Medvedev, endangered sheep, and online controls
Russian President Dmitry Medvedev has tried to create an image apart from his mentor Vladimir Putin. Medvedev claims to support civil liberties, vows to combat corruption, and likes to speak about press freedom. In his first State of the Nation address last fall, Medvedev said the Internet was a guarantor of press freedom in Russia.
The threat of soft censorship
In many countries around the world, what is known as “soft-censorship” has replaced outright repression as the favored means of controlling the media. Governments in these countries use state advertising to reward favorable coverage and punish dissenters. Sometimes they simply pay journalists to tell the story they want told.
Press freedom in the news 1/16/2009
Inter Press News has an article about the continued struggle journalists are facing to report on the conflict in Gaza. The story quotes our letter to Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak criticizing the IDF’s decision to bar journalists from entering Gaza. The article cites CPJ Executive Director Joel Simon who says, “By preventing journalists from…
Police at fault over RNC journalist arrests, report finds
A new report investigating conduct by St. Paul police during last summer’s Republican National Convention faults them over their handling of journalists. But the St. Paul Police Department’s response to the report raises questions over how the department will respond to journalists, including those from alternative and new media outlets, who cover similar future events.
In Kenya, a flawed U.S. comparison to bolster a faulty law
Kenyan President Mwai Kibaki says he will reconsider the deeply flawed communications legislation that he signed into law at the beginning of the year. Kibaki said he would direct the Information Ministry and attorney general to consider the concerns of Kenya’s media and present them to the cabinet for possible legislative revision. CPJ and other…
Monterrey attack a reminder of reporting dangers
The aftermath of the January 6 attack on the Televisa studios in Monterrey, a city that until recently was considered one of the safest in Latin America, has generated great interest locally in how the media is protecting itself. As part of the coverage, headlines in the Mexican media this morning said that journalists reporting for the…
And then they came for Lasantha
Lasantha Wickramatunga was gunned down in his car last week on his way to work. According to colleagues, his attackers used an automatic pistol equipped with a silencer. After they smashed in one of his car windows, they repeatedly shot Lasantha at close range. Somehow he didn’t die on the spot. He died about three…
Journopalooza strikes a chord for CPJ
With an audience of 500 strong, Friday’s Journopalooza was rockin’. Held at the National Press Club, the charity concert benefited CPJ’s journalist assistance fund and the press club’s scholarship and training programs. The lineup featured musicians from The Washington Post, the Los Angeles Times, McClatchy Newspapers, the Washington Independent, and Bloomberg News, playing blues, pop,…
U.N. calls for foreign journalists to enter Gaza
The United Nations has called on Israel to open Gaza to international journalists, a vital step that CPJ sought from the Israelis earlier this week. Yesterday, the U.N.’s chief of communications and public information urged the Israeli government to “ensure immediate access for international media into Gaza.”