New Zealand, US may have spied on McClatchy reporter
Concern over government surveillance of journalists has washed up on the faraway shores of New Zealand, with a report in the country’s Sunday Star this week asserting that the military there, with help from U.S. intelligence, spied on an investigative journalist who had been critical of its activities in Afghanistan.
Chinese censors silence corruption blogger
Chinese censors have cracked down on blogger Zhu Ruifeng, an apparent signal that there are limits to the government’s tolerance for citizens assisting with the exposure of corrupt officials.On July 16, one day after the Beijing-based blogger and founder of an anti-corruption website published corruption allegations about the chief secretary of Jinjiang city in Fujian province, his…
Obama must urge free press during meeting with Vietnam
Dear President Obama: We are writing to express our concern about the deteriorating press and Internet freedom situation in Vietnam ahead of your Thursday meeting with Vietnamese President Truong Tan Sang. We ask that in your discussions you insist on the progress of freedom of expression-related issues as a precondition for broadening Vietnam’s diplomatic, economic, and strategic relations with the United States.
Afghan journalists in good hands–their own
I’ve been making the rounds of journalists and organizations in Kabul for the last several days. As I mentioned in my last post, I’ve been asked to come up with a support plan for journalists after next year’s presidential elections, the drawdown of international troops, and an expected reduction in international aid.
After Security Council, what next for journalist safety?
Speaking at a U.N. Security Council discussion about the protection of journalists, Associated Press Executive Editor and CPJ Vice Chair Kathleen Carroll remembered the 31 AP journalists who have died reporting the news and whose names grace the Wall of Honor that visitors pass as they enter the agency’s New York headquarters. Most were killed…
Kashmir’s Internet suspension fits pattern of restrictions
Curbing the flow of information during heightened periods of tension has become routine business by authorities in the northern Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir. Access to mobile Internet service was suspended Thursday after violent protests erupted in the state. Although the service was restored late that night, the episode is another example of the…
Decree targets online freedoms in Vietnam
Bangkok, July 22, 2013–A new decree aimed at regulating Internet-related information and services in Vietnam represents a significant new danger to online journalists and bloggers, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. The decree was signed into law on July 15 and will be implemented on September 1, according to news reports.
Surveillance detection for journalists in the field
Much has been made recently about the digital surveillance of journalists–and rightly so–but physical surveillance remains a key tactic of security forces, law enforcement, and private entities. These operatives are monitoring journalists, gathering intelligence on them, and potentially obstructing journalists’ work or putting them at risk.
For Afghan journalists, elections, not troops, are key
I’m in Kabul for several days, making the rounds of journalists’ organizations and media houses. My brief is to see what, if anything, can be done to protect journalists after the withdrawal of NATO troops during and after 2014. But “post-2014” has much different connotations for the Afghans with whom I’ve spoken or been in…