Our weekly round-up of public service media related stories and headlines from around the world
Public media is in peril and facing many challenges. Social media platforms are presenting an existential crisis to public service media. Governments are trying to extend their control and influence on the editorial output of the broadcasters. Funding systems for many are up in the air. Journalists are facing threats, attacks and harassment, both online and in-person. But it’s also an exciting time for public service media – digital platforms provide new opportunities to reach audiences, technology means public broadcasters can be innovative in how they provide a public service.
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Re:publica 2024: Strengthening European Media and the Public Sphere
Re:publica: Our conversations online are dominated by US tech companies whose rules and algorithms are intransparent. The panel discusses how cooperation within the Public Spaces Incubator may help to face the US platforms’ competition in civic discourse respecting of Public Service Media’s rules and values.
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Reporting on tragedy from within your own community: Michelle Stanley
SBS: Journalism has been described as the first rough draft of history, with reporters often bearing witness to the world’s most awful and awe-inspiring events. But what is the emotional toll after being on the front lines of history? History’s First Draft is an SBS News podcast series unravelling the psychological journey journalists undertake to bring us the news. In this episode, Michelle Stanley shares her experience covering a house fire in regional Western Australia which killed three children.
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ALGERIA: Algerian Journalist Jailed and His Media Offices Shut Down
Al-Awsat: A prominent Algerian journalist is behind bars and the offices of his website and radio station were shut down based on accusations that they threaten state security, according to a defense lawyer.
BURKINA FASO, SENEGAL & TOGO: Survey launches to attract women journalists for training fellowships in Burkina Faso, Senegal and Togo
Global Voices: The goal is to start a pan-African network of women journalists covering women’s issues.
CHAD: IPI calls on President Mahamat Idriss Deby to open new chapter for media
IPI: New administration must uphold press freedom, ensure safety of journalists.
ETHIOPIA: In Abiy’s Ethiopia, 200 journalists have been arrested since 2019
African Arguments: The Nobel laureate won plaudits early on for releasing imprisoned journalists. Today, his government depicts journalists as spies and traitors, and is accused of arresting, harassing and murdering them.
GAMBIA: GPU, IFJ hold three-day TOT workshop on Migration Reporting
IFJ: The Gambia Press Union (GPU) in collaboration with the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) under the Information , Training and Migration Project in West Africa (INFORMA) held a three- day Training of Trainers (TOT) workshop on Migration Reporting in The Gambia from 28 -30 May.
GHANA: Final draft of Broadcasting Bill ready for Cabinet – Information Minister
GBN: Ms. Fatima Abubakar, the Minister of Information, says the final draft of the Broadcasting Bill is ready for consideration by Cabinet.
GHANA: New CEO of MTN Ghana outlines vision for digital transformation and media collaboration
GBC: Mr. Stephen Blewett, the new CEO of MTN Ghana, has expressed his commitment to building on the achievements of his predecessor and advancing the company’s growth.
GHANA: We haven’t been given any money to run GBC- Amin Alhassan
GBC: The Director-General of the Ghana Broadcasting Corporation (GBC), Amin Alhassan has stated that his outfit has not been given any money from Government to run the corporation apart from the salaries being paid to the staff.
GUINEA: Guinea press union threatens strike after media bans
Jamaica Observer: Guinea’s main press union on Monday threatened an unlimited general strike after the ruling junta banned several major media outlets, the latest in a string of restrictions on press freedom.
KENYA: ‘I have a plan for KBC but give me time’: Agnes Kalekye says as she takes over CEO role
Nation: Ms Kalekye who serves as the Chair of Media Owners Association, beat the other seven candidates who had been shortlisted in the interviews conducted in March 2024.
LESOTHO: CPJ calls on Lesotho not to treat reporting on banned music groups as criminal offense
CPJ: Lesotho authorities should withdraw statements equating media interviews with outlawed music groups to criminal offenses and provide guarantees that journalists will not face arrest for doing their jobs, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Friday.
MALAWI: The Truth Under Siege: The State of Journalism Ethics in Malawi
Malawi 24: As the media landscape in Malawi continues to evolve, journalists face increasing pressure to compromise on ethics. What does this mean for the future of journalism in the country?
MOZAMBIQUE: Comprehensive training series on Media and Elections will reach more than 500 journalists across the country
UNDP: The UNDP Democracy and Elections Project, in collaboration with the National Union of Journalists and Technical Secretariat for Electoral Administration (STAE), recently began, in Maputo, a comprehensive training series on Media and Elections.
NIGER: Niger’s journalists wary of red lines, arrests after military coup
VOA: When Gazali Mahaman Abdou heard about the military coup in his home country of Niger last July, he went to work reporting on developments.
NIGERIA: In Nigeria, 2 ICIR journalists summoned, questioned over corruption report
CPJ: Nigerian police authorities should immediately drop their criminal investigation into journalist Nurudeen Akewushola and the International Centre for Investigative Reporting (ICIR), and allow them to work free of harassment and fear of arrest, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Friday.
RWANDA: The death of journalist John Ntwali in Kigali: an impossible investigation
Le Monde: ‘Rwanda Classified.’ One of Rwanda’s last independent journalists was killed in a road accident in January 2023. In a country that represses media critical of the government, many question the official version.
SOUTH AFRICA: Hate speech and disinformation in South Africa’s elections: big tech make it tough to monitor social media
The Conversation: There’s a growing global movement to ensure that researchers can get access to the huge quantity of data assembled and exploited by digital operators.
TANZANIA: Analysing Tanzania’s media laws and their repressive clauses
The Citizen: This article attempts to analyse the current laws vis-à-vis freedom of expression and the right to access information in the country. Special emphasis is on blatantly repressive clauses in the laws and their impact on journalists and the media industry in general.
TUNISIA: Tunisia Journalists Declare Public Media General Strike
Asharq Al-Aswat: It comes in response to the delay in reforms in these institutions, especially in the state television.
AZERBAIJAN: Azerbaijan’s civil society crackdown intensifies ahead of COP29
Euractiv: As Baku prepares to host COP29, the largest international climate summit, the Azerbaijani government has ramped up its crackdown on the remaining vestiges of its civil society.
BANGLADESH: Govt has no intention to control media: Arafat
BSS: State Minister for Information and Broadcasting Mohammad Ali Arafat today reiterated that the government has no intention to control media, saying that had the government an intention to control media, it wouldn’t have allowed increasing of media outlets in the country.
BANGLADESH: Two journalists attacked on duty
IFJ: Assaults have rocked Bangladesh’s media community, with journalist Aklakur Rahman Akash suffering serious damage to his eye following an assault near a factory in Savar on May 26, while journalist Enamul Haque was stabbed on May 27 while investigating a rice mill in Islampur.
HONG KONG: Hong Kong charges six people under homegrown national security law
Al Jazeera: Police arrest the group for ‘seditious’ social media posts under Article 23, which was pushed through in March.
INDIA: A Small Army Combating a Flood of Deepfakes in India’s Election
The New York Times: Social media is awash with A.I.-altered audio, clipped video and manipulated images. Fact-checkers want to save the public from deception.
INDIA: How Modi’s Supporters Used Social Media to Spread Disinformation During the Elections
Time: In early May, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi took to the podium at a political rally in Madhya Pradesh and launched an attack on the opposition party while campaigning in this year’s election, where a seven-phase voting period concluded on June 1.
INDIA: Independent media in India are banding together to counter eroding press freedom
NPR: Today is the last day in India’s six-week-long election. The sheer scale of the polls poses a challenge to journalists, especially with press freedom eroding under Prime Minister Narendra Modi. But some independent newsrooms are banding together, as Pavni Mittal reports from New Delhi.
ABC: Dandhy Dwi Laksono has made documentaries and won human rights awards, but he says his highest achievement might be yet to come — violating Indonesia’s proposed new Broadcasting Law.
JAPAN: AM radio listeners set to be permanently tuned out in Japan
Japan Today: Since February, some commercial radio broadcasters have begun a trial suspension of AM radio, with a real possibility the pause will extend to a permanent discontinuation across the country as broadcasters look to cut costs.
MALAYSIA: Media Chinese to layoff 44% employees in Malaysia and replace them with AI
Campaign: Media Chinese International (MCI), a Chinese-language media conglomerate based in Malaysia, is set to undergo a significant workforce reduction. According to news reports, MCI plans to integrate artificial intelligence (AI) into its operations leading to a workforce reduction of up to 44% within the next five years.
NEPAL: Arrest Threatens Nepal’s Standing as South Asia’s Model for Free Speech
The New York Times: A media executive was arrested after his company published critical reports about a powerful government minister.
PAKISTAN: Challenging power in Pakistan through data journalism
Reuters Institute: A new paper by former Journalist Fellow Maleeha Siddiqui explores the role of data journalism in Pakistan and its impact in a country with limitations on press freedom.
PAKISTAN: Killings, disappearances, new law rock Pakistan’s media
VOA: The shadow of five journalist killings since the start of the year is hanging over Pakistan’s media.
PHILIPPINES: ‘Journalists have crucial role in 2025 Bangsamoro polls’
PCIJ: The media are urged to understand the links between the elections and the broader Bangsamoro peace process, and observe cultural sensitivity when reporting about the region.
TAIWAN: Munich International Children’s Film Festival concluded successfully, PTV’s children’s and children’s programs were highly recognized and comprehensively deepened international participation (Press release – Chinese)
PTS: The Munich International Children’s and Children’s Film Festival (Prix Jeunesse International) in Germany came to a successful conclusion on May 30.
THAILAND: Thaksin dumps Voice TV in nod to Thailand’s new media landscape
Nikkei Asia: Station closure marks shift from traditional outlets as social media platforms dominate
TIMOR-LESTE: “Like plants just insisting they can grow”: collaborative research reveals emergent grassroots media industry
ABC: State of the Media: Timor-Leste is the most comprehensive study ever on the media sector of the Indo-Pacific’s youngest nation, painting a picture of a gritty, nimble grassroots industry, determinedly overcoming economic and technological challenges to serve their audiences.
AUSTRALIA: ABC Radio reaching 7.5 million Australians every week and is Australia’s number 1 digital live streaming network (Press release)
ABC: The ABC reaches 4.75 million Australians every week across our 5 capital cities radio network and 2.7 million more across our entire live radio network for a total audience of 7.5 million nationally.
AUSTRALIA: Australian children’s television production has tanked. Blame Paul Fletcher.
Crikey: Bluey won’t save us — the latest ACMA report shows the devastating consequences of the Coalition’s decision to remove local content quotas for children’s television in 2021.
AUSTRALIA: Fair Work Commission finds journalist and presenter Antoinette Lattouf was sacked by ABC
ABC: Journalist and presenter Antoinette Lattouf was sacked by the ABC when she was taken off-air part way through a radio presenting stint, the Fair Work Commission has found.
AUSTRALIA: News Corp unveils major restructure, with editors shown the door
AFR: News Corp Australia has dumped Lisa Muxworthy, the high-profile editor-in-chief of its most-read publication, news.com.au, in one of the biggest overhauls of the Murdoch family’s publishing and broadcast empire in decades.
NEW CALEDONIA: RSF and the French National Union of Journalists (SNJ) provide protective equipment for journalists in New Caledonia
RSF: Reporters Without Borders (RSF) has been working alongside journalists in New Caledonia since the clashes erupted in Nouméa on 13 May, following the controversial adoption of the reform to enlarge the National Assembly electorate.
NEW CALEDONIA: TikTok ban lifted as New Caledonia emergency ends
BBC: France has lifted a ban on the TikTok social media app in New Caledonia, two weeks after it was imposed in a bid to stop the spread of rioting.
NEW ZEALAND: The news bargaining bill briefly looked dead – then suddenly revived. What’s going on?
The Spinoff: A shock recommendation against pursuing a crucial piece of legislation sent the news media into a brief spiral. It turned out to be a false alarm.
NEW ZEALAND: TVNZ expects operational losses of $28m-$33m and a ‘significant’ impairment
The NZ Herald: TVNZ is expecting a financial loss of up to $33 million this financial year – more than double what it originally expected – with a “significant” impairment to also hit the state broadcaster.
PAPUA NEW GUINEA: PNG Government takes softer approach to media
RNZ: The Papua New Guinea government appears to be taking a more conciliatory approach to dealing with the media, after an outcry over its earlier plans which journalists saw as threats to media freedom.
PAPUA NEW GUINEA: Veteran PNG editor promotes Tok Pisin writing, trains journalists
Asia Pacific Report: Anna Solomon, a Papua New Guinean journalist and editor with 40 years experience, is now providing training for journalists at the Wantok Niuspepa.
ALBANIA: In Albania, Journalist’s Arrest for ‘Fake News’ Alarms Rights Groups
Balkan Insight: Media rights groups have called on Albania’s police to explain the arrest of a journalist and two police officers for producing ‘false information’ for the purpose of denigrating state officials.
AUSTRIA: 33 million euros per year: ORF is missing around 180,000 contributors (German)
Der Standard: The ORF’s income from the new ORF fee, regardless of reception, is significantly below the legislator’s forecasts for the new financing of public broadcasting since the beginning of the year.
AUSTRIA: Blue media attacks and personnel speculation increase one week before the EU elections (German)
Der Standard: Harald Vilimsky angrily broke off an interview with the ORF and then railed against the public broadcaster. Several ÖVP ministers are said to be in the running for the commissioner post
AUSTRIA: New ORF Public Value Report “What’s inside?” presented (Press release – German)
ORF: The Public Value Report is part of the ORF’s mandatory quality assurance and documents how the ORF fulfils its public service mandate.
AUSTRIA: Westenthaler is not so easy to remove from the ORF Foundation Board (German)
Der Standard: Broadcasting lawyers oppose the possibility of removing foundation board members from the highest ORF body by vote. They could appeal to the courts
BELGIUM: Collaborating with VRT: we don’t write the best stories alone (Press release – Dutch)
VRT: VRT structurally collaborates with other media organizations to create social added value and keep the media ecosystem strong.
BELGIUM: Election campaign: tools to raise awareness among young people (Watch – French)
RTBF Auvio
BELGIUM: KIES24: VRT places voters centrally with clear information and customized interpretation (Press release – Dutch)
VRT: As a public broadcaster, VRT wants to inform all Flemish and Brussels residents well and clearly and to familiarize them with the complex flow of information that elections entail, more than ever.
BOSNIA & HERZEGOVINA: A protest by BHRT workers was held due to salary delays (Bosnian)
RFE/RL: On May 28, the union of employees of the Public Service Radiotelevision of Bosnia and Herzegovina (BHRT) held a warning protest because of, as they said, the catastrophic financial situation in which they are.
BOSNIA & HERZEGOVINA: BHRT and RTV FBiH reached an agreement
Sarajevo Times: From the BHRT’s administrative uniform, they pointed out that this agreement represents a step in solving the never-more-difficult situation in which BHRT found itself.
BOSNIA & HERZEGOVINA: Bosnia’s Republika Srpska quietly drops plans for “foreign agents” law
BNE Intellinews: The government of Bosnia & Herzegovina’s Republika Srpska has decided to shelve a draft law on “foreign agents” similar to those in Russia and Georgia without explanation.
CROATIA & SERBIA: Prominent Serbian minority newspaper repeatedly threatened in Croatia after nationalist party gains power
CPJ: Novosti journalists have received dozens of insulting, hateful, intimidating, and threatening messages by email, letter, phone, social media comment section, and direct message since April, according to news reports and editor-in-chief Andrea Radak, who spoke with CPJ.
CZECH REPUBLIC: EFJ organises conference on local journalism in Europe
EFJ: The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) is organising the Local Journalism Festival at Masaryk University in Brno, Czech Republic, on 17 – 18 June, as part of the Local Media for Democracy (LM4D) project.
CZECH REPUBLIC: Mezúláník: The media violated the Code of Ethics and the rules of decency in the Kuřim case (Czech)
CT24: Currently, an amendment to the law is being prepared in this context, which should significantly tighten the conditions for publishing the identity and names of victims of crimes, especially children.
DENMARK: P3 will motivate young people to vote in the EU elections: ‘We will try to make the election a social thing’ (Press release – Danish)
DR: It is difficult to engage young people in the EU elections. At P3, they try to make the election a social event and get the young people to go in droves to vote.
FINLAND: During the elections, they will try to influence you in many ways – see what kind of cold measures are in use (Finnish)
YLE: Johanna Vehkoo, a journalist specializing in disinformation and fact-checking, listed disinformation tactics and themes that can be expected during the super election year.
FRANCE: Journalist challenges rule banning hijab in French press card photos
Reuters: A Paris-based Moroccan journalist who wears the hijab said on Friday she was appealing against a rule that bans women from covering their head in photos on the French press ID card.
FRANCE: Merger of public broadcasting: “For me, this reform is a mystery”, says Sophie Binet (French)
FranceInfo: “We know in the private sector that every time we merge two companies, it is to create pools and make budgetary savings,” laments the general secretary of the CGT, Sunday on franceinfo and France Inter.
FRANCE: Public broadcasting reform: France Médias Monde would not be part of it (French)
RFI: Concerning France Médias Monde, Rachida Dati estimated that its place in this project should be debated in the hemicycle while admitting that in a context of strong geopolitical tensions, France Médias Monde, which includes France 24, RFI and Monte Carlo Doualiya, had a “specific mission”.
FRANCE: The seven hot points of public broadcasting reform (French)
Les Echos: In less than a month, MPs must consider the public broadcasting merger project. The contours of the reform have changed a lot since its adoption in the Senate in June 2023 then its passage in the Cultural Affairs Committee of the Assembly in mid-May.
GEORGIA: Georgia parliament pushes through ‘foreign agents’ law
DW: Opponents say it will curb media freedom and hurt Georgia’s chances of joining the European Union.
GEORGIA: Georgian non-government organizations and the media will also challenge the disputed law in Strasbourg (Slovak)
Tarz.sk: About 200 Georgian non-governmental organizations and media announced on Thursday that they will turn to the Constitutional Court and the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg to challenge the controversial “foreign influence” law , reports AFP.
GERMANY: “Green production” as part of the ARD sustainability strategy (Press release – German)
ARD: At the “Environment Week” in Berlin, ARD’s “Green Consultants” will provide answers to these and other questions and explain to visitors how sustainable action is implemented in the field of media production.
GERMANY: Journalist Ignacio Rosaslanda assaulted while covering a police operation
IPI: The undersigned international media freedom, free expression, and journalist organisations call on the German authorities to conduct a thorough investigation into the physical attack by Berlin police on Mexican video journalist Ignacio Rosaslanda while he was covering a police operation.
GREECE: New collective agreement to boost gender equality in State and public media
IFJ: The agreement includes new gender equality provisions and enhanced protection for women journalists against harassment.
HUNGARY: In Hungary, the overwhelming domination of Viktor Orban’s clan over the media (French)
RTBF: Péter Magyar, a former government executive who entered into rebellion with the regime, had threatened to organize continuous demonstrations in front of the headquarters of the state channel if it did not broadcast a debate before the European elections on June 9, the day on which Municipal elections are also held in Hungary.
ITALY: ‘Disinformation, democracy, elections’: meeting in Rome with journalists, teachers and university students (Italian)
FNSI: The fight against disinformation and information manipulation is one of the most pressing issues for the European Union and its Member States.
KOSOVO: President’s speech at the EFJ Annual Meeting 2024 in Prishtina (Speech)
EFJ
MOLDOVA: Moldova’s Moves Against Pro-Russian Media Trigger Censorship Debate
Balkan Insight: In trying to tackle Russian propaganda and promote ‘accurate content’, Moldova’s government risks being accused of censoring its enemies and rewarding friendly coverage.
ROMANIA: Super election year calls for press freedom review (Romanian)
IPI: The forthcoming mission of the European Press Freedom Consortium will assess the main press challenges in Romania.
RUSSIA: Exiled Russian, Belarusian opposition journalists targeted with Pegasus spyware
The Record: Researchers have found that at least seven Russian and Belarusian-speaking independent journalists and opposition activists were targeted or infected with the infamous spying malware called Pegasus.
RUSSIA & US: Russia court extends detention of Russian-American journalist charged as a foreign agent
Jurist.org: A Russian court on Friday ordered to extend the detention of an American-Russian journalist by two months until August 5, after she was charged with failure to register as a foreign agent.
SERBIA: Assault on Serbian Journalist Linked to Officials’ ‘Toxic’ Rhetoric
Balkan Insight: Media organisations claimed that an assault on ‘Radar’ news magazine journalist Vuk Cvijic was linked to the “approval of attacks and threats” coming “from the top” of the Serbian administration.
SERBIA: Journalists face SLAPP lawsuits from Serbia’s senior judge
IJF: Belgrade Court of Appeal’s most senior judge, Dušanka Đorđević, has filed two lawsuits against KRIK investigative media journalists Bojana Pavlović and Stevan Dojčinović as a result of their investigative work on the judicial transparency database ‘Judge Who Judges’.
SLOVAKIA: Media deserts may increase. How regional news will change after the SNS proposal (Slovak)
SME comments: In June, the Slovak parliament is to discuss proposals from the SNS workshop , which are intended to make the work of journalists more difficult – to interfere with free access to information and at the same time bring the possibility of fining the media.
SLOVAKIA: Slovak government targets media again after Fico shooting
Politico: Ruling coalition wants to restrict access to information and to require media to correct articles on demand, saying “the era of insolence is over.”
SLOVAKIA & CZECH REPUBLIC: Czech investment PPF group urged to defend media freedom in Slovakia
Euractiv: The Czech National Committee of the International Press Institute (CZ IPI) has expressed concerns about possible violations of the principles of free journalism at Slovakia’s television Markíza, which is owned by the Czech investment group PPF, as its editors threaten to go on strike.
SLOVENIA: Natalija Gorščak is the acting president of RTV Slovenia (Press release – Slovenian)
RTVSLO: At today’s extraordinary meeting, the councilors of RTV Slovenia officially dismissed the current president of the Management Board, Zvezdan Martić, after he resigned from his position on May 28. Today, Natalija Gorščak was appointed as acting director.
SPAIN: The Supreme Court endorses the change in RTVE statutes (Press release – Spanish)
RTVE: The contentious-administrative appeal filed by USO, UGT and SI against the modification of the Social Statutes of CRTVE is dismissed, declaring it in accordance with the law
SWEDEN: SVT direct subtitles with AI (Press release – Swedish)
SVT: Direct captioning using AI in broadcast and online is SVT’s next step for increased accessibility in a new way.
UK: AI fakes, abuse and misinformation pushed to young voters on TikTok
BBC: Young voters in key election battlegrounds are being recommended fake AI-generated videos featuring party leaders, misinformation, and clips littered with abusive comments, the BBC has found.
UK: Media manifestos 2024: Labour pledges to ban oligarch SLAPPs
Press Gazette: News Media Association sets out policy priorities for next UK government.
UK: Ofcom’s role in a General Election – what you need to know (Press release)
Ofcom: A General Election will take place in the UK on 4 July 2024. In the election period, it’s important that broadcasters follow the rules around what they broadcast during this time.
UK: UK broadcasters trade ad airtime for advertisers’ shares
The Guardian: With advertisers slashing their spend, channels have found a new way to fill unsold ad space
REGIONAL: Digital Media Literacy in EDMO: Special European Elections
EDMO: This Special Edition of ‘Digital Media Literacy in EDMO’ concentrates on the European Parliament Elections and the media literacy initiatives undertaken by the EDMO Hubs related to this election.
REGIONAL: Europe Banned Russia’s RT Network. Its Content Is Still Spreading.
The New York Times: A study found that hundreds of sites, many without obvious Kremlin links, copied Russian propaganda and spread it to unsuspecting audiences ahead of the E.U. election.
ANTIGUA AND BARBUDA: China’s CMG donates media equipment to Antigua and Barbuda Broadcasting Service
CGTN: China Media Group has donated video cameras and media equipment to the national broadcasting service of Antigua and Barbuda. The formal handover was held in the capital Saint John’s on Friday.
LatAm Journalism Review: Just over a month ago, the Brazilian state of Rio Grande do Sul began experiencing the biggest climate disaster in its history.
BRAZIL: Supreme Court of Brazil sets precedent to combat judicial harassment of journalists in Brazil
LatAm Journalism Review: Brazilian journalist Elvira Lobato still remembers how surprised she was by the impact of one of her articles published in Folha de S.Paulo in December 2007.
CHILE: IACHR Special Rapporteur presents considerations after monitoring situation of freedom of expression in Chile (Spanish)
Observacom: The Office of the Special Rapporteur for Freedom of Expression of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) said that ‘considerations were reiterated regarding the concentration of media, its implications for freedom of expression and the right to an informed society,’ during its visit to Chile between March 18 and 21, to monitor and collect information on the situation of the right to freedom of expression in the country.
EL SALVADOR: Journalists from El Faro detained after reporting at University of El Salvador (Spanish)
Prensa Comunitaria: Two journalists from the Salvadoran digital media outlet El Faro were detained at the facilities of the University of El Salvador (UES) in San Salvador.
EL SALVADOR: Salvadoran Journalists’ Association urges government to guarantee press can cover Bukele’s second inauguration (Press release)
LatAm Journalism Review (via APES): The Salvadoran Journalists’ Association expresses its deep concern about the restrictions imposed on the Salvadoran press for journalistic coverage of the official event on June 1, where Nayib Bukele will consummate his unconstitutional re-election.
GUATEMALA: Jailed Guatemalan journalist to AP: ‘I can defend myself, because I am innocent’
The Washington Post: José Rubén Zamora has spent nearly two years locked in a dark 16- by 13-foot cell in Guatemala, allowed only one hour a day in the sunlight.
HAITI: AP team gets rare access in an intense month of covering the violence in Haiti
AP: The AP team covering the ongoing violence in Haiti overcame major obstacles, including very limited access for international media, to tell the story of the deteriorating situation on the island over the course of the last three months.
MEXICO: Being a Journalist in Mexico Can Be a Life-or-Death Experience
The New York Times: The documentary “State of Silence,” premiering at the Tribeca Festival, uses personal stories to explain the bleak situation for journalists in Mexico.
RSF: Elected with nearly 60 percent of the vote in Mexico’s 2 June general elections, Claudia Sheinbaum will be the first woman to occupy the country’s presidency when she takes office on 1 October.
MEXICO & CANADA: German Marshall Fund Partners with CBC and Obturador to Implement Content Authenticity Tools for Mexican Elections
GMF: The German Marshall Fund of the United States (GMF) today announces the adoption of content authenticity technologies in local and international media coverage of the Mexican elections to be held this weekend.
LatAm Journalism Review: In May of this year, media outlets 100% Noticias and Despacho 505, which report on Nicaragua from exile, began a campaign on social networks to promote the use of a VPN (virtual private network).
URUGUAY: IACHR reacts to new media bill in Uruguay and asks legislators to ‘protect respect for international standards on freedom of expression‘ (Spanish)
La Diaria: The Special Rapporteur for Freedom of Expression of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) expressed its concern about the media bill, approved on May 14 in the Senate, and asked the Chamber of Deputies to ‘protect respect for international standards on freedom of expression’ in the legislative stages for which it’s responsible.
VENEZUELA: Closure of 400 media outlets in 20 years aggravates unemployment crisis in Venezuelan journalism (Spanish)
Crónica.Uno: A reduction in staff left Mairet Chourio, a photojournalist with 13 years of experience in traditional and digital media in Venezuela, unemployed.
REGIONAL: Jamaica, Dominican Republic and Guyana shine at Caribbean Climate Justice Journalism Awards
Global Voices: In the face of the escalating climate crisis, the Caribbean region is at a pivotal juncture, where the need for informed discourse and impactful journalism has never been more critical.
LatAm Journalism Review: In 2023, the press in Latin America was attacked about once every two hours. In that time frame, 17 journalists were also murdered; dozens of communicators and media workers were sent to prison; and hundreds of journalists were forced into exile, displacement and self-censorship.
ISRAEL: Israeli journalist describes threats over reporting on spy chief and ICC
The Guardian: Haaretz journalist was warned of ‘consequences’ if he reported on attempts by Mossad chief to intimidate ex-prosecutor
ISRAEL & PALESTINE: Record number of Palestinian journalists’ arbitrarily arrested by Israel
IFJ: Seventy-six Palestinian journalists and media workers have been arrested by Israel’s security forces in the occupied West Bank and Gaza since the Hamas-led attack in southern Israel on 7 October, 2023.
LEBANON: Lebanon’s Media Crisis Reaches Future TV
Asharq Al- Awsat: Future TV’s programs have stopped for the third consecutive day over a strike carried out by the Lebanese channel’s employees to protest the delay in the payment of their wages.
PALESTINE: How pro-Palestine activists are using AI to evade social media censorship
The Telegraph: The war in Gaza has dominated social media, with users now looking to alternative image sources to potentially bypass moderation
SAUDI ARABIA: Saudi Broadcasting Authority Signs 3 Agreements with Global Media, Tech Organizations
Asharq Al-Awsat: The Saudi Broadcasting Authority (SBA) and three international companies with technological and media expertise signed a number of agreements at the Future of Media Exhibition (FOMEX), which was held in Riyadh on the sidelines of the 22nd Arab Radio and TV Festival.
SAUDI ARABIA & IRAN: Iran says Saudi Arabia has expelled 6 state media journalists ahead of the Hajj after detaining them
AP: Iran said Wednesday that Saudi Arabia expelled six members of a crew from its state television broadcaster after they had been detained for nearly a week in the kingdom ahead of the Hajj.
CANADA: Canada’s CBC On European Charm Offensive To Rally Support For Social Media Detox Initiative
Deadline: Catherine Tait, who runs Canadian pubcaster CBC/Radio-Canada, has been meeting with counterparts in Europe this week to rally support for an online initiative aimed at detoxifying social media.
CANADA: CBC must strengthen its case for our – and its own – survival (Opinion)
The National Observer: Sometimes, the CBC is exactly the public broadcaster we need it to be in an emergency.
CBC/Radio-Canada: Today, CBC/Radio-Canada released the first progress report on its 2023–2025 National Accessibility Plan, Breaking Barriers.
CANADA: Get the facts : Inaccurate reporting about CBC/Radio-Canada does not serve the public (Press release)
CBC/Radio-Canada: Once again, a collection of Canadian online outlets are promoting an identical false story, claiming that CBC/Radio-Canada has tried to deny or “conceal” that it “handed out bonuses” to senior executives in 2023-2024.
CANADA: Why The Hub has signed the Ottawa Declaration on Canadian Journalism
The Hub: Although one of us is quite literally a boy scout, we’re not generally joiners. In our professional lives, we’ve purposefully sought to protect our independence and own distinct voices.
US: A local reporter was arrested for doing her job. The Supreme Court needs to step in.
CJR: In 2017, police in Laredo, Texas, issued an arrest warrant for Priscilla Villarreal Treviño, a citizen journalist who runs a bilingual Facebook page with more than two hundred thousand followers—nearly as many people as live in the city.
US: CPB Awards 3 More Public Media Stations Grants for Next Generation Warning System (Press freedom)
CPB: Alabama Public Television, KLRN-TV in San Antonio, and KYUK/TV-AM-FM in Bethel, Alaska, have been awarded funding from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB) to upgrade their equipment to provide enhanced emergency alerting.
US: Detroit PBS lands $7.5M matching gift as it plans new campus
Current: Detroit PBS revealed May 30 the Fred A. and Barbara M. Erb Family Foundation will match up to $7.5 million as the station raises money for its new campus.
US: Louisville Public Media laying off eight staff to meet budget shortfall
LPM: Kentucky’s largest public radio station will cut its workforce amid lower than expected revenues and rising costs.
US: This Hedge Fund Wants to Save Investigative Journalism — By Using It to Game the Market
Politico: Off the court, Koppelman — a former ghostwriter and political speechwriter who comes from an elite literary family — is obsessed with an idea more unorthodox than his shooting form: blending Wall Street and the newsroom to make investigative journalism profitable.
US: Trial by pundit
CJR: It started, arguably, with a Truth: a Donald Trump Truth Social post, one Saturday last March, in which he stated that he would be arrested three days later, in New York, on charges that he illegally covered up hush money payments to silence the porn star Stormy Daniels’s claims of an affair ahead of the 2016 election. The post kick-started a media circus that persisted through the actual date of his arrest two and a half weeks later.
US: Trust in Media 2024: Which news sources Americans trust — and which they think lean left or right
YouGov: The American news landscape is fractured and polarized, with no outlet singularly gaining the public’s attention or trust.
Britney Spears and the generational shift in celebrity coverage
Nieman Lab: “There was just this nastiness that emerged in the way celebrities were covered in the 2000s.”
Building Trust and Authenticity in Visual Journalism in the Age of Deepfakes
GIJN: With generative AI becoming increasingly advanced, nurturing trust and authenticity in visual journalism is not only more valuable, but essential.
Fighting disinformation can be simple (Opinion)
IJNet
Google’s A.I. Search Leaves Publishers Scrambling
The New York Times: Since Google overhauled its search engine, publishers have tried to assess the danger to their brittle business models while calling for government intervention.
Greatest Hits from a ‘Journalism in the Movies’ Course
GIJN: The portrayal of journalists in the movies has, over the years, helped instill an understanding of what journalism is and what reporters do even if Hollywood has, of course, glamorized, satirized, or oversimplified. So last year we decided to teach a course on “Journalism in the Movies.”
Journalists’ digital survival guide: Why, how, and actionable steps
IJNet: The news used to be confined first to paper, and then to radio and television. Today, it lives online, where journalists and newsrooms not only publish their stories, but also research and communicate.
Media Literacy and Democracy: Supplementary Human Dimension Meeting II (Conference)
OSCE
Ten big questions on AI and the news
CJR: In early May, Aspen Digital—a program of the Aspen Institute, a nonprofit organization devoted to the discussion of social issues—convened nearly a hundred news executives, editors, representatives of tech companies, and others for a full-day meeting to discuss the role of artificial intelligence in the news industry.
What Happened to Our Ad-Free TV?
The New York Times: Ads are here, there — almost everywhere — on streaming services now.
What’s with the rise of “fact-based journalism”?
Nieman Lab: “To describe one form of journalism as ‘fact-based’ is to tacitly acknowledge that there is also such a thing as ‘non-fact-based journalism.’ And there isn’t.”
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Header image: A row of people on the mobile phones. Credit: camilo jimenez / Unsplash.com
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