2010
South Africa weighs dropping media tribunal plan
For the first time in South Africa’s months-long debate over the proposal for a government-run media appeals tribunal, a top official from the African National Congress (ANC) indicated on Friday that the plan could be dropped altogether–under certain conditions.
Obiang prize suspended indefinitely
The Obiang prize, named for and funded by one of Africa’s most notorious dictators, was a very poor idea from the start and our goal, bluntly, was to kill it. We didn’t quite succeed in getting an outright cancellation, but the prize, while technically alive, is in a deep coma with virtually no chance of…
Censorship by bullet
In an article on October 20 the Latin America News Dispatch quotes CPJ executive director Joel Simon; “Mexico is the most dangerous country in Latin America.” Simon spoke on October 19 along with prominent writers and journalists from Mexico and the United States gathered in New York for “State of Emergency: Censorship by Bullet in…
Radio reporter shot dead in Brazil; suspect arrested
New York, October 20, 2010–Brazilian police on Tuesday arrested a man suspected of killing radio reporter Francisco Gomes de Medeiros in the city of Caicó, state of Rio Grande do Norte, local press reports said. Gomes was shot to death Monday in front of his house. The Committee to Protect Journalists welcomes the arrest and…
Earp in the Guardian: Will China listen?
In the Guardian Comment is Free, CPJ Senior Asia Program Researcher Madeline Earp argues; in China “reform and opening-up is not possible without a free and independent media. China’s leaders must make, and meet, specific commitments to release imprisoned journalists and allow independent reporting and comment, with all the rights and responsibilities that entails. Chinese…
Attackers lob grenade at Puntland radio station
New York, October 19, 2010–A pair of assailants lobbed a grenade Monday evening at Horseed FM, a private radio station broadcasting from the port city of Bossasso, the economic capital of Somalia’s semi-autonomous Puntland region, according to local reports. After the grenade exploded, one of the attackers began shooting at an adjacent café, Horseed Managing…
Abdel Dayem on Al Jazeera
CPJ’s Middle East and North Africa Program Coordinator Mohamed Abdel Dayem appeared on Al Jazeera English’s the Inside Story. The half hour show focused on the recent developments in Egypt and whether there is a plan to silence the most critical voices in Egypt ahead of next month’s parliamentary elections. The episode of Inside Story…
Mission Journal: A visit to Russia’s Supreme Court
At the end of our recent mission to Moscow, our delegation squeezed in one final official meeting. Vyacheslav M. Lebedev, the chief justice of Russia’s Supreme Court, had sent word only the night before that he would receive us. The meeting had been brokered by Aleksei Venediktov, the legendary founder of the radio station Ekho…