In high-tech China, low-tech media control works too
China’s investment in high-tech Internet surveillance technology is well known, and the byzantine rules of its Central Propaganda Department have inspired books and academic treatises. But among the many tools in the box for media control, there’s one that’s very simple and low-tech: Keep journalists away.
CPJ calls on Jordan to prevent attacks on journalists
New York, July 18, 2011–The Committee to Protect Journalists called on the government of Jordan to do more to prevent attacks on journalists who cover demonstrations and other forms of civil unrest. On Friday, security forces beat 16 journalists in identifying orange vests during a demonstration and planned sit-in that rapidly devolved into clashes between security…
Pakistan must explain ISI’s role in murder
New York, July 5, 2011–Pakistan’s president must clarify the role of Pakistan’s Inter Services Intelligence Directorate following U.S. allegations that the agency ordered the killing of journalist Saleem Shahzad, as reported in The New York Times today, said the Committee to Protect Journalists.
Journalists to be expelled from Libya; Bahrain deports 2
New York, April 6, 2011–More than 20 foreign journalists were told that they would have to leave Libya within 24 hours, National Public Radio said today. NPR reported that Libyan authorities asked journalists from different international news outlets to leave the country. The media outlets include Britain’s Channel 4, CNN, Fox News, The Independent, Italian…
Journalists detained in Libya, Syria, Yemen; 1 dead in Iraq
New York, April 1, 2011–Al-Jazeera said today that Libyan authorities re-arrested four of its journalists just hours after they had been released. A Syrian journalist who spoke critically of Libyan government policies was also reported in state custody. The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns the ongoing attacks on the press in Libya, and calls on…
Taking risks to tell the story: NYT journalists discuss Libya
On March 15, four New York Times journalists were detained in Libya while crossing a checkpoint after they entered the country without visas. They were released six days later. The four–photojournalists Lynsey Addario and Tyler Hicks, and reporters Anthony Shadid and Stephen Farrell–came to Columbia University’s Graduate School of Journalism on Thursday for what will…
Al-Jazeera raided in Sana’a; attacks in Libya, Syria, Bahrain
New York, March 22, 2011–Plainclothes gunmen raided Al-Jazeera’s Sana’a bureau early this morning, confiscating equipment and obstructing operations, the Qatar-based news channel reported today as a drumbeat of anti-press attacks continued in the region. Arrests, attacks, and harassment were also reported in Libya, Syria and Bahrain in recent days.