The Tail of the Dragon
Two intrepid Chinese women–one a naturalized American working as a reporter in New York, the other a former Beijing business writer now serving a six-year sentence in a Chinese jail–have helped define what is at stake for East Asia and the world now that the Hong Kong press is under the formal sway of the…
Burton Benjamin Award – Ted Koppel
The Burton Benjamin Memorial Award honors the late CBS News senior producer and former CPJ chairman who died in 1988. In his 34 years at ABC News, Ted Koppel has upheld the highest principles of professionalism and independence and has been a standard-bearer for press freedom worldwide. Landmark broadcasts from Israel and South Africa…
FREEDOM NERUDA
FREEDOM NERUDA chose his name to symbolize his ideals. Born Teiti Roch D’Assomption in 1956 in the Ivory Coast, he became a teacher after graduation from the University of Abidjan. In 1988 he began his journalism career as a copy editor with the daily Ivoir’ Soir newspaper. Two years later he was an investigative reporter,…
CHRISTINE ANYANWU
CHRISTINE ANYANWU was publisher and editor in chief of the national news weekly The Sunday Magazine when she was arrested on May 31, 1995, because she had published articles reporting that there was no evidence of an alleged plot to overthrow Nigeria’s military regime headed by General Sani Abacha.
YING CHAN and SHIEH CHUNG-LIANG
YING CHAN AND SHIEH CHUNG-LIANG, U.S. correspondent and contributing editor, and Taiwan bureau chief, respectively, of the Hong Kong magazine Yazhou Zhoukan (Asia Week), were the first journalists to point the way toward the role of Taiwan money in the unfolding investigation into Asian influence on U.S. elections. With Chan investigating the U.S. angle and…
Belarus’ Lukashenko Escalates His War On The Media
With his sights set firmly on integration with Russia, President Alexander Lukashenko has intensified his efforts to stifle the independent and opposition media in Belarus. In the days surrounding the April 2 signing in Moscow of the second treaty on integration with Russia in two years, Lukashenko reached new heights, even by his own standards,…
West Africa’s Independent Radio Broadcasters Targeted
Six months after the coup in Niger led by General Ibrahim Mainassara, during the July 1996 national elections, Radio Anfani managing director Gremah Boucar faced down numerous attempts by Mainassara’s military regime to force the station permanently off the air, including a one-month period where soldiers stormed and occupied the Anfani studios. Almost a year…
Taiwan Court Acquits Reporters of Criminal Libel Charges
In a landmark victory for democracy and press freedom, a Taiwan court on April 22 dismissed criminal libel charges against American journalist Ying Chan and Taiwan-based journalist Hsieh Chung-liang. An amicus brief signed by ten prominent United States media companies and the Committee to Protect Journalists on the defendants’ behalf was a strong factor in…