A bad weekend for Malawian journalists
No media outlet critical of President Bingu Wa Mutharika or the ruling Democratic Progressive Party was spared by the government this past weekend — whether print, broadcast, or online. The broadside included a public campaign to discredit the media as well as threats of fines and arrests of critical journalists.
From Small World, timely advice on safe satphone use
Journalists and technologists often speak different languages. But a Portland, Oregon-based nonprofit, Small World News, is bridging the gap with a new guide on the safe use of satellite phones. It comes at a critical time. The group’s Guide to Safely Using Satphones just went online, less than three weeks after the deaths of international…
Mexican senators say journalist murders to be federal crime
With near impunity in the murders of journalists a persistent reason for the terror and self-censorship among Mexican news organizations, legislators say the national Senate is on the verge of passing a constitutional amendment that would allow federal authorities to take over cases of crimes against freedom of expression. Passage would mean that the typically…
The hazards of reporting all sides of the Lamu port story
Freelance photographer Abdalla Bargash had accompanied Kenya’s permanent secretary for transport, Cyrus Njiru, to cover a meeting with Lamu community members over the newly constructed Lamu port. The Kililana Farmers’ Association are concerned that the major construction on the once-sleepy island of Lamu off Kenya’s coast could encroach on their farmland.
Will China’s new detention law matter? Ask Zhang Mingyu
“Zhang Mingyu isn’t out of danger yet.” These words, posted at 7:37 p.m. Wednesday on the Sina Weibo account of Chongqing property developer Zhang Mingyu after his detention by police, mark the latest twist in a story of political intrigue leading up to this week’s legislative meetings in Beijing. As required by China’s hardworking censorship…
Solidarity in Sinaloa: Journalists, others address crisis
A unified front is crucial when facing a crisis in press freedom like that in the violent state of Sinaloa in Mexico, Colombian journalist and CPJ board member María Teresa Ronderos said this week. She was speaking to a packed room of print, radio, and television reporters; members of civil society groups; state legislators; union…
Journalists at work in China: Tibet and Beijing edition
China media analysts are looking to two significant events to shape coverage this month: The anniversary of a failed uprising in Tibet, and the annual meetings of China’s top political bodies, the National People’s Congress and the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference in Beijing. Journalists at work in both areas attracted coverage of their own…
Online news sites as battleground for Mexican drug war
I’m in Culiacán, the capital of the Mexican state of Sinaloa. Part of my work here has been to investigate and highlight the cyber-attacks that the award-winning weekly local newsmagazine Ríodoce has encountered in its coverage of the violent drugs war here. But discussing the experiences of online editors at other publications here has shown…
Egyptian journalists pressured by military, Islamists
For a few weeks after the overthrow of President Hosni Mubarak, it looked as if Egypt might do the unthinkable and do away with the ministry of information. New publications and TV stations sprouted up, newspaper circulation soared, and a new breed of citizen journalists and bloggers opened a space for reporting and comment that…