1,000 deaths: Journalists who gave their lives
When Mick Deane was killed in Egypt on Wednesday, he became the 1,000th journalist documented by CPJ as having died in direct relation to his work. The photos above, a sampling of those who have died over the past 21 years, serve as a powerful reminder of the cost of critical, independent journalism.
Q&A: Nadia Sharmeen on journalists in Bangladesh
Nadia Sharmeen was attacked when she tried to cover a protest in April. (Ekushey TV)It has been a turbulent year for journalists in Bangladesh. It began with blogger Asif Mohiuddin being stabbed in January as he left his office in Dhaka. The following month, blogger Ahmed Rajib Haider was killed for his writing. Four other…
Despite official repression, Sri Lanka media report attack
Details are emerging of Sri Lanka’s effort to control media coverage of an ugly attack on demonstrators by security forces last week. In Rathupaswala village in the town of Weliweriya, outside Colombo, on August 1, soldiers beat and fired on people protesting what they feared was contamination of their drinking water by a nearby factory.…
Mexico’s special prosecutor hesitates over early cases
Organized crime capos and corrupt politicians have been getting away with murdering journalists in Mexico for so long that there isn’t a reliable count on the number of the dead or a useful way to measure the crushing effects on a democracy when a country’s press is afraid to tell the truth. CPJ research shows…
New Zealand accesses journalist’s records, movements
Following reports earlier this week that New Zealand, with help from U.S. intelligence, may have spied on one of its journalists, Wellington is under fire for tracking the phone records and movement of another journalist. Ironically, this journalist came under surveillance after writing about potentially illegal government surveillance.
SABC keeps lid on ‘Project Spear’ documentary
The South African Broadcasting Corporation is in the news for not airing a politically sensitive documentary that details allegations of apartheid-era theft of public funds. The public broadcaster, which had commissioned the film, has also refused to sell the rights back to the filmmaker and has filed a lawsuit demanding she turn over her raw…
Filmmaker’s arrest signals limits to Uganda coverage
Taylor Krauss, an American journalist, freelance filmmaker, and founder of the testimonial website Voices of Rwanda, traveled to Uganda roughly two weeks ago to conduct some filming in hopes of pitching footage later to various media outlets. Krauss is no stranger to the region; he has been traveling back and forth to the country for…
Groups call for EU action against mass surveillance
Recent revelations of American and British mass surveillance of digital communications have triggered an intense mobilization of European free speech and civil liberties organizations, which have launched an online petition calling on leaders of the European Union to halt the practice. The #dontspyonme campaign was presented by Index on Censorship, an independent, British, free speech…