Our weekly round-up of public service media related stories and headlines from around the world

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WEEK 14: What does IMPUNITY look like? 

Nearly 1,200 journalists – or one every four days, UNESCO notes – have been killed between 2006 and 2019 for simply doing their jobs. Most of these killings occurred in Latin America and the Caribbean, which accounted for 40% of global killings, but impunity for crimes against journalists is a worldwide phenomenon. In India, for instance, impunity can look like the 39 journalist killings which have occurred since 2006, with no convictions against any perpetrators. But it must be emphasised that impunity for crimes against journalists is not limited to fatal attacks; impunity also occurs when perpetrators are not brought to justice for intimidation, harassment, sexual violence, torture, arbitrary detention, and other acts that negatively impact on journalists’ ability to inform democracy and public debate. Ultimately, impunity weakens public trust in the judicial system, promotes fear-driven self-censorship, and emboldens perpetrators of crimes against journalists.


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Black Female Journalists Expanding the Narrative

CBC/Radio-Canada: How are we making space for the stories and experiences of Black Canadians? We asked Tamika Forrester, Lead Producer for Being Black in Canada, and Omayra Issa, Reporter and Co-Producer for Black on the Prairies, to discuss their projects, experiences and inspirations.

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GHANA: GBC proposes establishment of national highlife band to promote national identity

GBC: The Director General of Ghana Broadcasting Corporation Prof Amin Alhassan has proposed the setting up of a National Highlife Band to help revive Highlife music for the appreciation of the youth.


GHANA: Media Professionalism: The 5 Ethical Sins of the Ghanaian News Media (Research)

MFWA: In the milieu of democratic governance, the media plays a pivotal role in providing an inclusive and critical platform for public dialogue, demanding accountability from duty bearers and instigating policy-making that benefits a greater number of people. These responsibilities must, however, be delivered in the context of a set of ethical principles and professional standards as indicated in the Global Charter of Ethics for Journalists.


GHANA: Passage of the Broadcasting Bill – We’re Being Tactful – Oppong Nkrumah

Via All Africa: Minister for Information, Kojo Oppong Nkrumah, has said government is engaging with relevant stakeholders to pass the broadcasting bill.


KENYA: Police launch probe into shooting of KBC journalist

KBC: Police have launched investigations into an incident where a Kenya Broadcasting Corporation employee was shot dead by armed criminals on Wednesday evening.


LIBYA: More Newspapers Doesn’t Always Mean More Freedom in Post-Gadhafi Libya

VOA News


MALAWI: Malawi Police urged to protect media freedom

Malawi 24: Media Institute of Southern Africa, Malawi Chapter (MISA Malawi) says it is concerned with continued arbitrary summoning, arrests and detentions of journalists by the Malawi Police.


NIGERIA: 29 Licensed Nigerian PayTV Platforms Not Profitable, Says FG

This Day: The federal government has disclosed that only one out of the 30 Nigerian companies licensed by the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC) to operate pay-TV was financially viable despite the amendment of the broadcast code to curb monopoly and exclusivity of programme content.


NIGERIA: Editors Seek Govt’s Intervention to Halt Media’s Collapse

VIa All Africa: The Nigerian Guild of Editors (NGE) has asked the federal government to save the media business from collapse through, among others, the removal of tariffs on all imported consumables used in the production process.


SOUTH AFRICA: South Africa: SABC May Faces New Court Battle For “Unfair” Retrenchment Accusations

Broadcast Media Africa: As reported by the media, the three unions representing South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) workers are having ongoing meetings to finalise strategies that may land the SABC in court. 


TANZANIA: Tanzania Government Trims Back President’s Order to Reopen Media Outlets 

VOA: Earlier this week, new Tanzanian President Samia Hassan announced that media outlets shut down under her predecessor could reopen. But the chief government spokesman said Wednesday that Hassan was only referring to online television. Journalists are confused and not happy with the new administration.


TANZANIA: Tanzania To Re-open Shuttered Media Houses

MISA


TOGO & FRANCE: RFI stands behind journalist over Togo saga as French government confirms letter

RFI: The French government has confirmed that it had indeed sent a letter from President Emmanuel Macron congratulating Togolese President Faure Gnassingbé on his re-election, a letter that had been the subject of some controversy among the Togolese opposition.


ZIMBABWE: Zimbabwe: Country Plans To Award More TV and Radio Broadcasting Licenses

Broadcast Media Africa: The Minister of Information, Monica Mutsvangwa, has announced plans to issue more television and radio licences to independent stations. During a speech at a media function, the minister said the government is committed to promoting diversity in the media space. Therefore, it will award more broadcasting licenses to demonstrate its pledge.  This transformation comes after 60 years of broadcasting monopoly. 

AFGHANISTAN: Afghanistan’s press freedom is threatened. Meet the young journalists fighting for it

Reuters Institute: Under the threat of constant violence and a return to darker times, young editors and reporters refuse to give up, Raksha Kumar reports.


CHINA: Victims of ‘forced confessions’ urge Western powers to ban Chinese TV channels

France 24: Thirteen people who describe themselves as “victims of forced confessions broadcast on Chinese television” are urging European satellite operator Eutelsat to reconsider carrying Chinese channels CGTN and CCTV4.


HONG KONG: Hong Kong gov’t can charge RTHK staff for axed shows, says public broadcaster

HKFP: RTHK has cancelled at least nine episodes from various shows since the new Director of Broadcasting Patrick Li took office on March 1.


HONG KONG: Public perception of Hong Kong media’s independence and credibility at record low – survey

HKFP: The public perception of the independence and credibility of Hong Kong’s news media has dropped to a record low, according to the findings of an opinion poll, with more and more people sensing a reluctance to criticise the authorities.


HONG KONG: RTHK refuses journalism award for Yuen Long mob attack documentary

Apple Daily: In the latest move to overhaul the revered public broadcaster, RTHK said they would turn down the Human Rights Press award won by a documentary about the Yuen Long thug attack in 2019 and would withdraw their entries from all local and international competitions.


INDIA: Indian police clamp curbs on media coverage of Kashmir gunbattles

Reuters: Police in the Himalayan region of Kashmir have asked journalists to refrain from live coverage of gun battles with militants fighting Indian rule in the territory or protests, calling such reports a provocation amounting to interference in their duties.


INDIA: Prasar Bharati looks at BBC model for makeover

The Hindustan Times: The plan, which has been in the works for three years, is presently under consideration.


KASHMIR: Kashmir Journalists Confused, Worried by Police Warning Against Covering Gunbattles

The Wire: The Jammu and Kashmir police’s decision to pursue legal action against scribes and photographers who come close to gunbattle sites or near scenes of clashes between forces and protesters has created a flutter in the press fraternity in Kashmir, with media bodies terming the latest decree as a “tactic to coerce journalists into not reporting facts on the ground”.


MACAU: Macau journalists told to promote love for China (Paywall)

The Times: Journalists at Macau’s public broadcaster have been ordered to promote “patriotism, respect and love” for China, as Beijing stifles dissent in its gambling enclave.


MALAYSIA: RTM transfomation plan adds value to organisation, creative industry

New Straits Times: The RTM Transformation Plan which is being implemented can give added value to the organisation and the local creative industry, apart from enhancing services to ensure optimum use of all platforms, said Communications and Multimedia Minister Datuk Saifuddin Abdullah. 


MYANMAR: Journalists on Trial for Covering Myanmar Coup

VOA: Preliminary hearings were held Tuesday for three journalists detained in Yangon on February 27 while covering protests of the military coup.


MYANMAR: Myanmar’s military junta slaughters protesters and press freedom 

CJR


PAKISTAN: Pakistan Electronic Media Authority (PEMRA) urged by electronic media association to allow freedom of expression

Pakistan Press Foundation: The Association of Electronic Media Editors and News Directors (AEMEND) on Wednesday said it is deeply concerned over the recent advisories issued by the Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (PEMRA).


SOUTH KOREA: KBS Mobile Counting Broadcasting ‘Preview’ Before TV (Korean – press release)

KBS: KBS has prepared a mobile counting broadcast that can be viewed 2 hours ahead of the 2021 re-and by-election TV counting broadcast.


THAILAND: Thai PBS found a third COVID-19 employee from someone close to outside (Thai – press release)

Thai PBS: Public Broadcasting Organization of Thailand (FTI) or Thai PBS announced the third COVID-19 employee was found to be a photographer. Under the Thai PBS Television and Radio Office The infected people were tested for COVID-19 infection by Thai PBS.


GENERAL: DBS 2021 focuses on the pandemic

Asia Radio Today: The challenge of running TV and radio services during the pandemic was on most people’s minds at the 2021 ABU Digital Broadcasting Symposium on 5-8 April.

AUSTRALIA: ABC Classic and ABC Jazz launch commissioning fund to support new and diverse Australian voices (Opportunity)

ABC: ABC Classic and ABC Jazz have launched a $90,000 fund to support the creation of new music works from emerging and diverse Australian voices.


AUSTRALIA: ABC launches Pacific program promoting disaster preparedness (Press Release)

ABC: A unique ABC collaboration will promote disaster preparedness across the Pacific with the launch tomorrow (Friday, 9 April) of a weekly radio program Pacific Prepared.


AUSTRALIA: SBS confronts Australia’s domestic abuse crisis with revelatory documentary series, See What You Made Me Do (Press release)

SBS: Hosted by investigative journalist Jess Hill, See What You Made Me Do leads a suite of programming examining domestic abuse, on offer across SBS and SBS On Demand. Premieres 8:30pm Wednesday 5 May.


AUSTRALIA: ‘Utterly unaccountable’: Turnbull labels News Corp the most powerful political actor in Australia

The Sydney Morning Herald: Former prime minister Malcolm Turnbull says Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp poses a real threat to Australian democracy, claiming it has surpassed the Coalition or Labor as the most powerful political force in the country.


FIJI: FBC News introduces new segments

FBC: The Fijian Broadcasting Corporation’s 7 PM television News service will have segments dedicated to climate change, feel-good stories and extended Q&A segment and more international news.


NEW ZEALAND: Pacific Island Food Revolution to premiere on Maori TV (Listen)

RNZ: The first ever TV cooking show on Pacific Cuisine is to premiere this evening on Maori TV.


NEW ZEALAND: The winter offensive for public broadcasting (Comment)

Newsroom: Broadcasting Minister Kris Faafoi will need a good plan to win over Cabinet colleagues, the media industry and the public to the idea of combining TVNZ and RNZ, writes Stephen Parker.


NEW ZEALAND: ‘Three pillar’ approach for new $55 million public interest journalism fund revealed 

The Spinoff: NZ on Air has published details about how it intends to distribute the allocation of $55 million to boost at-risk journalism in New Zealand. Here’s what we know so far.


PAPUA NEW GUINEA: Papua New Guinea’s COVID cases are driven by misinformation — we need tech companies to help (Opinion)

ABC News: Here in Western Province in PNG, a stone’s throw from the Australian mainland, things are looking alarming. Cases and deaths from coronavirus are skyrocketing, and we are facing a misinformation pandemic on top of a COVID one.

AUSTRIA: ORF wants to protect reporters better (German)

Deutschlandfunk: In Austria, camera teams from public service broadcasting are insulted, spat at, ridiculed and threatened during protests against pandemic measures. Only journalists who volunteer would now be deployed, said the editor’s council chairman Dieter Bornemann in the Dlf.


BELARUS: New Laws Further Stifle Freedom of Speech in Belarus

HRW: On April 2, Belarus’ parliament moved forward eight bills, including a raft of amendments to the country’s Mass Media Law and Mass Gatherings Law. If adopted, these amendments will further undermine freedom of speech and the work of independent journalists in Belarus.


BOSNIA & HERZEGOVINA AND SERBIA: BH Journalists wrote to the Government of Serbia with a request for vaccination of media workers from BiH

Safe Journalists: The BH Journalists Association sent a request to the representatives of the Government of Serbia to consider the possibility of vaccinating journalists and other media workers from BiH in health care institutions of the Republic of Serbia.


CROATIA: SLAPP Lawsuits Croatia: Lawyer Vanja Juric on Attempts to Stifle Journalists

Total Croatia News: In the RTL.hr Open Editorial, public figures write freely and openly about developments in their field of expertise. A look at SLAPP lawsuits Croatia.


CZECH REPUBLIC: Public service media in the Czech Republic under threat (Statement)

EBU


CZECH REPUBLIC: Reaction of the CEO of Czech Television Petr Dvořák in connection with the accusation of Councilor Lipovská of a conflict of interest (Czech – press release)

Czech TV


CZECH REPUBLIC: This strengthens the grip on public service in the Czech Republic (Statement)

Swedish Radio: The Czech government is currently trying to get rid of the head of the public service company Czech Television, Petr Dvořák. Swedish Radio’s CEO Cilla Benkö writes in a debate article in Expressen about how the Czech Republic is going the same way as Hungary and Poland when it comes to taking control of the media.


FRANCE & CHINA: French satellite company under pressure to stop broadcasting Chinese state TV

RFI: Thirteen people who describe themselves as the “victims of forced confessions broadcast on Chinese television” have written an open letter to Europe’s largest satellite operator, Eutelsat, asking it to review company policy of broadcasting Chinese channels CGTN and CCTV-4.


GERMANY: Thomas Bellut: Merger with ARD not feasible (German)

Süddeutsche Zeitung: ZDF director Thomas Bellut thinks nothing of an association of public broadcasters in Germany. Because of the different functions of ARD and ZDF, this is not possible at all, Bellut told the newspapers of the VRM group in Mainz.


GERMANY & SLOVENIA: Slovenia’s Prime Minister attacks ARD correspondents (German)

Der Spiegel: Janez Janša likes to share on Twitter. Now the Slovenian head of government insulted a German reporter there with violent words. The reason was a “Tagesthemen” post about the endangered freedom of the press in the country.


GREECE: Press freedom in Greece is under threat – from the government and itself

Open Democracy: Abuses of power and attacks against the press by both the state and the police, are causing a feeling of ‘asphyxiation’ in public discourse.


HUNGARY: Orban-friendly owner gets Hungary independent radio frequency

Euractiv: A Hungarian radio station critical of Prime Minister Viktor Orbán that was forced off the air in February said Sunday (11 April) its former frequency had been handed to a station owned by a government-friendly group.


IRELAND: Interview with Dee Forbes, Director General of RTÉ (Interview)

EBU


ITALY: Italy: Journalists’ phones wiretapped by prosecutors

The Shift News: A number of Italian journalists had their phones wiretapped by Sicilian prosecutors in Trapani as part of their investigation into sea rescue NGOs and charities, a move that has been registered as a threat to press freedom.


NETHERLANDS: VRT offer for Flemish people abroad from 1 July fully digital (Dutch)

VRT: BVN, the public TV channel for Dutch speakers outside the Netherlands and Flanders, will continue with a 100% Dutch NPO programming from 1 July 2021. The partnership within BVN will be phased out in the coming months due to a new digital strategy by the Flemish Minister of Media. 


POLAND: Under cover of Covid, Poland is stifling free media – and all Europe should be worried (Opinion)

The Guardian: A planned ‘coronavirus tax’ on revenues and attacks on foreign-owned media threaten to cut away democracy piece by piece.


POLAND: Warsaw Court Blocks Takeover of Polish Regional Media by State-Owned Orlen

Balkan Insight: In a blow to the Polish governing party’s plans to increase state control over the country’s independent media, a Warsaw district court sided with the Ombudsman and suspended the takeover of Polska Press by PKN Orlen.


RUSSIA: Russian agents raid home of prominent journalist

Deutsche Welle 


SLOVENIA: Journalists Condemn Threats by Slovenian National Security Official

Total Slovenia: The journalists of the newspaper Delo, as well as the paper’s editorial board and the Journalists’ Association, have condemned threats levelled against Delo’s Brussels correspondent Peter Žerjavič by Žan Mahnič, the state secretary for national security.


SLOVENIA: MEPs address to govt series of questions about media freedom, other topics (Paywall)

STA: The European Parliament’s democracy monitoring group has addressed almost fifty written questions to the Slovenian government, Prime Minister Janez Janša and Culture Minister Vasko Simoniti, as it is trying to fully assess media freedom in Slovenia.


SPAIN: Rejection of the News Council of RTVE to what it considers “a generalized attack” to the public (Spanish)

El Mundo: The Spanish Radiotelevision News Council (RTVE) has rejected the “generalized attack” on public television from different political parties and “encouraged” from some media or opinion leaders, “from both sides of the ideological spectrum.”


SWEDEN: Radio Sweden launches Arabic immersion podcast (Swedish – press release)

Sveriges Radio: April 9 is the premiere of Ekot Radio Sweden’s new podcast in Arabic, focusing on topics that are important and interesting for the Arabic – speaking audience in Sweden.


SWEDEN: SVT’s research on culture on play: Come and hear the results (Swedish)

Nordvision: In the autumn of 2020, SVT received development support to take a closer look at how the audience relates to cultural content on the company’s streaming service. Now we have the results. 


SWITZERLAND: Annual Report SWI swissinfo.ch 2020

Swissinfo.ch


UK: BBC’s Prince Philip coverage breaks UK TV complaints record

The Guardian: 110,000 people have complained, mostly about excess but also about Andrew, attire – and ease of complaining.


UK: Channel 4 Contributes $1.3 Billion to U.K. Economy and Supports 10,000 Jobs, Report Finds

Variety: U.K. public service broadcaster Channel 4 contributes £992 million ($1.36 billion) to the economy and supports 10,600 jobs, a new report has found.


UK: Delivering the future of interactive and personalised media at scale with partners (Blog)

BBC: We are delighted to announce the start of a new five-year Prosperity Partnership with the universities of Surrey and Lancaster to develop and trial new ways to create and deliver object-based media at scale.


REGIONAL: Populists are threatening Europe’s independent public broadcasters (Paywall)

The Economist: If you can’t take them over, defund them.

ARGENTINA: #BarbijosEnLaTV: journalists joined with the use of face masks on the air (Spanish)

Pagina 12: Public television started its broadcast this Monday with a clear message: the chinstrap or mask must be used at all times and under any circumstance that is shared with other people to avoid the spread of the new coronavirus. ” Today you see us with a different aspect … We decided from the company, on Public Television, to use the chinstrap at all times,” said Alejandro Puertas, host of the morning newscast when starting the program with the mask on.


ARGENTINA: The public media will promote guidelines for the responsible treatment of disability (Spanish)

Télam: The protocol was presented to the authorities of the various public media in the country and is part of the International Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, which in Argentina has had constitutional status since 2014.


BRAZIL: CPJ joins open letter calling on Brazilian Congressional leaders to protect press freedom

CPJ: The Committee to Protect Journalists today joined seven Brazilian and international press freedom organizations in publishing an open letter addressed to Rodrigo Pacheco, president of Brazil’s Federal Senate, and Arthur Lira, president of the Chamber of Deputies, calling on Congressional leaders to protect press freedom and journalist safety in the country.


BRAZIL: EBC and Eletrobras are included in the privatization program (Portuguese)

Radioagência Nacional: EBC, Empresa Brasil de Comunicação, and Eletrobras were included in the federal government’s privatization program. The decrees signed by President Jair Bolsonaro were published this Friday in the Federal Official Gazette.


COLOMBIA: Colombian Supreme Court confirms defamation conviction of journalist Vicky Dávila, RCN

CPJ: In response to a recent decision by the Labor Cassation Chamber of the Colombian Supreme Court confirming the defamation conviction of journalist Vicky Dávila Hoyos and media outlet RCN, the Committee to Protect Journalists issued the following statement…


COLOMBIA: RTVC and the Universidad de los Andes join forces to promote creative spaces (Spanish – press release)

RTVC: This Thursday in the run-up to the presentation of the second installment of the ‘Greater Word’ series of our Memory Signal Archive, we signed an agreement with the University of the Andes with the aim of achieving the construction of spaces for research , creation of knowledge and joint activities.


CUBA & US: USAGM Pick to Lead Cuba Broadcasting Draws Criticism from Senator

VOA: The appointment of an award-winning journalist to lead the Office of Cuba Broadcasting was criticized this week by a U.S. lawmaker who suggested she does not have a strong enough track record of promoting liberty for Cuban citizens. 


JAMAICA: RJR/GLEANER Communications Group sells its Music 99 radio station

Jamaica Observer: RJR/Gleaner Communications Group has sold its Music 99 radio station to a St Lucian registered media company, Caribbean Global Network Incorporated.


MEXICO: AMLO renews attack on journalist with a history lesson to show media can’t be trusted

Mexico News Daily: President recalls a 2005 arrest police restaged a day later with the news media.


NICARAGUA: Nicaragua’s press freedom crisis deepens

IPI: Three years after outbreak of protests, journalists face environment of harassment and fear.

JORDAN: What’s wrong with Jordanian media? (Opinion)

Open Democracy: Lack of home coverage of the royal family’s biggest public rift in decades reveals the dire state of access to information in the kingdom.


TURKEY: Press in Arrest: 41 journalists behind bars in Turkey

Bianet: The Press in Arrest initiative has released its March 2021 Press Freedom Report: “In March, journalists in Turkey once again spent much of their time at courthouses. During the month, at least 79 journalists appeared before a judge.”


TURKEY: Turkey uses terrorism law to silence journalists: RSF

Stockholm Centre for Freedom: Journalists are threatened with imprisonment by Turkish authorities under the country’s terrorism law, known as the TMK, Reporters Without Borders (RSF) said in a statement issued on Friday.


YEMEN: Yemeni journalists call for release of colleagues held by Houthi rebels

The Guardian: Four journalists face death penalty after being charged with spying and ‘collaborating with the enemy’.


REGIONAL: Silencing dissent in MENA: How authorities are targeting exiles, journalists and prisoners of conscience

IFEX: Egypt targets its critics abroad. New moves to hold Saudi Arabia accountable for its human rights record. Heightened calls for the release of Bahrain’s prisoners of conscience. Authorities in Morocco charge critical journalists with sex crimes. Silencing coverage of a royal rift in Jordan.


REGIONAL: “The pandemic created a real need for us to support parents with educational programming”

Digital Studio: Digital Studio spoke to Natasha Husain, senior vice president MENA at BBC Studios, to discover how the broadcaster is looking to consolidate its footprint in the Middle East through a series of new programming initiatives.

CANADA: CBC Radio team wins new CJF Award for Climate Solutions Reporting

Via Cision: The team of journalists behind the CBC Radio series What on Earth is the recipient of the new CJF Award for Climate Solutions Reporting. This Canadian Journalism Foundation (CJF) award celebrates a working journalist or team of journalists whose work shines a spotlight on climate change and innovative solutions in Canadian print, broadcast or online news reporting.


CANADA: CJF-CBC Indigenous Journalism Fellowships Announced

Via Cision: Riley Yesno and Shayla Sayer-Brabant are the recipients of this year’s CJF-CBC Indigenous Journalism Fellowships, established to encourage Indigenous voices and a better understanding of Indigenous issues.


CANADA: Exploring social audio with Clubhouse (Blog) 

CBC/Radio-Canada: Colleagues Chloé Sondervorst, Christophe Cluzel and Meagan Campbell delve into the app and the potential of social audio for the public broadcaster.


US: Blinken Affirms Independence of VOA, Discusses Threats to Reporting in Russia

VOA: U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken has stressed his commitment to the editorial independence of Voice of America and other foreign news outlets overseen by the U.S. Agency for Global Media.


US: By expanding newsrooms, Report for America is giving stations an edge in fundraising (Paywall)

Current: Stations working with Report for America have boosted their fundraising and reporting staffs by leveraging their partnership with the nonprofit initiative funding the hiring of journalists in newsrooms across the country.


US: College Radio Felt Pandemic Effects Too

Radio World: For students, tips and lessons from an unprecedented year.


US: CPB Funds COVID-19 PSAs for Tribal and HBCU Public Radio Stations (Press release)

CPB: The Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB) has awarded more than $300,000 to Native Public Media and to KTSU-FM, a public radio station licensed to a Historically Black College and University (HBCU), to coordinate COVID-19 public outreach campaigns to 51 public radio stations serving Native and Black communities. The campaigns, airing on 36 tribal stations and 15 stations licensed to HBCUs, will provide trusted, life-saving information to populations that have been disproportionately affected by the pandemic.


US: Creating Media to Meet the Information Needs of Children (Opinion)

Nieman Reports: In developing an audience of kids and their families, media organizations are building partners for the future.


US: Does the mainstream media need to bring back the ombudsman to restore credibility and trust?

Poynter: Eight former ombudsmen weigh in with their thoughts on the current state of journalism and the role of ombudsmen in the era of online journalism.


US: Some local reporters were barred from a news conference after Daunte Wright’s death

The New York Times: Reporters from multiple local organizations were denied entry to a news conference on Monday about the shooting of Daunte Wright, whose death at the hands of a police officer in Minnesota has set off protests.


US: The Women of NPR, When NPR Was a Start-Up (Book review) 

The New York Times

Curbs on press freedom can actually cause a drop in GDP, new research reveals

Scroll: There is strong evidence to prove that press freedom, along with better education, is a key to improving economic performance.


How Newsrooms, Journalists, and Their Peers Can Combat Online Violence (Opinion)

Nieman Reports: A culture shift is needed in the media industry to take online violence as seriously as physical violence.


NewsSpectrum Fellowship for minority-language media opens first call for applications (Opportunity)

IPI: The International Press Institute (IPI) and MIDAS announce today, April 12, the first call for applications for the NewsSpectrum Fellowship.The fellowship is open to journalists and other media professionals working for minority-language media in the EU (including Roma and migrant languages) and aims to encourage working partnerships between minority- and majority-language news outlets.


Reimagining public value with the BBC (Event)

UCL: The BBC is a public broadcasting institution that creates huge public value, but how can public value be measured? A recent IIPP report argues that the answer to this question requires new ways to think about governance and evaluation. In this webinar, Clare Sumner, Director of Policy at the BBC and Mariana Mazzucato, founding Director of IIPP, will discuss the dynamic new ways the BBC can look at its value as a market creator.


The climate emergency is here. The media needs to act like it

The Guardian: Ahead of Earth Day, the Guardian is partnering with newsrooms around the world in a joint initiative calling on journalists to treat the climate crisis like the emergency it is.


“The most dangerous field for journalists ever” (German – Interview)

Deutschlandfunk: The Maltese Daphne Caruana Galizia, the Slovak Jan Kuciak – and now the Greek Giorgios Karaivaz. Another investigative journalist was murdered in the middle of Europe. The cases have some things in common, said Juliane Matthey of Reporters Without Borders on Deutschlandfunk.


UNESCO-Oxford’s MOOC on international standards on freedom of expression and the safety of journalists (Opportunity)

UNESCO: UNESCO is pleased to inform the Office of the President of the African Court  on Human and People’s Rights that in cooperation with the Bonavero Institute of Human Rights of the University of Oxford, UNESCO will soon be launching a global Massive Open Online Course on international standards on freedom of expression for judicial actors.


What′s journalism without women journalists? (Opinion)

Deutsche Welle: Women journalists around the world are exposed to hate and incitement on the Internet, ultimately threatening independent journalism and causing self-censorship, writes Silvia Chocarro, chair of ARTICLE 19, in her op-ed.


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