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…
Aryeh Neier, United States
2010 CPJ Burton Benjamin Memorial Award OSI CPJ will honor Aryeh Neier with the Burton Benjamin Memorial Award given for a lifetime of distinguished achievement in the cause of press freedom. Neier is a pillar of the U.S. and international human rights community. He spent 15 years with the American Civil Liberties Union, including eight…
Ecuador, facing police revolt, censors news coverage
New York, October 1, 2010–As a police rebellion threw Ecuador into chaos on Thursday, the government of President Rafael Correa ordered local radio and TV stations to interrupt programming and carry state news broadcasts. A dozen reporters were injured covering the police revolt. Today, the Committee to Protect Journalists condemned the government’s censorship of broadcast…
Ugandan station still closed, an ill omen for election
More than a year has passed since the government-influenced Broadcasting Council summarily closed the popular Central Broadcasting Service, or CBS. The council closed the station in September 2009 as riots were erupting in response to the government’s decision to block the traditional Buganda king from attending a youth celebration north of the capital, Kampala. Its…
In U.S., dangerous misconceptions from TSA poster
Back in 2004, Iraqi gunmen loyal to the radical Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr abducted U.S. freelance photographer Paul Taggert because, as they later told The Associated Press, they thought he was a spy. Now, a new poster from the U.S. Transportation Security Administration reinforces dangerous misconceptions by depicting a photographer as a terrorist.
Cleric’s threat forces Seattle cartoonist into hiding
Molly Norris, a political cartoonist for Seattle Weekly, went into hiding in September 2010 because of threats made after her tongue-in-cheek call for an “Everybody Draw Muhammad Day,” according to Seattle Weekly. The call was included in a cartoon Norris drew to protest a decision by the cable television network Comedy Central not to broadcast…
U.S. proposals undermine secure, uncensored Internet
UPDATE, OCTOBER 22, 2010: CPJ’s board of directors sets policy for the organization. At the October 18 meeting of the board, directors discussed the Combating Online Infringement and Counterfeits Act, known as COICA. The September 30 blog post below incorrectly stated that CPJ had “joined with other press freedom and civil liberty organizations and the…