“We have to protect the state from the media,” said Mikhail Lesin, the head of Russia’s new Ministry for the Press, Radio and Television Broadcasting, and Media Affairs, shortly after taking office in July. Coming in advance of the country’s legislative and presidential elections, it was a stunning statement of Kremlin intent. Lesin’s demonization of…
The prosecution of Rwandan journalists suspected of inciting members of the ethnic Hutu community to massacre ethnic Tutsis in 1994 proceeded in fits and starts over the last three months of the year. Four journalists currently face charges that include incitement to genocide. In June, Belgian-born radio-talk show host Georges Ruggiu admitted his involvement with…
After years of struggling under the autocratic leadership of former Prime Minister Tofilau Eti Alesana, who resigned in November 1998, journalists in Samoa are beginning to breathe a little easier. “There’s been a bit of a renaissance here, as far as the media’s concerned,” said Savea Sano Malifa, publisher of the daily Samoa Observer. Tofilau’s…
Although Kuwait enjoys one of the region’s most vibrant and respected presses, journalists recently experienced a noticeable deterioration in their freedoms. Government censorship continued in 1999, as did criminal prosecutions of reporters under the country’s press law and criminal code. After a welcome January court decision that canceled a six-month prison sentence imposed on former…
In 1999, Sierra Leone became the world’s most dangerous country for journalists, with a total of 10 journalists killed in the line of duty. (See Special Report on Sierra Leone) The combined rebel forces of the Revolutionary United Front (RUF) and the Armed Forces Revolutionary Council (AFRC) viewed all journalists as “enemies.” During a bloody…
Singapore continues to proclaim itself a futuristic, high-tech information society, while clinging to heavy-handed authoritarianism in its regulation of the media. There is little free debate; without a government permit, even speaking in public is illegal. All of the tiny island state’s newspapers are controlled by one pro-government company. A similar entity dominates the broadcast…
Slovak media function in an increasingly competitive market that has forced many newspapers and broadcasters out of business. Slovakia’s economic difficulties have put pressure on the advertising market, which is dominated by national dailies and magazines. The editorial policies of most media outlets are largely independent of the government and individual political parties, although business…
Ever since political rivals ousted President Mohammed Siad Barre in 1991, clan warfare has left Somalia without a central government. The country’s media consists largely of small newsletters and faction-run radio stations, and independent journal-ism is virtually nonexistent in most parts of the country. Somalia is largely fractured into warring fiefdoms controlled by warlords. This…
Thabo Mbeki succeeded President Nelson Mandela following the resounding victory of the ruling African National Congress (ANC) in South Africa’s second democratic election on June 2. Local journalists worried that the ANC’s victory would herald a new era of media repression. Neither Mandela nor Mbeki had ever disguised his dislike for the press, complaining that…
While South Korea’s press was ostensibly free from overt pressures, its independence was compromised by complex links between media and various business and political interests. A high-profile tax evasion case involving one of South Korea’s largest daily newspapers, JoongAng Ilbo, underscored the problems of cronyism and corruption that continue to plague the press, but also…