2012
Ethiopians still looking for answers on Meles
Since I published a blog last week on the lack of information about the health and whereabouts of Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi, readers have deluged it with comments (over 175 as of today), reflecting the pent-up interest in the premier’s status and deeply divided views of his leadership.
Time to reassess U.S. military counterinsurgency tactics
One year ago, on July 28, 2011, Ahmad Omaid Khpalwak, 25, was killed by American troops during a brutal close-quarters battle with a Taliban suicide squad backed by gunmen. Khpalwak was one of 22 people killed in the hours-long siege on government buildings that included the governor’s office and police headquarters in Tarin Kot, capital…
Viewing the London Olympics coverage from China
Chinese propaganda officials must be thrilled that they’re not responsible for the Olympics coverage in the British papers. Back during the Beijing Games, they worked hard to censor unrest and dissatisfaction in the domestic media. Reports of China’s press freedom and human rights abuses were blocked, the kind of information control idiomatically referred to as…
Stressed out: How should newsrooms handle trauma?
The rampage inside a Colorado movie theater that killed 12 people and injured dozens more is the most recent reminder that a journalist anywhere can face sudden, great emotional stress. Any story involving tragedy–from domestic violence to natural disasters–can inflict an emotional toll on field journalists. The very empathy that makes a journalist a good…
Reporting truth a high-risk profession
CPJ Deputy Director, Rob Mahoney, testified before the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission in Washington on worldwide attacks against press freedom this week. His testimony, which highlighted press freedom violations in Honduras, Russia, and Turkey, also addressed the increasing number of local journalists targeted for their reporting.The Epoch Times reports on Mahoney’s testimony and the testimonies of other…
For journalists, danger lurking in your email
This week, Morgan Marquis-Boire and Bill Marczak of the University of Toronto’s Citizen Lab provided a disturbing look into the likely use of a commercial surveillance program, FinFisher, to remotely invade and control the computers of Bahraini activists. After the software installs itself onto unsuspecting users’ computer, it can record and relay emails, screenshots, and…
Propaganda officials miss the boat on ‘China’s Katrina’
Chinese journalists are questioning government propaganda due to conflicting reports of the death toll following Saturday’s devastating flooding in Beijing. Like the Wenzhou train crash and the Sichuan earthquake, the tragedy has galvanized mainstream and online journalists–and the official narrative is crumbling under their scrutiny.
Unknown men abduct radio journalist in Colombia
New York, July 26, 2012–The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns the kidnapping of a Colombian journalist and calls on authorities to secure her safe return. Élida Parra Alonso, who covers children’s rights and hosts a program for Sarare Estéreo radio station, was abducted from her home on Tuesday, according to news reports.