Nigeria journalists obstructed on World Press Freedom Day
On World Press Freedom Day last week, Nigeria’s Information Minister, Labaran Maku, publicly asserted that the country’s media “is one of the freest in the universe.” On paper, Nigeria’s 1999 Constitution guarantees the freedom of the press to “uphold…the responsibility and accountability of the government to the people.” But seven journalists who attempted to put…
In DRC, journalists detained without charge for two days
New York, May 11, 2012–Authorities in the Democratic Republic of Congo must immediately release two journalists who have been detained without charge since Wednesday over their story criticizing a government official, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.
Should J-School grads just get up and go overseas?
The guidance is hardly clear. At a Columbia University event last week pegged to the release of the new CPJ Journalist Security Guide, one journalism student said he and his classmates are getting contradictory advice. Many J-school professors, he said, have encouraged him and others to just get up, go overseas, and try to make…
Journalist in western Kenya faces death threats
New York, May 10, 2012–Kenyan authorities must immediately investigate recent death threats against a Kenyan journalist, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. Local businessman Armstrong Pino allegedly threatened Joel Eshikumo, a reporter for the Weekly Citizen and a political columnist for the weekly Western Times, in public on Saturday over photographs the journalist had…
In Ethiopia, new printing directive equals pre-censorship
New York, May 9, 2012–Ethiopia’s main, state-owned printing company has directed newspaper publishers to censor any content that may draw government prosecution under the country’s anti-terrorism law or face cancellation of their printing contracts, according to local journalists and news reports.
China’s media footprint in Kenya
Will China’s quickly expanding media presence in Africa result in a fresh, alternative, and balanced perspective on the continent–much as Al-Jazeera altered the broadcast landscape with the launch of its English service in 2006–or will it be essentially an exercise in propaganda?
Equatorial Guinea bars reporter from press freedom debate
To commemorate World Press Freedom Day on May 3, CPJ published a list of the 10 most censored countries, citing Equatorial Guinea as the fifth worst offender. In response, the Minister of Information and government spokesperson, Jerónimo Osa Osa Ecoro, dismissed the analysis of the country’s press situation as biased.”We are going to communicate with…
Ethiopian paper fined for coverage of Eskinder Nega trial
New York, May 4, 2012–An Ethiopian court has cited the editor of a leading independent newspaper for contempt after his paper published the verbatim courtroom statement made by the imprisoned journalist Eskinder Nega during his trial, according to news reports. The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns the ruling, which illustrates the growing severity of censorship…
Gunmen kill Somali journalist in Puntland
New York, May 3, 2012–Two unidentified men shot and killed Somali journalist Farhan Jeemis Abdulle on Wednesday evening as he walked home from work in Galkayo, a town in the semi-autonomous region of Puntland, according to news reports. Local journalists told CPJ that Abdulle, a producer and host at the private Radio Daljir, would often sleep at…