Our weekly round-up of public service media related stories and headlines from around the world.
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ALGERIA: ‘Silence is death’: Algeria’s journalists begin to find their voice
Middle East Eye: Exposing censorship and muzzling ‘from above’ is starting, in this revolutionary moment, to become more common (Opinion)
EGYPT: ‘Grave concern’ as Al Jazeera journalist remains jailed in Egypt
Al Jazeera: An international media group has demanded that Egypt free an Al Jazeera journalist held for more than two years after a court formally ordered his release last week.
GHANA: MFWA Commends President Akufo-Addo for Assenting RTI Law
MFWA: The RTI Law will provide an impetus for the fight against corruption and promote transparent governance in Ghana.
GHANA: Group: Minority Demo Against Shutdown of 2 Radio Stations
Ghanaian Times: HUNDREDS of Ghanaians yesterday poured onto the streets of Accra to protest against what they say is the attack on press freedom by the government, using the National Communications Authority (NCA) as the vehicle.
Nyasa Times via AllAfrica: Following a release of early results of Malawi tripartite elections held on Tuesday a “fibre cable cut” raised suspicion on social media with some alleging the development was government’s deliberate move to frustrate independent media.
NIGERIA: Nigeria’s Government To Fund Digital Switch Over Process With USD83 Million – NBC
Broadcast Media Africa: The National Broadcasting Commission (NBC) recently announced that the Federal Government would be releasing N30 billion ($83 mil) for the process of Digital Switch Over (DSO) in the country.
NIGERIA: Nigeria accused of ‘scurrilous’ attempt to gag press
The Guardian: Access to country’s law-making National Assembly will be restricted, says Guild of Editors.
SOUTH AFRICA: Investigation into SABC diesel leak still in early stages: Labour
SABC: The Labour Department says the investigation into the cause of the diesel leak at the South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) is still in its early stages, but it appears as if some of the infrastructure at the public broadcaster was installed about 50 years ago.
SUDAN: Sudan TV Staff Banned for ‘Participating in Protest’
Dabanga via All Africa: Six members of the Sudanese national TV staff have been banned from entering the station’s offices, for participating in a protest rally on Wednesday.
UGANDA: Uganda court blocks government bid to suspend journalists
The East African: Media regulator had called for 13 radio and TV stations to suspend their news editors, producers and heads of programming over their coverage of the latest detention of the popular rapper and politician.
ZIMBABWE: Digitalisation programme well on course: ZBC
ZBC: The Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation says its digitalisation programme aimed at delivering quality programming is well on course. The organisation also suggests that it is “committed to be a non-partisan and impartial broadcaster”.
GENERAL: Is Facebook undermining democracy in Africa?
BBC: Facebook is under fire in Africa for undermining democracy, with critics saying the social media giant has allowed its platform to be weaponised for co-ordinated misinformation campaigns.
BANGLADESH: Bangladesh blocks news websites in press freedom gag
Al Jazeera: Authorities in Bangladesh have blocked at least two popular vernacular news websites in the past month.
BANGLADESH: Bogura journos give 48-hr ultimatum to identify attackers
The Daily Star: Bogura journalists today threatened to wage tougher movements if those responsible for assaulting three of their fellows are not identified and brought to justice within 48 hours.
CHINA: Proposed ‘fake news’ legislation threat to press freedom
IFJ: The Macau government’s proposed Civil Protection Law which has been sent to the Legislative Assembly for discussions could have serious implications for press freedom in Macau if legislated.
HONG KONG: Hong Kong must abandon extradition bill that threatens journalists
RSF: By July, Hong Kong’s Legislative Council (LegCo) could amend its extradition law, making it legal to hand over residents or visitors accused of a crime in China, which may also put undue pressure on journalists
INDIA: Elections in India and the EU mean a flood of homegrown fake news
Nieman Lab: “More than a quarter of the content shared by the Bharatiya Janata Party and a fifth of the content shared by the Indian National Congress is junk news.”
INDONESIA: Indonesian reporters deliberately attacked in post-election rioting
RSF: Reporters Without Borders (RSF) calls on protesters and riot police who have been clashing for the past two days in the Indonesian capital, Jakarta, to respect the work of journalists.
INDONESIA: Indonesia blocking social media to ‘maintain democracy’
Deutsche Welle: Indonesian authorities have been criticized for blocking social media during violent post-election riots in Jakarta. DW asked Indonesian Communications Minister Rudiantara why he thinks the ban is necessary.
KAZAKHSTAN: Press freedom missing from agenda of media talking shop
Eurasianet: Debates ranged from globalisation and the legalisation of marijuana to fake news, media competitiveness in the celebrity-focused 24-hour news cycle and the role of bloggers as “rock stars of the virtual world.” But there were no sessions related to press freedoms in Kazakhstan or Central Asia in general at this year’s Eurasian Media Forum.
MALAYSIA: MCMC says switching from analogue to digital TV by September
MalayMail: In a bid to close the urban-rural divide, the government will be switching its transmission of free-to-air terrestrial TV to digital by the third quarter of this year.
NEPAL: Nepal government proposes bills that endanger press freedom
CPJ: A proposed reform to the country’s media regulator would permit the government to appoint more of the administrative body’s members and would empower the regulator to levy fines ranging from 25,000 to 1 million Nepalese rupees ($233 to $8,927) against journalists and media outlets it determined to have damaged a person’s reputation, according to news reports.
SRI LANKA: Sexism, slander, hatred: Sri Lanka’s culture of online abuse
The Guardian: From politicians to members of the LGBTQI community, social media in Sri Lanka is a hotbed of harassment and hostility.
TAIWAN: Q&A: Taiwan’s digital minister on combatting disinformation without censorship
CPJ: Taiwan’s digital minister, Audrey Tang, in an interview with CPJ on how Taiwan intends on combatting disinformation without resorting to censorship (Blog)
VIETNAM: ‘Fear and paranoia’: How Vietnam controls its media
Al Jazeera: ‘Level of terror rises sharply’ as Vietnam ranks 176th out of 180 countries in the 2019 Press Freedom Index.
GENERAL: ABU to host its first-ever Digital Content Forum
ABU: Creative storytellers, online and web content creators and producers of audio, video and digital content from Asia-Pacific and beyond are invited to attend the inaugural edition of ABU’s brand new content forum #ABUdigital in Kuala Lumpur from 3-4 July 2019.
AUSTRALIA: ‘Designed to deceive’: how do we ensure truth in political advertising?
The Guardian: Falsehoods in the campaign have prompted calls for a fresh look at our electoral laws.
AUSTRALIA: Student journos form ‘biggest newsroom’ to cover election
Pacific Media Centre: Journalism students across Australia collaborated in an immense project to cover the weekend’s federal election.
NEW ZEALAND: Bullying report points the finger at reporters
RNZ: It named no names, but the much-anticipated report into bullying in Parliament did lift the lid on people turning the place toxic. Journalists there are part of the problem, according to the report, but there wasn’t a lot about that in the media.
NEW ZEALAND: Media collaboration good news for ratepayers
Scoop: It is good news for ratepayers that New Zealand’s media giants have joined forces to set up a special team to ensure coverage of local council activities, according to a Massey University journalism academic.
NEW ZEALAND: Publishers, public broadcaster and the public purse back new local news scheme
RNZ: Publicly funded reporters will be employed by news publishers around the country in a first-of-its-kind scheme unveiled today to address declines in local news coverage. It’s the result of a government-approved collaboration between RNZ, publishers and the government’s broadcasting funding agency.
PAPUA NEW GUINEA: Papua New Guinea PM pushes proposal for social media regulation, citing need to stop ‘fake news’
Global Voices: The Papua New Guinea government has set its sights on regulating social media in order to combat the spread of online hoaxes and fake news. Critics and journalists have warned that it could lead to the curtailment of free speech.
AUSTRIA: Austria’s ‘video crisis’ exposes poor treatment of media – media expert
Euroactiv: In an interview with EURACTIV, the president of the Reporters Without Borders Austria spoke about the effects of the controversial ‘Ibiza video’ and why Austria is getting ever closer to the Hungarian media model.
AUSTRIA: Journalistic Ethics and the Strache Affair
ECPMF: Interview with Tom Law (EJN) on the ethics of the Strache video.
CZECH REPUBLIC: Czech countdown to DVB-T2
Broadband TV News: Almost half (43%) of households in the Czech Republic now have DVB-T2 reception equipment.
DENMARK: Pushback: Democracies delegitimising a free press
RISJ: In this Journalist Fellow paper, James Miles, looks at how legislation in Denmark is having a negative effect on press freedom in the country.
FINLAND: Finland is winning the war on fake news. What it’s learned may be crucial to Western democracy
CNN: An anti-fake news initiative launched by Finland’s government in 2014 aimed at teaching residents, students, journalists and politicians how to counter false information designed to sow division.
FINLAND: Finnish media companies, unions establish journalist support fund to counter harassment
Yle: Reporters in Finland who are targeted by trolls, defamation campaigns and hate speech may find it easier to seek redress.
FRANCE: French intelligence agency summons eight journalists for questioning
RSF: Reporters Without Borders (RSF) calls on the French authorities to the explain the summonses for questioning that eight journalists working on sensitive cases have received in recent weeks from the French domestic intelligence agency, the General Directorate for Internal Security (DGSI).
FRANCE: Press freedom in France under threat?
France 24: The media in France are raising concerns about freedom of the press.
FRANCE: Press information on the reporting of journalists on behalf of Monsanto (French)
Radio France: Radio France discovers that six of its journalists appear in files established in 2016 by a lobbying firm on behalf of the American agrochemist Monsanto.
GERMANY: Digitalization exerting massive pressure on media diversity (Opinion)
Deutsche Welle: The state government of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) is financially supporting DW’s Global Media Forum. State Premier Armin Laschet explains how politics can contribute to media diversity and freedom of expression
GERMANY: Germany’s biggest publisher sales houses unite to fight Google, Facebook and Amazo
Digiday: Four big German publishing groups are collaborating in order to fight the market power of tech platforms.
GREECE: In Greece, the line between conservative journalism and political campaigns blurs
CJR
ITALY: Italian politics radio station on brink as M5S votes to pull funding
The Guardian: Radio Radicale looks set to close despite outcry over state’s increasing hostility to media.
LATVIA: Latvian public broadcaster also facing uncertain future
ERR: Public broadcaster ERR is not alone in having been the subject of recent political attacks. Latvia’s public broadcaster, LSM, remains in a state of uncertainty as well, according to a broadcast on ETV current affairs show “Aktuaalne kaamera.”
NETHERLANDS: NPO scraps four entertainment programs, including The Graham Norton Show (Dutch)
De Volkskrant: The decision is the logical follow-up to the new Media Act that was introduced in 2016 under former State Secretary Sander Dekker (VVD). Dekker deleted “scattering” as the core task of public broadcasting. This should be limited to programs with “an educational, cultural or informational purpose”.
RUSSIA: Terrible blow to what is left of Russian editorial independence
RSF: Reporters Without Borders (RSF) is dismayed by the latest blow to editorial independence in Russia, in which two journalists at the leading Moscow business daily Kommersant were fired, 11 of their colleagues resigned in protest and then more than 200 of the newspaper’s journalists issued a joint warning that its readers would now be denied unbiased coverage.
SWEDEN: Changed listener behavior changes the supply
Swedish Radio: On June 30, we at Sveriges Radio will change our music offering on the web. The channels P2 Classic, P2 World and P3 Star will [end transmission. Nor will any Christmas channels be broadcast on the web as of this year. Anna-Karin Larsson, music manager at Sveriges Radio explains the change.
SWEDEN: World’s first virtual sports anchor to debut at ice hockey world champs
CNN: There’s a new face in the world of broadcasting, and this round-the-clock anchor is busy holding down two jobs at the same time.
UK: ‘Brexit bump’ drives millions of UK readers to news websites
Journalism.co.uk: Domestic and international media continues benefit from public interest in Brexit. Three publishers reveal how this has helped grow their audience and shape editorial decisions
UK: BritBox discussions ‘stalled’ as ITV and BBC agendas diverge
Digital TV Europe: The future of BritBox UK could be in question as the BBC and ITV look to work their way out of a reported deadlock in discussions.
REGIONAL: Nordic countries generate ten million streaming subscriptions
RapidTVNews: Research from Nordic analyst Mediavision has found that streaming video continues to grow rapidly in its home region, adding 800,000 new subscribing households over the last year.
GENERAL: Old rivals become new frenemies
IBC: Rival broadcasters are forming new alliances as they look to compete with streaming services.
GENERAL: Austria’s Strache Scandal Shows Why Media Freedom Matters
Human Rights Watch: The Austrian populist rightwing Freedom Party (FPÖ), until Monday part of the country’s governing coalition, has suffered after its attempt to take over a leading newspaper became public.
GENERAL: Media Capture in Europe (Report)
Media Development Investment Fund
ARGENTINA: 80 publishers and platforms unite to fight misinformation about Argentina’s election
Poynter: Last week, more than 80 media outlets and technology companies united to form Reverso (“reverse,” in Spanish). The collaborative fact-checking initiative will debunk misinformation leading up to Argentina’s general election in October.
COLOMBIA: Journalists for The New York Times leave Colombia after being attacked online by public officials
Knight Center: A reporter and photojournalist who work for The New York Times in Colombia left the country after being targeted with stigmatizing remarks from congress members of the ruling party and online harassment.
MEXICO: Mexican president denies releasing list of journalists and media who received government advertising
Knight Center: A list of 36 journalists who allegedly benefited from advertising contracts with the administration of former Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto, which was published on May 23 by the newspaper Reforma, came from a citizen information request and was not disseminated by the presidency, according to current President Andrés Manuel López Obrador.
MEXICO: Public media must walk towards their legal independence (Spanish – Opinion)
20 Minutos: The greater openness and independence experienced by the so-called public media should be coupled with the corresponding legal reforms to avoid, in the future, backing the advance, if what is sought is to have a society increasingly critical and informed…
QATAR: Al Jazeera suspends two journalists over Holocaust report
Al Jazeera: Al Jazeera Media Network has suspended two journalists over a video that downplayed and misrepresented the Holocaust.
SAUDI ARABIA: Two Arab journalists detained for months in Saudi Arabia: media watchdog
Reuters: Saudi Arabia has been holding two Arab journalists for several months, global media watchdog Reporters Without Borders (RSF) said on Monday, amid ongoing international scrutiny of the kingdom’s human rights record.
SYRIA: Sky news team attacked with targeted tank shelling in Syria
IFJ: Yesterday a Sky News team from the United Kingdom was attacked with tank shells by Syrian regime’s forces in a deliberate shelling in Idlib, the country’s northwestern province.
TURKEY: Adana shooting is fourth attack on Turkish press in two weeks
CPJ
TURKEY: Turkey Crackdown Chronicle: Week of May 19, 2019
CPJ
CANADA: ‘Call their bluff’: Shut down social media platforms, ex-Facebook adviser urges
CBC News: Representatives from Facebook, Twitter and Google to testify in Ottawa today.
CANADA: How a suspected Iran-based campaign tried to get Canadian media to spread fake news
CBC News: An online disinformation campaign believed to originate from Iran tried to get Canadian media to amplify fake news, a CBC/Radio-Canada analysis has found. And in at least one instance, it was successful.
CANADA: Journalists question Liberal government’s $600M media bailout plan
CBC News: The federal government’s plan to support Canadian journalism is being questioned by some Canadian journalists.
CBC/Radio-Canada: Today, the Canada Council for the Arts, together with CBC/Radio-Canada, announced plans to launch a new $1 million catalyst tool to amplify digital creation in Canada.
US: Amid growing competition, PBS Distribution boosts investment in British dramas (Current)
Current: As deep-pocketed rivals elbow into British drama, a genre that PBS signature show Masterpiece once had pretty much to itself, PBS and WGBH are increasingly relying on streaming revenues to fund big-budget productions.
US: By censoring ‘Arthur’, Alabama network turns back the clock (Paywall)
Current
US: US charges WikiLeaks’ Julian Assange over classified info
Deutsche Welle: The US Justice Department has charged British-held WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange with numerous counts of espionage related to the publication of classified documents. The case raises possible media freedom concerns.
US: Why local foundations are putting their money behind a rural journalism collaborative
Nieman Lab: In the many questions of the future of local news, philanthropy — and more recently, the support of locally-grown philanthropists and funders — is stepping up as a bigger potential answer.
A shared journey – promoting intercultural media spaces
New Neighbours: The aim of New Neighbours is to highlight the positive social and economic contributions that are made by migrants and refugees throughout communities across Europe. By promoting direct participation in media production and intercultural dynamics, it is hoped to foster tolerance and acceptance for migrants and refugees in EU member states.
Large-scale, local investigation made possible through collaboration
IJNET: In the town of Las Cruces, New Mexico — about 40 miles north of the border with Mexico — staff sizes at news organizations are shrinking to only a fraction of what they were 10 years ago, following a national trend of disappearing local news coverage.
Sustainable newsroom: relevance and trust are key for successful crowdfunding
Journalism.co.uk: When readers care about your content and trust your brand, they are happy to donate money to see investigative journalism thrive.
Transforming the media’s coverage of the climate crisis
CJR: At the end of April, CJR and The Nation announced plans for a new initiative to dramatically improve the media’s coverage of the most urgent story of our time. Since then, interest in our Covering Climate Now project has been enormous.
Viewpoint: What Assange charges could mean for press freedom
BBC News: For over a decade, there has been a raging debate over precisely what Julian Assange is – whistleblower, journalist, or spy.
Nieman Lab: A report by the market research firm Minitel last week found that HBO faced a particular threat from customers’ attachment to the service being built around just a single show, not the whole package.
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Header image: Cameraman filming crowd. Credit: iStock/denizbayram
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