February 2012 Archives

On February 21, CPJ launched its Attacks on the Press report, a comprehensive survey of press freedom around the world.  This year's report analyzed developments in over 100 countries and brought CPJ notable press coverage worldwide, in more than 10 different languages.

Executive Director, Joel Simon, on BBC World Have Your Say, a post on Information Wars in the Huffington Post, coverage in El Pais, Radio Free Europe and Voice of America to name a few.

In Somali, the crackdown on press freedom continues.  To escape the threat of death and imprisonment, Somali journalists are moving into neighboring African countries like Kenya.  This month, United Press International (UPI) speaks to CPJ's East Africa Consultant, Tom Rhodes, in exploring the lives of exiled Somali journalists in Kenya and the challenges they face in this new country.

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On February 21 CPJ released it's annual Attack on the Press report providing detailed information on the 46 journalists killed, and 179 imprisoned in 2011. Globally, last year brought a sharp increase in imprisonment and the coverage of uprisings and conflict proved deadly for journalists, a fact no better underscored than the recent deaths of Marie Colvin and Remi Ochlik in Syria this week. The Village Voice has a great write up of the report.

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In search of the truth in Syria, foreign correspondents face unprecedented restrictions and are often left with choice of sneaking into the country using dangerous overland smuggling routes, or not going at all. Violence in the country has already claimed 4 journalists, and the difficult journey itself led to the death of Anthony Shadid, who succumbed to an asthma attack while on the road to Turkey. Despite the risks, scores of journalists are working to gain access to Syria's war zones in order to bring accurate news to the outside world.

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Tim Hancock, of Amnesty International UK, rises to lend perspective on the on-going Leveson inquiry reminding the world that a free press is vital for far more than coverage of celebrity gossip. Citing CPJ figures he notes that in 2011 one third of all journalists killed occurred during coverage of the  Arab Spring, and that over the past decades journalism has become increasingly dangerous. While the inquiry casts a shadow on some publications and individuals, journalism is redeemed by those exceptional individuals who face constant and increasing danger to bring back the news.

When high profile murders take place in Pakistan it is routine to include police and government forces along with criminals and ne'er-do-wells. This is the stark reality of the simmering and often bloody terrorist war in Balochistan. The Economist explains how a long standing secessionist movement and rampant corruption make Pakistan a dangerous place in general, but especially for journalists.