Press Freedom News and Views
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How Nigeria’s police used telecom surveillance to lure and arrest journalists
February 13, 2020 12:24 PM ET
As reporters for Nigeria’s Premium Times newspaper, Samuel Ogundipe and Azeezat Adedigba told CPJ they spoke often over the phone. They had no idea that their regular conversations about work and their personal lives were creating a record of their friendship....
CPJ welcomes call for targeted sanctions to protect journalists
February 13, 2020 10:24 AM ET
When the U.K. launched an initiative to support media freedom in the waning days of Jeremy Hunt’s tenure as foreign minister, CPJ was skeptical that this government-led effort would be more than a feel-good campaign. However, we chose to engage, given the current vacuum of leadership on press freedom...
New laws obstruct work of investigative journalists in Puerto Rico
February 11, 2020 2:01 PM ET
In July 2019, anti-government protesters gathered on the streets of Puerto Rico, motivated in part by the work of investigative journalists who had obtained and published over 900 messages exchanged by then Governor Ricardo Rosselló and his allies that disparaged political opponents and the island’s citizens. Before Rosselló gave...
CPJ joins call for Turkish authorities to lift advertising ban on leftist dailies
February 7, 2020 9:51 AM ET
CPJ joined representatives from the International Press Institute, Reporters Without Borders, the Journalists Union of Turkey, and the European Federation of Journalists yesterday in a joint statement calling for Turkey’s Press Ad Agency, the state regulator of government ads in print media, to lift its ban on advertising in...
Pakistan broadcast regulator proposes sweeping control of internet news programs
February 5, 2020 12:00 PM ET
Munizae Jahangir knew she’d be prevented from putting Mohsin Dawar on her nightly “Spotlight” talk show on Aaj TV, an Urdu-language Pakistani station. Dawar, an elected member of the national assembly, is a leading figure of the Pashtun Tahafuz Movement (PTM), which aims to boost the rights of the...
FAC, CPJ ask San Francisco mayor to protect journalist freedoms
January 21, 2020 1:09 PM ET
The Committee to Protect Journalists and the free speech non-profit First Amendment Coalition today sent a letter to San Francisco Mayor London Breed requesting a meeting about steps the city can take to ensure press freedom....
CPJ, 57 news organizations ask Senate to rethink press restrictions during impeachment
January 17, 2020 4:56 PM ET
The Committee to Protect Journalists and at 57 other news organizations yesterday sent a letter to Senate authorities asking them to reconsider press restrictions during the impeachment trial of President Donald Trump....
Lawyer Mishi Choudhury on what India shutdowns ruling means for journalists
January 16, 2020 3:46 PM ET
On January 14, the Jammu and Kashmir administration partially restored mobile internet in a handful of districts, according to news reports. The administration, which is directly controlled by the Indian government, had imposed a complete communication ban in the restive region after withdrawing its special status under the Indian...
In the UK, ‘Megxit’ and Downing Street briefing change put focus on press access
January 14, 2020 5:20 PM ET
Journalists and press associations in the United Kingdom this week debated issues of access and what constitutes “credible media,” as royal correspondents scrutinized the fall out from “Megxit”—the Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s plan to step back from royal duties and the pool system of news coverage—and the Society...
‘I feel like a weight has been lifted’ freelance journalist Santosh Yadav says as Chhattisgarh court ends four-year legal nightmare
January 8, 2020 11:54 AM ET
On January 2, freelance journalist Santosh Yadav got his life back when the National Investigation Agency court in Jagdalpur acquitted him of charges of helping Maoists militants. The ruling marked the end of a legal nightmare that lasted over four years for Yadav, who says that he was threatened...