Derakhshan case: When keeping quiet does not work
The severity of the nearly 20-year jail sentence handed down to veteran Iranian blogger Hossein Derakhshan, left, has shocked many exiled Iranian journalists and bloggers with whom I’ve spoken. It’s also reinforced their belief that the best way to help jailed colleagues is not through quiet diplomacy but by making a lot of noise.
For Pakistani journalists, flood coverage poses challenges
As most of the nation lay paralyzed and submerged in flood water, Pakistani journalists traveled in four-wheel drives and rickety boats to bring tidings from some of the hardest hit areas of the country. The Pakistani Federal Union of Journalists (PFUJ) compiled a list of journalists directly affected by the flood, many of whom had…
Internet blotter
The International Telecommunications Union starts its plenipotentiary meeting this week. Some worry that some nations will use their position at the ITU to attempt to grab more control over how the Internet works. RSF covers the Burmese DDOS attacks. I’ve heard some really fascinating detective work on the real origins of these attacks – hope…
WordPress: Helping journalists under cyber-attack
Blog hosting site Wordpress.com have just announced a great new feature which is also a simple way that hosting companies can help journalists under attack online. The blogging hosting site now lets you automatically redirect your old Wordpress web address to wherever you move to when you switch blog hosting services. When your readers come…
CPJ to honor brave international journalists
Writers and editors from Ethiopia, Russia, Venezuela, and Iran to receive International Press Freedom Awards. Aryeh Neier to be honored with Burton Benjamin Award. New York, October 5, 2010–The Committee to Protect Journalists will honor four courageous journalists with its 2010 International Press Freedom Awards at a ceremony in November. Dawit Kebede of Ethiopia, Nadira…
Mohammad Davari, Iran
2010 CPJ International Press Freedom Awardee RAHANA Davari, 36, editor-in-chief of the news website Saham News, exposed horrific abuse at the Kahrizak Detention Center, videotaping statements from detainees who said they had been raped, abused, and tortured. The center was closed in July 2009 amid public uproar, but by September of that year the coverage…
Nadira Isayeva, Russia
2010 CPJ International Press Freedom Awardee CPJ/Rodney Lamkey Jr. Isayeva, 31, has incurred the wrath of security services in Russia’s volatile North Caucasus for her relentless reporting on their handling of violence and militant Islam in the region. As editor-in-chief of the independent weekly Chernovik (Rough Draft) in the southern republic of Dagestan, she has…
Dawit Kebede, Ethiopia
2010 CPJ International Press Freedom Awardee CPJ/Rodney Lamkey Jr. Kebede, 30, was one of the first journalists to be jailed for independent reporting on Ethiopia’s 2005 election violence. And he was among the last to be released under a presidential pardon nearly two years later. Unlike many of his colleagues who went into exile, Kebede…
Laureano Márquez, Venezuela
2010 CPJ International Press Freedom Awardee CPJ/Rodney Lamkey Jr. If there were an Algonquin Round Table in Caracas, Laureano Márquez would have a seat. Journalist, author, actor, and humorist, Márquez has found rich fodder in Venezuela’s idiosyncratic political landscape. He is the scourge of left-wing President Hugo Chávez and other politicians for his biting columns…