for public TV and radio.

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US: One World Trade Center Ready for NextGen TV

TV Technology: In advance of the expected launch of NextGen TV in the U.S.’s largest market, Radio Frequency Systems (RFS), announced today that it has expanded the existing RFS antenna and combiner infrastructure atop One World Trade Center to deliver  ATSC 3.0 to 7.45 million households across the New York City area.

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US: Oregon journalists are experimenting with new way to report on governor’s race (Commentary)

Oregon Capital Chronicle: No candidate on the Republican or Democratic ballot for governor was left out of this reporting effort

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US: PBS Welcomes New Member Station, WIPR Puerto Rico

PBS: PBS announced today that WIPR Puerto Rico will become its newest member station, joining more than 330 local PBS stations across the U.S. and its territories. 

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US: The Station That Dodged Bullets

WNYC: By most measures, WNYC should not exist. You might even call it a radio station with more than nine lives.

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US: WIPR launches PRTV+ app to broadcast its TV, radio content

News is my Business: The Puerto Rico Public Broadcasting Corp. (WIPR) unveiled its PRTV+ app, through which it will broadcast its live radio and television signals for free to all of Puerto Rico and offer programming to users in an On-Demand delivery model.

‘Horse race’ coverage of elections: What to avoid and how to get it right

The Journalist’s Resource: It’s unlikely journalists will stop covering elections as a competitive game, despite researchers’ warnings that it can harm voters and others. Two scholars offer ideas for at least improving so-called ‘horse race’ reporting.

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Join our global journalism seminar series online from April to June 2022 (Event)

Reuters Institute: We are excited to announce this term’s global journalism seminars featuring journalists from all over the world. Our speakers will share insights on themes such as digital safety, visual journalism, news innovation, digital culture and journalism under pressure in Ukraine and Hong Kong.

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Journalism groups: Make the Pulitzers open only to news orgs that are transparent about their diversity

Nieman Lab: An open letter calls on the industry’s highest honors to include a new participation clause. “By implementing this new criteria, the Pulitzers would honor not only great journalism, but journalism from newsrooms willing to be accountable to the public.”

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Launch of the 2022 Annual Report of the Council of Europe’s Safety of Journalists Platform

IFJ: On Wednesday 27 April 2022, the Platform to Promote Protection of Journalism and Safety of Journalists will launch its report “Defending Press Freedom in Times of Tension and Conflict”. 

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Legal intimidation and SLAPPs against media globally

Article 19: The rich and powerful continue to threaten public watchdogs investigating abuses of power with lengthy and costly lawsuits. They do so to evade public scrutiny, stifle debate on public matters and force their critics into silence. 

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On World Press Freedom Day, DW Akademie panelists consider how to counter digital authoritarianism

DW Akademie: At the Global Conference for World Press Freedom Day, May 2-5 in Uruguay, DW Akademie is hosting a panel on digital authoritarianism. International media experts will weigh in on fighting disinformation and censorship.

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PEN AMERICA 2021 FREEDOM TO WRITE INDEX: MYANMAR JOINS CHINA AND SAUDI ARABIA AS WORLD’S TOP JAILERS OF WRITERS (13 April)

PEN America: Index Documents Brutal Crackdowns in Myanmar and Iran; Highlights Writers Worldwide Languishing Behind Bars for Decades.

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Twitter: Elon Musk’s deal is bad news for media freedom

EFJ: Billionaire Elon Musk reached agreement with the board of Twitter board on 25 April to buy the social network for a deal valued at $44 billion and is set to become the sole owner of the platform. 

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Webinar: Blockchain for media (Event)

IBC: Join IBC365 on 25 May to explore why blockchain has been lauded as potentially transforming some elements of the media industry, how it has been adopted so far and what the future holds for the decentralised ledger technology.

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World Copyright Day: Journalists must be paid for tech giants’ use of their work

IFJ: This yearʼs World Book and Copyright Day – celebrated on 23 April – comes at a crucial point in the conflict between authors and the internet giants as unions step up calls to ensure journalists are paid for the use of their work.