Features & Analysis

  
The EU flag hangs in the European Parliament in Strasbourg. A series of votes on legislation could impact journalists in member states. (AFP/Patrick Hertzog)

EU rulings on whistleblowers and right-to-be-forgotten laws puts press freedom at risk

European journalists were reminded today that their freedom to report is not only determined by national laws, but increasingly by European institutions. Today, after years of political battle, the European Parliament adopted the Passenger Name Record directive, the Data Protection Package, and the Trade Secrets Protection Act. The stakes were immense and the debates long…

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Kidnapping for profit or propaganda: How hostage risk for journalists is on the rise

From Central America to North Africa, kidnappings are on the rise and journalists are among the groups at risk of being abducted. Adding to the challenges of dealing with a hostage situation is a lack of solid information about kidnappings worldwide, or a united international response in dealing with the demands of kidnap groups.

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German television satirist Jan Böhmermann poses on set in an October 13, 2013, file photo (Spiegl Ullstein Bild/Getty).

Turkey Crackdown Chronicle: Week of April 10

Merkel approves prosecution of German comic for insulting Erdoğan German Chancellor Angela Merkel today told reporters the German government would allow prosecutors to act on Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s request that television satirist Jan Böhmermann be prosecuted for a profane poem about Erdoğan he read on the March 31 episode of his television program.

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Foreign press in China face fewer visa delays but obstacles remain, FCCC finds

The results of the Foreign Correspondents’ Club of China’s annual survey, released at the end of March, are a mixed bag. While problems raised in previous surveys, such as renewing visas, have eased, the responses show challenges remain for the international press.

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Turkish President Recip Tayyip Erdoğan in Cannakale, Turkey, March 18, 2016 (Photo: Khayan Ozer/Presidential Press Service/AP)

Turkey Crackdown Chronicle: Week of April 3

Trial of 46 journalists, media workers resumes The trial of 46 journalists and media workers arrested in December 2011 resumed in Istanbul today. CPJ attended the trial as an observer.

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Forensics experts investigate the site of the Lahore suicide bombing. The Pakistani Taliban claimed responsibility and warned the media could be next. (AFP/Arif Ali)

In Pakistan, continued risk of violence means press takes every threat seriously

“Everyone will get their turn in this war, especially the slave Pakistani media,” warned Ehsanullah Ehsan, spokesman for the Pakistani Taliban on Twitter this week. “We are just waiting for the appropriate time.”

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Can Dündar (right) and Erdem Gül speak to reporters before their trial resumes in Istanbul, April 1, 2016. (Özgür Öğret)

Turkey Crackdown Chronicle: Week of March 27

Erdoğan, in Washington, says not at war with press; bodyguards insult, harass journalists Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, visiting Washington, on Thursday told the American television station CNN that he and his government were “not at war with the press,” in remarks broadcast after his security detail harassed, insulted, and attempted to forcibly eject critical…

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Participants at a RightsCon session in 2015. The annual conference, being held in San Francisco this week, focuses on human rights and technology. (Access Now/Kiri Delena)

How RightsCon brings press freedom, technology and social change together

This week in San Francisco, CPJ’s Technology and Advocacy teams will participate in RightsCon 2016, an annual conference focusing on human rights and technology. Organized by digital rights group Access Now, RightsCon is one of the most important regular gatherings on technology policy, and the conference has been the site of effective discussions around issues…

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Artwork at Twitter's Santa Monica office. Teams managing shared Twitter accounts can still make use of the site's two-factor authentication protection. (AFP/Jonathan Alcorn)

Three simple steps to protect shared Twitter accounts from hackers

In my previous blog post I reviewed the results of a poll asking journalists if they used two-factor authentication to protect Twitter accounts from being hacked. But the importance of robust security isn’t limited to personal Twitter accounts.

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The control room of Venezuelan station Globovisión. Since congressional elections in December, the news outlet has taken a tougher stance in its coverage. (AFP/Miguel Gutierrez)

After Venezuelan elections, Globovisión shows more defiant stance

When Venezuela’s opposition broke the ruling party’s 17-year stranglehold on power by winning control of congress in December, the political earthquake created editorial aftershocks at the 24-hour news station Globovisión.

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