AFGHANISTAN: Afghan Journalists ‘Very Afraid’ Amid Rising Violence

VOA: Violence, arrests and unclear media laws are adding to a difficult environment for Afghan journalists. 

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AFGHANISTAN: Armed Taliban officers prevent journalists’ press conference

IFJ: Armed Taliban forces physically prevented a press conference on the crisis situation facing Afghan media workers due to take place on 26 January at the headquarters of IFJ-affiliate, the Afghan National Journalists Union (ANJU). Two of the organisers were detained for several hours.

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CHINA: Media freedom declining at ‘breakneck speed’ – report

BBC: Media freedom in China is declining at “breakneck speed”, according to a report by a group representing foreign journalists in the country.

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CHINA: IFJ Open letter to the president of the International Olympic Committee, Thomas Bach 

IFJ: IOC must ensure freedom of information and guarantee journalists’ rights during Winter Olympic Games in China.

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HONG KONG: Guardians of Hong Kong Culture Spring Up From California to Singapore

Bloomberg: Media, arts and academia are under pressure in Hong Kong. Global universities are stepping in to help preserve the city’s heritage.

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INDIA: Women journalists in India feel more at risk after ‘auction’ apps worsen online abuse

CPJ:

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INDIA & KASHMIR: ‘Systematic fear’: How India battered press freedom in Kashmir

Al Jazeera: Sajad Gul’s arrest and closure of Kashmir Press Club underscore how fast press freedoms are eroding in the disputed region.

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KAZAKHSTAN: What is the Post-Protest State of Media Freedom In Kazakhstan? (Watch)

RFE/RL: RFE/RL Kazakh Service managing editor Mukhtar Senggirbey describes the increasingly dire situation facing independent media and civil society in Kazakhstan, where senior leaders want to push the blame for the protests and subsequent violence on to “foreign agents” and independent journalists.

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KYRGYZSTAN: Kyrgyz Media Protest Arrest of Investigative Journalist

VOA News: Kyrgyz media have condemned the arrest by Kyrgyzstan authorities of an investigative journalist the U.S. State Department has named an anti-corruption champion.

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MYANMAR: One year since bloody military coup in Myanmar, press freedom “stomped out” (Watch) 

CPJ: One year after the democracy-suspending February 1, 2021, coup in Myanmar, authorities continue to suppress news coverage of their harsh clampdown on anti-military protests. But in the face of threats to their lives and livelihoods, journalists have continued reporting on the ground and from exile.

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MYANMAR: Proposed internet bill in Myanmar imposes 3-year prison sentences for VPN use

CPJ: Myanmar authorities should scrap proposed cybersecurity legislation that would severely threaten press freedom, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Monday.

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NEPAL: Media Action Nepal joins Media Freedom Coalition–Consultative Network

The Himalayan Times: Media Action Nepal (MAN), a research based media rights advocacy organization based in Nepal has been selected as a Member of the Media Freedom Coalition–Consultative Network (MFC–CN).

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PAKISTAN: Property transaction case: Lahore court acquits Jang Group editor-in-chief Mir Shakil-ur-Rahman

Geo: An accountability court in Lahore acquitted on Monday Jang Geo Media Group editor-in-chief Mir Shakil-ur-Rahman in a case relating to a property transaction that took place over 30 years ago. 

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PAKISTAN: Working conditions for media worsened last year, says CPNE

Dawn: The state of media freedom worsened in the country last year in comparison with the previous two years, according to a report released by the Council of Pakistan Newspaper Editors (CPNE) on Monday.

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PHILIPPINES: Duterte ally wrests control of TV signals used by ABS-CBN

Al Jazeera: Billionaire businessman and Duterte political contributor Manny Villar expands his portfolio from property into media.

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PHILIPPINES: #FactsFirstPH: ‘Groundbreaking effort against disinformation’

Rappler: Over 100 groups – from media, civic society, business, research, the legal sector, and the Church – come together in the battle against lies.

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SOUTH KOREA: Accessing journalists’ phone records compromises press freedom

IPI: IPI urges South Korea to investigate practices by anti-corruption agency, which accessed phone data of over 120 journalists.

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SOUTH KOREA: KBS to provide various UHD broadcasting services during the Beijing Olympics (Press release – Korean)

KBS:

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SRI LANKA: Journalists commemorate Black January

IFJ: Sri Lankan media collectives have called on the nation’s government to take sincere action to end impunity for crimes against journalists, in an annual ‘Black January’ commemoration on January 28. 

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THAILAND: Laws, Police Visits Create ‘Climate of Fear’ for Thai Media

VOA News: Thai police questioned at least three journalists last week about their reporting on anti-government protests, a move seen by some as an attempt to intimidate the media.

AUSTRALIA: ABC International digital series showcases historic Pacific footage (Press Release)

ABC: ABC International Services is launching a new series of digital stories under its ABC Pacific Collection showcasing the national public broadcaster’s diverse historic video content from the Pacific.

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AUSTRALIA: SBS, NITV announce new documentaries as part of Curious Australia initiative

Mediaweek: It will support screen practitioners from under-represented backgrounds.

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NEW ZEALAND: Pregnant New Zealand journalist Charlotte Bellis offered a way home from Afghanistan with place in hotel quarantine

ABC

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TONGA: Covering Tonga’s eruption – without communications (Listen)

RNZ: That epic undersea eruption in Tonga was heard around the region – and recorded and analysed in minute detail, even from space. But a comprehensive communications wipeout cut reporters off from sources for days. So how do they cover a story with almost no access? 

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REGIONAL: Boosting Pacific digital media skills amid a cyclone – all part of the job

Asia Pacific Report: As Cyclone Cody got set to pummel Fiji in early January, students at the University of the South Pacific in Suva, Fiji were getting set to start a media training programme that would have them reporting on climate change.

ALBANIA: Albanian Prime Minister’s Long-Term Spokesperson Appointed Head of Controversial Media Agency

Exit News: Prime Minister Edi Rama has appointed his long-time spokesperson, Endri Fuga, as the Director of the controversial Media and Information Agency, dubbed a “propaganda ministry” by media freedom advocates.

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ALBANIA: Director of Albanian Public Broadcaster Called Out Over Alleged Irregular Firing of Journalists

Exit News: The Safe Journalists network has raised concerns over “credible claims” of staff dismissals without following due process at the Albanian state public broadcaster, RTSH.

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AUSTRIA: GIS increase in February: With taxes, the fee is among the best in Europe

Der Standard: The Union of Public Broadcasters compares the broadcasting fee according to purchasing power and sees Austria as the leader because of “breathtaking” taxes on the GIS.

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AZERBAIJAN: Azerbaijan: new media law raises serious human rights concerns and should be changed

Council of Europe: In a letter made public today, the Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights, Dunja Mijatović, invites the President of Azerbaijan, Mr Ilham Aliyev, to use his authority to return a recently adopted media law to the Milli Majlis to proceed to its substantial revision.

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BULGARIA: Influential MPs in Bulgaria threaten journalists with severe punishments

Euractiv: Proposals for tougher criminal liability for journalists’ articles, made by influential ruling coalition lawmakers, have been sharply criticised by the Association of European Journalists.

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DENMARK: Corona turned upside down a lot – but not on our media use in 2021 (Danish)

DR: Despite corona-related reopens and closures, every Dane spent about the same amount of time on the media in 2021 as in 2020: namely, seven daily hours. What we see, hear and interact with is now gradually changing, the report ‘Media Development 2021’ shows.

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DENMARK: DR refines viewer measurement and changes provider (Danish)

Nordvision: In future, DR can measure streaming at program level with a large number of broadcasters. The Danes’ consumption of international streaming services such as Netflix and YouTube is also measured.

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ESTONIA: The country inoculating against disinformation

BBC: Subjected to repeated disinformation campaigns, the tiny Baltic country of Estonia sees media literacy education as part of its digital-first culture and national security.

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FINLAND: New collaboration: Svenska Yle’s content in a paper newspaper (Swedish)

Nordvision: The company is testing new forms of collaboration with commercial media.

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FINLAND: The gender distribution of Yle’s news and current affairs interviewees remained at a familiar level (Finnish – Press release)

Yle: The aim is for the gender distribution of the interviewees to reflect the situation in society as well as possible: there would be approximately equal numbers of men and women in the content.

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FRANCE: France Télévisions becomes the official broadcaster of the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games in France and is committed to promoting Paralympic athletes and sports (Press release – French)

France Télévisions: Paris 2024 has awarded France Télévisions the rights to the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games (August 28 to September 8, 2024) for France.

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FRANCE: French public TV boss braces for more battles with Netflix

Politico: Streaming platforms and broadcasters won’t be on an equal footing until TV channels too are only one click away, according to France Télévisions President Delphine Ernotte Cunci. “There is a Netflix button on remote controls. There must be a France Télévisions button in the same way,” she told POLITICO in an interview. 

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GERMANY: Less entertainment: the CDU parliamentary group calls for broadcasting reforms (German – 21 January)

Süddeutsche Zeitung: The CDU parliamentary group in Saxony-Anhalt has again reiterated its demand that structural changes are necessary in public broadcasting. The group’s goal is to keep broadcasting “affordable” and to make it “fit for the future,” said media politician and parliamentary director Markus Kurz on Friday.

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GERMANY: Radio as a folk educator: Does Deutschlandfunk try to educate its listeners? (German – Listen)

Deutschlandfunk: Manfred Schreiber discusses the cultural changes in the country and the extent to which the media reflect these changes and possibly even drive them forward with Karin Fischer, Head of Current Culture at Deutschlandfunk, the communication scientist Martin Emmer from the FU Berlin and Brigitte Baetz from @mediasres.

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GREECE: Conservative MEP: Greece is heading toward ‘Orbanisation’

Euractiv: As declining press freedom in Greece is already under EU scrutiny, the government is heading toward “Orbanisation”, Giorgos Kyrtsos, an EU lawmaker from the ruling New Democracy party (EPP), said.

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HUNGARY: Hungary: Rights group to launch legal blitz challenging government’s use of Pegasus spyware (Paywall)

The Washington Post: Rights activists and journalists targeted by Pegasus spyware in Hungary are mounting a legal campaign to challenge the government’s alleged use of the Israeli-made technology.

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IRELAND: RTÉ facing ‘existential moment’, Oireachtas committee hears

The Journal: PUBLIC SERVICE BROADCASTING in Ireland is facing a “genuinely existential moment”, an Oireachtas committee has heard.

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IRELAND: RTÉ DG says licence fee system needs to be reformed

RTÉ: The Director General of RTÉ Dee Forbes has said the broadcaster is not looking for a licence fee increase, but that the licence fee system needs to be reformed.

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ITALY: Rai’s commitment to a balanced representation of gender (Italian – Press release) (18 January)

Rai: The Memorandum of Understanding “No Women No Panel” signed by President Soldi.

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MOLDOVA: Vladimir Turcanu elected Director General of Moldovan Public Broadcaster TRM

EBU: Vladimir Turcanu has been appointed as Director General of Moldova’s national public broadcaster, TRM, for a seven-year mandate. He was elected by the broadcaster’s Supervisory and Development Board with 58 votes.

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POLAND: Discovery’s TVN issues channel warning

Broadband TV News: The Discovery-owned Polish broadcaster TVN has warned that one of its main channels could be forced off the air next month. In a statement, it said that the licence of TVN7 will expire on February 25 despite an application for a 10-year extension having been filed over a year ago. 

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POLAND: TVP eyeing new VOD service

Broadband TV News: The Polish public broadcaster TVP is preparing to launch a new on demand service in the first quarter of this year.

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ROMANIA: Romanian Far-Right Party Condemned for Blacklisting Hostile Media

Balkan Insight: AUR campaign of naming and shaming media it dislikes on Facebook as ‘toxic’ and ‘false’ draws criticism from media NGOs as an attempt to intimidate journalists from reporting on its extremism.

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RUSSIA & UKRAINE: Russian public covers ears as state media heighten Ukraine rhetoric (Paywall)

Financial Times: Aggressive presenters broadcast accusations against Kyiv but Russians focus on domestic concerns.

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SPAIN: Press freedom in Spain in 2021: Towards the end of the ‘gag law’?

IPI: Public Safety Law, online harassment remained key challenges for journalists in Spain last year.

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SWEDEN: Swedish public service invites to a lesson in source criticism (Swedish)

Nordvision: With joint efforts, the companies inspire school students to think like a journalist

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UK: Can BBC3 win back the kids — and save the licence fee? (Paywall)

The Times: The upstart channel is back — but will RuPaul and new Stacey Dooley show be enough to bring success?

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UK: The UK government is right, the BBC is broken. Here’s how we fix it (Opinion)

Open Democracy: We need a People’s BBC – free from government whims – with increased devolution, audience-elected senior roles, and a sliding-scale licence fee

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UK: BBC boss takes swipe at Nadine Dorries over BBC funding

The Guardian: Tim Davie says corporation facing £285m funding gap by 2027 and it is ‘not for one person to decide’ future model

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UK: BBC rules out freezing pay to plug £1.4bn hole (Paywall)

The Times: The BBC director-general has ruled out a pay freeze after the “disappointing” licence fee deal amid fears that cuts are leading to gaffes on air.

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UK: Ofcom to investigate BBC’s anti-Semitism report

BBC News: Ofcom has launched an investigation after the BBC’s complaints unit partially upheld complaints about its reporting of an alleged anti-Semitic incident in London in November.

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UKRAINE: 70 incidents a year: physical aggression against journalists remains at a consistently high level in Ukraine – NSJU (Ukrainian)

NSJU: One hundred Ukrainian media workers were injured in 2021 violent incidents. In total, there were seventy cases of physical aggression against Ukrainian journalists last year. Such results were recorded by the National Union of Journalists and its partners in 2021 within the framework of the “Physical Security Index of Journalists” . 

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UKRAINE: “This is not protection, but deprivation of all protection.” Journalists see the bill №6443 as an attack on their rights (Ukrainian)

NSJU: The journalistic community opposes the abolition of the importance of journalists’ certificates and the attempt of people’s deputies to reconsider the status of a journalist with the bill “On Amendments to the Criminal Code of Ukraine to Improve the Protection of Journalism” (446443 of December 17, 2021).

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REGIONAL: Europe needs a public service internet (Opinion)

IPS: Europe shouldn’t try to imitate Silicon Valley. Instead, it must use its strengths to counter the threat Big Tech poses to democracy: public service. 

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REGIONAL: Media freedom to be focus of Czech EU Council presidency

Euractiv: Media freedom, particularly in Hungary and Poland, will be a key focus of the upcoming Czech EU Council presidency, according to the country’s minister for European affairs. 

BRAZIL: Bolsonaro is responsible for one in three violations against the press in 2021, says Fenaj (Portuguese)

Abraji: President Jair Bolsonaro (PL) was the main violator of press freedom in 2021, just as he had been the year before, when he was involved in 175 attacks. Alone, Bolsonaro was responsible for 147 of 430 cases ( 34.19% of the total), with 129 episodes of discrediting the press and 18 of verbal attacks on journalists. The data are part of the Report on Violence Against Journalists and Freedom of the Press in Brazil – 2021, released by the National Federation of Journalists (Fenaj) this Thursday (27.Jan.2022).

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BRAZIL: Can Bolsonaro block journalists on Twitter? Brazilian Federal Supreme Court judges whether authorities can block citizens on social media

LatAm Journalism Review: At least six writs of security regarding Jair Bolsonaro’s blocking of Brazilian journalists and citizens on his social media are awaiting judgment in the Federal Supreme Court (STF, by its Portuguese acronym), according to an investigation by LatAm Journalism Review (LJR). 

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BRAZIL: Gender violence against journalists in Brazil totaled 119 cases in 2021, according to report (Portuguese)

Abraji: During 2021, 89 journalists and media outlets were the target of 119 gender-related attacks related to the profession, which represents almost 10 cases of aggression, offense, threats and intimidation per month. As a result of the monitoring of gender violence against journalists, carried out by the Brazilian Association of Investigative Journalism ( Abraji ), the data includes attacks involving gender identity, sexuality, sexual orientation, appearance and sexist stereotypes, as well as episodes of aggression against women communicators – cis or trans – generally speaking.

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COLOMBIA: 82 years of life! Events that marked the history of Radio Nacional de Colombia (Spanish)

Radio Nacional: In 82 years of history, the National Radio of Colombia has accompanied Colombians with music, culture. education and information.

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CUBA: Cuba tightens the screws on independent journalism (Spanish – 20 January)

Deutsche Welle: Critical information was always suppressed in communist Cuba. But the internet makes censorship more difficult. Following the protests in the summer of 2021, the regime revoked the visas of foreign journalists.

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ECUADOR: Ecuadorian women journalists reflect on challenges of incorporating a gender approach to fact-checking

LatAm Journalism Review: The inclusion of a gender approach is a challenge within journalism. Journalists face organized campaigns with misleading content, so fact-checking is key to addressing human rights issues from a position of respect, non-revictimization and without falling into sensationalism.

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EL SALVADOR: El Salvador must investigate use of Pegasus to spy on dozens of journalists

RSF: Reporters Without Borders (RSF) calls on El Salvador’s public prosecutor to open an investigation into the use of the Pegasus spyware to hack into the phones of at least 35 Salvadorean journalists. RSF is also providing recommendations to journalists whose phones may have been infected.

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MEXICO: A call for Mexico to investigate murders of journalists (Listen)

NPR: NPR’s Michel Martin speaks with Paula Saucedo from the Mexican press freedom organization Article 19, about the recent murders of two Mexican journalists and the state of the free press in Mexico.

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MEXICO: AIR lamented the ruling of the SCJN that orders the media to distinguish between information and opinion (Spanish)

Infobae: The ruling “shows a clear interventionist purpose” on the right of the media to fully exercise freedom of expression, accused the Uruguay-based body.

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MEXICO: The challenge of providing protection to threatened journalists in Mexico (Spanish)

France 24: The murder of two journalists in Tijuana in a week once again raises the complexity of providing security to communicators in Mexico, one of the most dangerous countries for journalism and where protection mechanisms are overwhelmed or inefficient.

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MEXICO: ‘We only have a pen’: fury as fourth journalist killed in Mexico this year

The Guardian: Journalists in Mexico have responded with fury and despair at the murder of a fourth reporter in the country this year, cementing its reputation as the world’s most murderous country for media workers.

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TRINIDAD & TOBAGO: Vaccine info battle needs harder fight (Opinion)

Trinidad Express: There are two fronts on which the various parts of the Trinidad and Tobago medical establishment are fighting Covid-19 battles – the first is the battle against the virus, and the second is the information battle. Winning on the second front is very important to success on the first.

IRAN: Iran’s state broadcaster says it was hacked for 10 seconds

Reuters: Iran’s state broadcaster IRIB was hacked for 10 seconds on Thursday, state media reported, as the country prepares to mark the anniversary of its 1979 Islamic Revolution.

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ISRAEL & PALESTINE: MEP: Israel punishes Palestinian journalists for doing their job

MEMO: Member of the European Parliament, Margrete Auken said, on Tuesday, that Israel punishes Palestinian journalists on grounds related to their job.

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SAUDI ARABIA: Vice Media secretly organised $20m Saudi government festival

The Guardian: Youth media company organised March 2020 event despite pledge to stop all work in Saudi Arabia.

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SYRIA: Deadly Clash in Syria Renews Debate on Journalist Safety

VOA: A fight for control over a prison in northeast Syria that left dozens of people dead or wounded, including journalists, has renewed a focus on media safety.   

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TURKEY: Erdogan threatens to punish Turkish media over ‘harmful content’

France 24: Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan threatened Turkish media with legal action over content “incompatible with national and moral values,” in a move seen by critics as an attempt to stifle the dissent.

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TURKEY: Strike at BBC’s Istanbul bureau ends after deal reached

Al Jazeera: A dozen employees at the British broadcaster went on strike last year after it offered raises not in tune with skyrocketing inflation in Turkey.

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TURKEY: The state of press freedom in Turkey: 18 journalists sentenced to prison in 3 months

Bianet: According to a report published by Expression Interrupted, in the last quarter of 2021, 203 journalists appeared before the judge in 98 cases, which means on average, 70 journalists stood trial in more than 30 cases monthly during the reporting period.

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REGIONAL: BBC Arabic owes journalists ‘thousands of dollars’ after three years’ unpaid fees

Open Democracy: One contributor accused the channel, which is part of the UK licence fee-funded World Service, of withholding $10,000.

CANADA: How CBC News will cover the Olympic Winter Games in Beijing (Editor’s Blog)

CBC/Radio-Canada: But these Games are different. Our news team cannot move about as freely as they have at other Olympics. They can’t seek out stories outside of the Olympic bubble. And their efforts to gather information will be monitored and possibly compromised. 

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CANADA: Newsroom leaders encouraged to protect safety of journalists covering truckers’ convoy

CAJ via CISION: The Canadian Association of Journalists (CAJ) is encouraging newsroom leaders to take preemptive action to ensure that the safety of journalists is protected in the wake of increasing threats made against reporters covering the ongoing trucker’s convoy.

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CANADA: Reporters warned of harassment, racist threats, violence at “Freedom Convoy”

Daily Hive: The Canadian Association of Journalists (CAJ) [urged] newsrooms to consider safety options for their reporters covering “Freedom Convoy 2022,” as threats of violence and harassment towards journalists increase.

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CANADA & AFGHANISTAN: Afghan journalists defended ‘Canadian values.’ Now our government must act to protect them (Opinion)

Toronto Star: Tragedy looms over thousands of journalists in Afghanistan, and the clock is ticking. As Canadians, we owe them an enormous debt.

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US: Amid attacks on democracy, newsrooms are rethinking approaches to the politics beat (Paywall)

Current: “January 6 crystallized this — this was not just something where a politician was throwing out spin. This goes beyond anything we have experienced.”

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US: Attention to COVID-19 news increased slightly amid omicron surge

Pew Research Center: The percentage of Americans who follow COVID-19 news very closely has increased slightly since March 2021, the last time this question was asked, according to a Pew Research Center survey conducted Jan. 10-17, 2022. The survey also found that large partisan gaps remain in attention to and views about the pandemic.

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US: Born at the BBC, a framework for balancing gender representation in content goes global (Paywall)

Current: Media organizations including New York Public Radio have joined the BBC’s 50:50 Project, which is expanding beyond gender to track race and ethnicity.

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US: PBS Selects Regional Digital Centers of Innovation

TV Technology: Each regional center will partner with up to three additional PBS stations to oversee the development of new digital series, focusing on diverse voices and stories.

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US: Research suggests media should stay away from ‘elite’ sources when discussing COVID-19

Reynolds Journalism Institute: Missouri School of Journalism assistant professor Monique Luisi has some advice for local journalists delivering news about vaccines and public health guidelines: keep it local

Designing a sustainable business model for ‘mesmerizing’ journalism (Listen)

ICIJ: In our latest episode of Meet the Investigators, we speak with ICIJ member Malek Khadhraoui about the founding of the mission-driven Tunisian investigative outlet Inkyfada, and its innovative business model.

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Fact-based journalists under fire

Independent Australia: As misuse of communication technology rises, fact-based journalism to protect against abuse of power, lies and war propaganda is under even more attack, writes Lee Duffield.

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Freedom of speech was too hard won to be cavalier now about censorship (Opinion)

The Guardian: Amid an increasingly confused debate, we must remember that historically it is the powerless who are most often silenced

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Protect your staff from online abuse with a formal policy and a response plan

Better News: Here’s an idea to steal and adapt: Online abuse is one of the largest threats journalists face. For the safety and wellness of our staff at The Seattle Times, it was important to create a clear online abuse policy to report incidents and a plan to respond. We think it could help you, too.

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Spotify vows to clamp down on Covid-19 misinformation

RNZ: Spotify says it is working to add advisory warnings to any podcast on its platform that discuss Covid-19.

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Supporting media viability without losing independence

Free Press Unlimited: A new report, carried out by Free Press Unlimited and drawing on research provided by UNESCO and The Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU), shows how a variety of media from ten different countries handle business models and income generation in these difficult times. This knowledge exchange is set up to increase media viability, without them losing their independence.

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The scientific process, and how to handle misinformation

CJR