While the Somali government elected in 2012 attempted to gain more control and improve security, attacks on journalists continued. At least five reporters were attacked by militia groups loosely connected to the government, according to news reports. CPJ documented four journalists killed in direct relation to their work in Somalia, an improvement from 2012, which…
Dubbed “the world’s last absolute monarchy,” the tiny, land-locked country teetered on the brink of bankruptcy while King Mswati III maintained tight control of news media and opposition voices. The king owned one of the two daily newspapers and employed the editor of the other as an adviser. Radio and television were also controlled by…
As public dissent grew in the lead-up to the 2015 presidential and parliamentary elections, attacks and threats against journalists rose. Police were believed to be the perpetrators in nearly a third of the cases. Unidentified assailants brutally attacked a veteran journalist in March, but authorities had not identified the motive, attackers, or mastermind in late…
Though attacks against the press diminished compared with recent years, authorities continued to crack down on journalists for critical coverage. Police were accused of being the perpetrators in a third of the assaults on journalists. The government instigated the longest arbitrary suspension of the press in recent years after police raided two dailies, The Monitor…
Promises of a freer media environment by the Patriotic Front, which won election in 2011 after a campaign that pledged greater broadcast media freedom and a law promoting access to information, had yet to be fulfilled by late 2013. Journalists operated cautiously lest they fell afoul of thin-skinned authorities, and staff members at state-owned publications…
Though general elections in July took place in a significantly more peaceful atmosphere than the 2008 vote, the news media remained dominated by state-owned outlets. Journalists and human rights defenders were frequent targets of physical attacks and brief detentions in the months leading up to the election, which renewed the 33-year grip on power of…
Front-line reports and analytical essays by CPJ experts cover an array of topics of critical importance to journalists. Governments store transactional data and the content of journalists’ communications. Media and money engage in a tug of war, with media owners reluctant to draw China’s disfavor and advertisers able to wield surprising clout. In Syria, journalists…
The Brazilian government’s concern for the safety of an American journalist stands in contrast to a dismal performance protecting its own reporters. By Carlos Lauría Demonstrators clash with riot policemen during a protest in Rio de Janeiro’s on June 17, 2013, against the billions of dollars spent preparing for soccer’s World Cup and against an…
The inability to solve journalist murders in Arauca feeds an atmosphere of hostility and intimidation for the media there. By John Otis Gen. Rodolfo Palomino, Colombian police chief, writes a message for a campaign supporting FARC demobilization in Tame, Arauca province, on September 18, 2013. (Reuters/Jose Miguel Gomez)