Sub-Saharan Africa censors Mideast protests
As news of Middle Eastern and North African protests swirl around the globe, satellite television and the Internet prove vital sources of information for Africans as governments fearful of an informed citizenry and a free press such as in Eritrea, Equatorial Guinea, and Zimbabwe impose total news blackouts on the developments.
Attacks launch: Judicial censorship strikes a chord in Brazil
During the presentation of our annual survey, Attacks on the Press, in Sao Paulo, there was clear concern about the ability of the local media to report on issues of public interest without judicial interference. Journalists for three of the largest national dailies–O Estado de Sao Paulo, Folha de Sao Paulo, and O Globo–together with…
More rare news from North Korea
The latest batch of reporting–writing, photography, and video–from North Korea is available online at Asia Press Network (APN). The stories deal with apparent hyperinflation, the emergence of street markets in Pyongyang, and the reported reduction of rations for military personnel. They’re the sort of stories you seldom see out of North Korea that give depth…
Attacks on the Press 2010: Americas Analysis
In Latin America, A Return of Censorship By Carlos Lauría As the preeminent political family in the northeastern state of Maranhão for more than 40 years, the Sarneys are used to getting their way in Brazilian civic life. So when the leading national daily O Estado de S. Paulo published allegations in June 2009 that linked José…
Attacks on the Press 2010: Asia Analysis
Partisan Journalism and the Cycle of Repression by Bob Dietz and Shawn W. Crispin Lal Wickramatunga’s family and publishing house, Leader Publications, have paid dearly in Sri Lanka’s highly charged political climate. While Leader’s newspapers, including the weekly Sunday Leader, are widely known for tough, independent reporting, they have been caught up in a partisan…
Attacks on the Press 2010: Europe and Central Asia Analysis
On the Runet, Old-School Repression Meets New By Nina Ognianova and Danny O’Brien Russian President Dmitry Medvedev has often talked about the importance of a free press and free Internet, telling reporters before his election that the Web “guarantees the independence of mass media.” He explicitly tied the two together in his first State of…
Ivory Coast using media regulation to censor critics
New York, February 10, 2011–Incumbent Ivorian President Laurent Gbagbo has moved to silence critical media under the guise of media regulation, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today, following a week in which Gbagbo’s administration tightened control over the official print media regulatory agency and ordered United Nations-sponsored radio network ONUCI FM off the air.
Aristegui’s dismissal is troubling and inappropriate
On Friday, opposition legislators in Mexico disrupted a congressional session by raising a banner with an image of President Felipe Calderón and a message that read: “Would you let a drunk drive your car? No, right? So why would you let one drive your country?” Radio MVS’ Carmen Aristegui, one of Mexico’s most popular journalists,…
In Jordan, website hacked after running sensitive statement
New York, February 9, 2011–A Jordanian news website was hacked on Sunday after it refused to comply with demands from security agents to remove a critical statement from Jordanian tribesmen, the outlet said. The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on Jordanian authorities to immediately investigate the attack on Ammon News, one of the most popular…
Egypt rejoins the Net
Internet connectivity has been restored to Egypt, though it’s hard to tell from the outside just how reliable that connection is. Monitoring organizations Renesys and BGPMon provide technical details on their blogs. For a more dynamic display, RIPE, the community which helps co-ordinate the European Internet, has a live graph of the numbers of Internet…