Robert Mugabe’s government continues restrictions of press

Posted by Julie Tomlin on 13 June 2008 at 17:23
Tags: Africa, censorship, press freedom

The Association of Zimbabwe Journalists reports that the media has been ordered by the government not to carry advertisements for the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) .

The Zimbabwean government has also classed all foreign newspapers, magazines and periodicals as luxury goods and imposed 40 per cent import duty. Newspapers from South Africa, which many Zimbabweans rely on for news, would be prohibitively expensive, the Media Institute of South Africa claims.

Women in Cambodia club together

Posted by Julie Tomlin on 13 June 2008 at 16:56
Tags: Asia

With few women working as journalists in Cambodia, one woman is planning to set up a club to encourage and mentor others, The Phnom Penh Post reports.

China’s promises on press freedom -what can journalists expect?

Posted by Julie Tomlin on 13 June 2008 at 16:37
Tags: China, Journalism, censorship, press freedom

A report on China and its media by the Committee to Protect Journalists has been updated in the lead up to the Olympic Games in Beijing.

Called Falling Short and first published in August last year, the report claims that the Chinese authorities have failed to meet promises made to the International Olympic Committee (IOC) in 2001 that it would allow the media complete freedom.

The report includes guidelines for reporters on the ground with advice on sensitive issues and the implications for journalists reporting them.

Journalist shortlisted for human rights award is jailed

Posted by Julie Tomlin on 9 June 2008 at 13:48
Tags: censorship, press freedom

A leading journalist in Yemen has been sentenced to six years in prison just days before he was due to attend Amnesty International’s media awards ceremony in London.

Abdulkarim al-Khaiwani, the former editor of Yemen’s political weekly newspaper Al-Shora, was sentenced to six years imprisonment on Monday after being convicted by the Specialised Criminal Court in a case known as Sana’a Cell Two. (more…)

Afghan journalist to speak to Europe media about his brother’s death sentence

Posted by Julie Tomlin on 10 March 2008 at 18:08
Tags: Afghanistan, Journalism, press freedom

Sayed Yaqub Ibrahimi, the brother of Sayed Perwiz Kambakhsh, the journalist who has been sentenced to death in Afghanistan
for blasphemy is to speak in Paris on 11 March at a Reporters Without Borders event and in Belgium on 12 March at an event organised by Belgian newspaper De Morgan.

Promise of burial ground highlights dangers for Iraqi journalists

Posted by Julie Tomlin on 10 March 2008 at 17:29
Tags: Iraq

The decision by the Najaf governor to grant Iraqi journalists a dedicated piece of land in Dar Al-Salam cemetery has been met with derision by journalists who view it as further proof that the government is powerless to protect them.
Aswat Al-Iraq, an independent news agency quotes Hazim Inaiya from the Institute for War and Peace Reporting: “Iraqi journalists lost almost all their rights, and governmental and non-governmental institutions are supposed to look after journalists.”

Zimbabwean journalist to fight ban

Posted by Julie Tomlin on 7 March 2008 at 17:21
Tags: Zimbabwe, press freedom

A journalist is challenging a year-long work ban imposed on him by the state media commission in Zimbabwe which has remained in force despite recent changes to the media laws.

Lawyers for Brian Hungwe, who has worked with the BBC and SABC, have called on the Media and Information Commission (MIC) to lift the ban because under new rules the body should be replaced by a new nine-member Zimbabwe Media Commission. (more…)

Pressure in Mexico

Posted by Julie Tomlin on 7 March 2008 at 16:36
Tags: Journalism, South America, press freedom

Half of the freelance journalists working in Mexico have been threatened or attacked, while many of them are low paid and do not have a regular income, according to a new report published by The Rory Peck Trust. (more…)

Kidman photographer to appeal

Posted by Julie Tomlin on 28 February 2008 at 16:53
Tags: Australia

Sydney photographer Jamie Fawcett told the Sydney Morning Herald he would appeal against his failed bid for damages against Fairfax Media over claims in one of its papers that he was “Sydney’s most disliked freelance photographer” because of his harassment of actor Nicole Kidman.

Citizen journalism in Mobile-mad India

Posted by Julie Tomlin on 28 February 2008 at 15:10
Tags: Citizen Journalism, India

With more than 241 million mobile phones in India and 7.8 million new ones bought each month, micro and mobile blogging sites are proliferating, writes new media blogger Pramit Singh.

Singh has written three articles on citizen journalism in India on his blog Mediavidea.