Nigerian broadcast regulator closes down radio station
New York, March 4, 2013–The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns a decision by Nigeria’s media regulatory body to shut down a radio station in connection with a broadcast that questioned the local government’s motives in an anti-polio vaccination program.
Zimbabwean police seize radios in run-up to elections
Nairobi, February 28, 2013–Zimbabwean authorities’ seizure of hand-cranked and solar-powered radios distributed by nongovernmental organizations prevents local citizens from accessing diverse sources of information in the run-up to the country’s general elections in July, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.
Turkmenistan opens up media–in name only
Turkmenistan is trying to burnish its image by passing its first law on press freedom. On January 4th, President Gurbanguly Berdymukhamedov signed a law that bans press censorship, bars the government from monopolizing news outlets, and grants the public access to all forms of information, including independent and foreign reporting. Unfortunately, reform appears to be…
As Kenya votes, journalists must take precautions
Election-related violence is a worry for journalists in many countries, but perhaps nowhere more so than Kenya, where presidential polls will be held March 4. In the aftermath of the nation’s last presidential elections in 2007, over one thousand people were killed in ethnic and political violence, live news broadcasts were banned, and the press…