Burmese authorities suspend two news publications
Bangkok, August 1, 2012–Two weekly news publications were suspended indefinitely in Burma on Tuesday, marking a significant reversal of the government’s earlier loosening of media restrictions and pre-publication censorship, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.
South African journalists probed over scandal coverage
Johannesburg, July 30, 2012–South African authorities should immediately drop a criminal investigation against three newspaper journalists who have sought to report details on a multi-billion-dollar arms scandal, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.
Tanzanian authorities ban weekly indefinitely
Nairobi, July 30, 2012–The Tanzanian government today banned indefinitely the critical Swahili-language weekly MwanaHalisi, accusing the paper of publishing seditious articles, according to local journalists and a statement by the information ministry. The ministry claimed that MwanaHalisi’s four July editions contained seditious and false material but did not specify particular articles. Under the 1976 Newspaper Act, Tanzanian…
Ethiopians still looking for answers on Meles
Since I published a blog last week on the lack of information about the health and whereabouts of Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi, readers have deluged it with comments (over 175 as of today), reflecting the pent-up interest in the premier’s status and deeply divided views of his leadership.
Viewing the London Olympics coverage from China
Chinese propaganda officials must be thrilled that they’re not responsible for the Olympics coverage in the British papers. Back during the Beijing Games, they worked hard to censor unrest and dissatisfaction in the domestic media. Reports of China’s press freedom and human rights abuses were blocked, the kind of information control idiomatically referred to as…
Propaganda officials miss the boat on ‘China’s Katrina’
Chinese journalists are questioning government propaganda due to conflicting reports of the death toll following Saturday’s devastating flooding in Beijing. Like the Wenzhou train crash and the Sichuan earthquake, the tragedy has galvanized mainstream and online journalists–and the official narrative is crumbling under their scrutiny.
Where is Meles Zenawi? Ethiopians don’t know.
If you search for the name of Ethiopia’s prime minister, Meles Zenawi, on Twitter these days, you’ll see a flurry of incongruent postings: Meles is hospitalized in critical condition; he’s fine and returning to work; he died two weeks ago; he’s on holiday. Journalists for international news outlets have tried to sort out fact from…
Defense tools for Sri Lanka’s online onslaught
Sanjana Hattotuwa, the founder of the citizen journalism website Groundviews, sent us the links to a new series of posters and videos focused on digital communications security. The material, which is aimed at a Sri Lankan audience, is available in English, Sinhala, and Tamil, but is relevant to anyone who uses the Internet or a…
News site blocked after covering Tajik official’s murder
New York, July 24, 2012–Authorities in Tajikistan blocked domestic access to the independent regional news website Asia-Plus on Monday after the outlet reported on the murder of a high-ranking security official and its aftermath, according to news reports. The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on the government to immediately restore access to the site.