Rebel group releases kidnapped Colombian journalist
Colombian journalist Élida Parra Alonso, who was kidnapped on July 24, 2012, by a local guerrilla group in the northeastern state of Arauca, was released on August 13, 2012, according to news reports. Parra hosts a program for Sarare Estéreo radio station and does community outreach work for Oleoducto Bicentenario, a company constructing an oil…
Panamanian daily’s offices blockaded after critical reports
About 30 trucks from Transcaribe Trading (TCT), a local construction company in Panama City, surrounded the offices of the daily La Prensa on August 2, 2012, from around 10 p.m. until 1:30 a.m., preventing the paper’s trucks and employees from leaving the premises, according to news reports. TCT workers told local journalists that they were…
What to do if you are detained or arrested at conventions
As a follow-up to my previous “What to know about covering the conventions,” the National Press Photographers Association (NPPA) has been working with a number of organizations in order to provide support for journalists covering the U.S. national political conventions in Tampa, Fla., and Charlotte, N.C., this month and next. Some things for those journalists…
US pursues return of Palestinian TV station’s equipment
For more than five months, the Ramallah-based private television broadcaster Wattan TV has been without key equipment, including transmitters, computers, files, and archives. On February 29, Israeli soldiers and officials from the Ministry of Communications raided the station without a warrant, saying it was broadcasting illegally and interfering with aircraft transmissions.
Weak cyber protections lead to personal, institutional risk
The Syrian civil war is also a propaganda war. With the Assad regime and the rebels both attempting to assure their supporters and the world that they are on the brink of victory, how the facts are reported has become central to the struggle. Hackers working in support of Assad loyalists this week decided to…
Journalist’s house attacked by gunmen in Honduras
New York, August 6, 2012–Authorities in Honduras must immediately investigate the attack on the house of a radio journalist in the state of Yoro, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. José Encarnación Chinchilla López, a reporter for Radio Cadena Voces in the city of El Progreso, told reporters that he was certain he was…
Arrest of NYT photographer must be investigated
New York, August 6, 2012–The Committee to Protect Journalists is concerned by the arrest and alleged beating of a New York Times photographer while he was on assignment Saturday evening in New York City. “The report by The New York Times on the arrest of its photographer, Robert Stolarik, raises questions about police tactics of…
Mexico’s El Norte attacked for the third time this month
New York, July 30, 2012–Mexican authorities must immediately investigate an arson attack on the offices of a supplement owned by the daily El Norte, the third attack on an El Norte publication this month, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.
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…