Open Media Watch

Independent Media

Following are articles from other sources related to independent media and press freedom. The opinions and views expressed in these articles are not necessarily those of Internews.

From a Porch in Montana, Low-Power Radio’s Voice Rises, New York Times, September 8, 2009
The floor of the broadcast booth at KXZI radio, which is, truth be told, really just Scott Johnston’s front porch, slopes gently down toward the yard, as 90-year-old farmhouse porches tend to do.

Pakistan’s media scene / Swat Valley, Al Jazeera, July 22, 2009. A user’s guide to Pakistan’s media before and after Musharraf / The media vacuum in Swat Valley

Radio Provides Vital Information To Rural Tribes, National Public Radio, July 19, 2009. At a time when most of America is inundated with new forms of communication technology, there is one segment of the country where a radio is still the most essential medium: Native American reservations.

Iran judiciary told to confront hostile satellite TV, Reuters, 05 July 2009, The head of Iran's judiciary called on Sunday for the prosecution of people working for increasingly influential anti-establishment satellite TV channels and websites, state television reported.

Honduras new government is censoring journalists, Miami Herald, 01 July 2009, TEGUCIGALPA, Honduras -- At the close of the one of this week's nightly news broadcasts, Channel 21 news anchor Indira Raudales made a plea: ``We have a right to information! This can't be happening in the 21st century!''

Coup supporters in Honduras suspend Telesur TV service, Media Network, 30 June 2009, The supporters of the military coup staged on Sunday against Honduran President Manuel Zelaya have forced the Latin American news channel Telesur to stop broadcasting in the country. 

Press Council: Libel Case Ruling a Win for Free Speech, Jakarta Globe, 01 July 2009, Media experts on Tuesday welcomed the Jakarta High Court’s decision to overturn a guilty verdict imposed on a kiosk owner who had been convicted of libel for having written a complaint letter about a property company.

Indigenous TV network launches programming initiatives, media network, 26 May 2009, A global alliance of indigenous television broadcasters is launching two major initiatives for its members – an international indigenous current affairs series and a programme exchange scheme. The World Indigenous Television Broadcasters Network (WITBN) aims to unify television broadcasters worldwide to retain and grow indigenous languages and cultures.

Independent radio station for Eritreans begins broadcasting from Paris, Reporters Without Borders, 15 June 2009, Radio Erena (“Our Eritrea”), a Tigrinya-language station broadcasting by satellite to Eritrea, began operating today in Paris, five days ahead of World Refugee Day. The result of an initiative by Eritrean journalists based abroad and supported by Reporters Without Borders, the station is offering freely-reported, independent news and information to Eritreans in Eritrea.

Yemeni Journalists Walk Out from Minister Press Conference, Yemen Post, 19 May 2009, Journalists walked out from a press conference on Tuesday by the minister of Local Administration Rashad Al-Alimi who disappointed journalists when it seemed he was not aimed to tackle a recent suspension of publications and blockade of news websites.

Burma’s Media Blackout, Index On Censorship, 18 May 2009, Burma’s state-controlled media has neglected to report on Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and her ongoing trial, in stark contrast to the attention the case has received in the international press.

INDONESIA: Iranian press offers to cooperate with Indonesia, The Jakarta Post, 16 May 2009, Iran is being targeted by Western countries whose media are mostly biased when reporting about the Islamic republic, a delegation of Iranian journalists said Monday. They have now asked their Indonesian counterparts to help them counter prejudiced information, which they believe demonizes their country.

Media Minister Subsidises Journalists, NIS News Bulletin, 14 May 2009, Media Minister Ronald Plasterk is making 60 young journalists government employees. They will work however for commercial daily newspapers.

BANGLADESH: Demand for 100pc duty on newsprint import a conspiracy, The Daily Star, 12 May 2009, As Bangladesh Paper Mills Association's demanded 100 percent duty on newsprint imports, Newspaper Owners' Association of Bangladesh (Noab) yesterday urged the government to keep zero tariff on newsprint imports to ensure press freedom and free flow of information.

Ivory Coast frees French reporter, BBC News Africa, 7 May 2009, A French investigative journalist held for 16 months without trial in Ivory Coast has been released from prison.

Reporter Under Threat Killed on World Press Freedom Day, IFEX, 6 May 2009, Carlos Ortega Samper, a reporter for the daily "El Tiempo de Durango" and also an attorney, was ambushed by two pickup trucks on his way home. Four unidentified individuals got off the trucks and pulled Ortega from his car. As he resisted, he was shot three times in the head. He died at the scene.

Africa: Press Declines in Eight Countries, AudienceScapes, 2 May 2009 Freedom House's annual Freedom of the Press Report released in Washington, DC.

Yemeni authorities prevents 6 newspapers from distribution, Global Voices Advocacy, 4 May 2009
Yemeni government ordered the confiscation of six national newspapers, whose copies were pulled from the news stands and markets across the country yesterday alleging their role in promoting secessionism and anti-unity rhetoric. The move, according to observers, is unprecedented in recent Yemeni history and marks a serious downturn in the country's level of press freedom, which had already suffered several blows in the recent past.

Argentina: free press, for now, Index on Censorship, April 6, 2009
From Raúl Alfonsín onwards, Argentina has done well to move on from the dark days of the generals. But is Cristina Fernández de Kirchner’s government now threatening media freedoms?

The slow death of freedom of expression, Index on Censorship, March 26, 2009
The United Nations Human Rights Council today passed a resolution aimed at restricting criticism of religion, or ‘religious defamation’. Roy W Brown examines why the UN is putting protection of ideas above freedom of expression.

Just the Facts?: Partisanship and the Press (Audio), Media Channel
The current era of partisan news and name-calling is enough to make you wonder what happened to good old-fashioned objective reporting.  But in this hour, BackStory asks: Where did the idea of media objectivity come from in the first place? Historian Marcus Daniel explains that the bitter rhetoric of editors in the 1790s played a key role in the birth of our democracy.  Matthew Goodman tells the story of an elaborate hoax involving “lunar man-bats” in the early days of the penny press. And Michael Kinsley, founder of the online journal Slate,  argues that opinion journalism can be more informative than so-called “objective” news.

Plunging economy is threatening ethnic press, Associated Press, March 29, 2009
The sinking economy is threatening the ethnic publications that immigrant communities rely upon to stay informed and navigate American life.

Zimbabwe government coalition to relax tough media restrictions, Guardian, April 7, 2009
Zimbabwe's unity government plans to relax draconian media restrictions as part of an action plan to restore basic rights, heal political scars and boost international trust, the state newspaper reported yesterday.

Watchdog: Press freedom deteriorated in Americas, European Journalism Centre, March 18, 2009
Freedom of the press has deteriorated in the Americas, with Mexico among the most dangerous countries in the region to be a journalist, the Inter American Press Association said Monday.

The State of the News Media: An Annual Report on American Journalism, The Pew Research Center, March 16, 2009
The State of the News Media 2009 is the sixth edition of our annual report on the health and status of American journalism. Some of the numbers are chilling. Newspaper ad revenues have fallen 23% in the last two years. Some papers are in bankruptcy, and others have lost three-quarters of their value. By our calculations, nearly one out of every five journalists working for newspapers in 2001 is now gone, and 2009 may be the worst year yet.

Consider This: NPR Achieves Record Ratings, Washington Post, March 24, 2009
At a time when newspapers, magazines and TV news continue to lose readers and viewers, at least one part of the traditional media has continued to grow robustly: National Public Radio.

Anti-Pyongyang radio stations get backing, European Journalism Centre, March 25, 2009
An international press freedom body Tuesday signed an agreement to provide financial help to three radio stations which broadcast into communist North Korea.

IFJ Urges Unity and Fresh Start for Journalists in Palestine, International Federation of Journalists, March 26, 2009
The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) called today on the Palestinian media to stand up and unite for their profession and said it was ready to support fresh efforts for better relations with political leaders to ensure more protection for journalists and much needed reform within the media sector.

Getting Away With Murder 2009, Committee to Protect Journalists, March 23, 2009
CPJ’s Impunity Index spotlights countries where journalists are slain and killers go free.

Rights group makes Kazakh media appeal, European Journalism Centre, April 1, 2009
A prominent watchdog group has called on Kazakhstan's government to stop pursuing independent reporters with libel suits. The Committee to Protect Journalists says six independent news outlets and their reporters were targeted by more than 60 defamation lawsuits last year in the former Soviet Central Asian state. The group in a statement late Monday cited Kazakh media rights group Adil Soz as saying at least 18 of the libel plaintiffs were government officials. Media freedom in Kazakhstan is coming under increased scrutiny as the country prepares to take the chairmanship next year of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe.

US: House votes limited court protection for reporters, European Journalism Centre, April 1, 2009
Reporters who decline to reveal confidential information or sources would gain limited protection in federal court under a bill approved Tuesday in the House. The bill passed on a voice vote, although several lawmakers opposed it. Supporters said the Free Flow of Information Act balances the public's right to essential information and the federal government's ability to protect Americans from terrorism and violent crimes.

How should journalists deal with blame?, International Journalists Network, March 30, 2009
Journalists, whether reporters, editors or broadcasters, can end up being convenient targets of blame when the stories they publish stir up public controversy. The bigger the issue, the bigger the blame.

Papers join forces to free Swedish journalist, European Journalism Centre, March 27, 2009
Sweden's four largest newspapers on Friday jointly launched a massive campaign to push for the release of Swedish journalist Dawit Isaak, who has been imprisoned in Eritrea for 2,742 days.

Tunisia: Launch of a second private TV channel, Tunisia Online News, March 20, 2009
The new general-purpose TV station “will further enrich Tunisia’s media landscape, as well as boosting private initiative in the audiovisual sector”, said President Ben Ali in today’s address.

Pakistani president cracks down on media - broadcasting minister resigns, European Journalism Centre, March 16, 2009
As the political crisis in Pakistan continues to worsen, the President has ordered cable operators to shut off the Geo TV and Royal TV networks, apparently to restrict news coverage of a planned march by lawyers. According to Geo TV, the President has asked them to 'withdraw their support' for the lawyers' march in return for their channel's reinstatement. In response, the Minister of Information and Broadcasting has resigned from the Federal Cabinet on such. She had previously said that she would resign if the President and his advisers act against the freedom of media and the press.

Ecuador: Quality Control of the Media, Global Voices, March 12, 2009
Ecuadorian President Rafael Correa has had a rough relationship with the media and journalists in that country. It may become even rougher after, according to the newspaper La Hora, his government has plans for the Law for the Socialization of Social Responsibility in Radio and Television. In addition to restrictions on types of advertisement, the law calls for at least 15 minutes daily and up to 70 minutes weekly to be provided to the state on public and private channels and stations (registration required). Critics are especially worried since this is coming at time with elections on the horizon.

Media War Heats Up Around El Salvador's Elections, Alternet, March 15, 2009
Big media power presents a major obstacle to the Salvadorean left, but the digital age has also provided them with new means to fight back.

Ethical Journalism Initiative campaign promoted through new Web site, European Journalism Centre, March 5, 2009
The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) has launched a Web site to promote its Ethical Journalism Initiative (EJI) Campaign, which seeks to make journalism's core values an integral part of media worldwide. The Web site, will host information about the campaign, which is framed around truth telling, independence and fairness as well as humanity and solidarity.

Woman journalist freed after being held for three months, Reporters Without Borders, March 3, 2009
Reporters Without Borders hails yesterday's release of journalist and human rights activist Jestina Mukoko. “Her release will hopefully be the starting point of a new government attitude of respect for free expression,” the press freedom organisation said, urging the authorities to free Shadreck Manyere, a freelance photographer who was also arrested in December.

Community radio – a rare success story, The Guardian Organ Grinder Blog, March 9, 2009
Community radio was today hailed as a triumph by the media regulator, Ofcom, but is the new breed of volunteer-run stations filling the void in local programming that commercial radio has left?

Video: Community Radios Fill the Information Gap, Global Voices, February 2009
In a highly globalized and digitalized world, sometimes we may forget that in many regions of the world, not even electricity is available, and the possibility of using internet as an alternative information source is still a distant dream. It is in locations like Guatemala, Chad and India that community radio rises as the alternative for native communities to speak about their concerns, hear news and stories, receive information and all this in their native languages.

Media as Global Diplomat, United States Institute of Peace, February 3, 2009
On February 3, 2009, USIP joined International Television Service (ITVS) to convene Media as Global Diplomat, a day-long conference that brought together many of the top thinkers in U.S. public diplomacy and strategic communication with independent film and media producers to identify innovative paths forward in the increasingly important effort to improve mutual understanding between the United States and other countries through communication and media.

Hong Kong: Defending freedom of speech, Global Voices, February 24, 2009
On 22 Feb 09, more than a hundred Hong Kong people took on the street to voice out their concerns about the alarming shrinking of freedom of speech in Hong Kong. The protest was proposed by the Citizens’ Radio and supported by other democratic institutions including Save RTHK Campaign, Hong Kong Human Right Monitors and the pan-democratic political alliance in Hong Kong.

Announcing Herdict Web: Report Inaccessibility Now!, Global Voices, February 25, 2009
Global Voices Advocacy is proud to announce the launch of Herdict Web.  Herdict Web is a natural extension of The OpenNet Initiative; but whereas ONI views Internet filtering through an academic lens, Herdict Web crowdsources reports from users to discover, in real time, what users around the world are experiencing in terms of web accessibility.

Palestinian online newspaper to be launched soon, International Center for Journalists, February 23, 2009
A Palestinian online newspaper that was the vision of Palestinian youth in the Gaza Strip will soon launch to the public. The creators of the Palestine Telegraph, which will be available at http://www.paltelegraph.com/, is to disseminate "the voices of the People of Palestine, the Middle East and other indigenous people around the world,” according to a statement sent by Photojournalist Sameh A. Habeeb, a Gaza resident and founder of the online newspaper.

After a year of Raúl Castro as president, political opening still ignores imprisoned journalists, Reporters Without Borders, February 24, 2009
Reporters Without Borders notes with regret that the Cuban government has stubbornly refused to release 23 arbitrarily detained journalists, including its correspondent Ricardo González Alfonso, in the 12 months since Raúl Castro was confirmed as President of the Council of State on 24 February 2008, 19 months after taking over provisionally from his ailing elder brother Fidel.

Should government regulate sensational media?, International Journalists’ Network, January 17, 2009
Calling for an end to sensational reporting in Indian media, a government official in the Southern Indian state of Karnataka recently proposed the idea of a government-appointed "ombudsman" to regulate media in that region.

A More Accountable Press, Part 1: The Need for Reform, Media Standards Trust, February 9, 2009
a major review produced by the Media Standards Trust in consultation with a group made up of 12 leading figures from journalism and civil society, finds that the existing system of press self-regulation, as currently constituted, is unable to deal with the serious and growing threats to press standards and press freedom.

Mexican journalists face ever-increasing danger, Committee to Protect Journalists, February 12, 2009
There is an often-repeated phrase among journalists: No story is worth dying for, we say. But journalists are dying in every region of the world. In Iraq, in Somalia, in Russia, in Bolivia, in the Philippines, journalists died last year while reporting the news in their countries.

Attacks on the Press in 2008, Committee to Protect Journalists, February 10, 2009
In 2008, the numbers of journalists killed and jailed both dropped for the first time since the war on terror was launched in the aftermath of the September 11 attacks. This is welcome news, but it is tempered by harsh realities. The war on terror had a devastating effect on journalists, and the trends will be difficult to reverse. Over seven years, journalists were targeted for murder in record numbers, while deterioration in the international legal environment led to a surge in journalist imprisonments.

NEPAL- Press freedom still under threat despite hopes for improvement on return to democratic rule, IFEX, February 9, 2009
Press freedoms in Nepal continue to face serious threat despite the hope that restoration of democratic rule would improve the situation

Japan: Threats to freedom of speech and freedom to protest, Global Voices, February 11, 2009
On the 16th of January a group of protesters gathered outside Shinjuku station (one of the most crowded stations in Tokyo) to denounce Prime Minister Aso and his cabinet.

A Rare Glimpse Inside Turkmenistan's Closed Media Environment, AudienceScapes, December 16, 2008
A field blog entry from Turkmenistan, a difficult-to-access country, reveals both a general hunger for objective news and skepticism about outsiders' ability to portray the country in an accurate light. 

Cuba Still Detaining Dissident Journalists, OneWorld.net, February 9, 2009
Cuba is still holding 205 political prisoners, including 23 dissident journalists, despite a few signs of an "opening" since President Raul Castro came to power, says an international press monitor.

Freedom Against Censorship: Thailand (FACT) releases new legal circumvention tools, Global Voices Advocacy, February 5, 2009
Freedom Against Censorship Thailand (FACT) is pleased to announce two new, easy, legal tools for circumventing Internet censorship.

Soft Censorship: How Governments Around the Globe Use Money to Manipulate the Media, Center for International Media Assistance, February 2, 2009
This report examines the use of money by governments to influence news coverage. Written by Don Podesta, a veteran journalist with more than 30 years’ experience at the Washington Post and other newspapers, this report explains that as formerly authoritarian regimes have moved toward more democratic societies, this insidious form of censorship has emerged on a global scale.

Gaza news blockade : Petition by Reporters Without Borders and 160 news media about handed in at Israeli embassy,  Reporters without Borders, January 20, 2009
Reporters Without Borders went to the Israeli embassy in Paris today and, in a symbolic gesture, handed a copy of the call signed by 160 international news media to restore media access to the Gaza Strip.

IRAN: BBC PERSIAN TV’S ALTERNATIVE VIEW CATCHES ON WITH IRANIAN VIEWERS, EurasiaNet, February 2, 2009
The British Broadcasting Corp., which drew the ire of millions of people around the globe for refusing to broadcast an aid appeal for the victims of Gaza violence, seems to be a big hit in Iran. BBC Persian TV began broadcasting news and features in mid-January. Since then, to the chagrin of Iran’s political and ecclesiastical leadership, lots of people are tuning in.

“I would have been a murder statistic if I hadn’t fled to the United States,” says Mexican journalist, Reporters Without Borders, February 2, 2009
Reporters Without Borders is today publishing the interview it obtained with Mexican journalist Emilio Gutiérrez Soto of the newspaper El Diario del Noroeste after his release on 29 January from the detention centre in the Texan border city of El Paso where he was held for seven months. Gutiérrez fled across the border with his teenage son seeking asylum on 15 June 2008.

SULLIVAN: A global media role, Washington Times, January 25, 2009
As President Obama and his foreign policy team assess America's proper role in a troubled world, they would do well to consider a predicament that afflicts 4 out of 5 people on the planet - and that Washington can go a long way toward alleviating. That affliction is the absence of fully free, wholly unfettered media.

The Rise of Soft Censorship, Washington Post, February 2, 2009
Among the accusations swirling around ousted Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich is one that touches on his relationship with the most important newspaper in his state, the Chicago Tribune.

Putting Media on the Development Agenda: GFMD Sets Goals for 2009, The Global Forum for Media Development, January 29, 2009
The Global Forum for Media Development has launched a new campaign to ensure that media development gets the attention it deserves in a time of cuts and diminishing investment in development programmes, Chair Joyce Barnathan announced.

Map of Press Freedom 2008, Freedom House, January 2009
Shows the level of press freedom and describes the media landscape by country.

Thai Ban Provokes News Control Claims, OneWorld.net, January 28, 2009
Controls on news and information are being tightened in Thailand, said an international media freedom group in the wake of a ban on a foreign magazine that criticized the three-year jail sentence imposed on an Australian writer that criticized the king.

GEORGIA: WITH SHOOTING OVER, THE SPIN WAR RAGES, EurasiaNet, 8/26/08
It is early morning at the new Russian peacekeeping post at Karaleti, a few kilometers north of Gori, and one senior Russian officer is feeling philosophical. "The war is over," he tells a group of foreign journalists with a wry grin. "Now, it’s time for the information war to begin."

Media Freedom Around the World, World Public Opinion, May 1, 2008
A new poll of nations around the world finds worldwide support for the principle of media freedom and broad opposition to government having the right to limit access to the Internet. In many countries people want more media freedom than they have now, but in many Muslim countries and in Russia, there is substantial support for regulation of news or ideas that the government thinks could be politically destabilizing.

Radio To Stay Tuned To, Washington Post, April 22, 2008
"Radio Free Europe? Does that still exist?" That was the question; the speaker was an Important Public Broadcaster, visiting Europe for a few days last week. It wasn't a surprising query, as these things go, or an ignorant one. Not many other Americans know that Radio Free Europe still exists, so why should he?

Zimbabwe opposition offices ransacked, Associated Press, April 3, 2008
Intruders ransacked offices of the main opposition party and police detained foreign journalists Thursday in an ominous sign that President Robert Mugabe might turn to intimidation and violence in trying to stave off an electoral threat to his 28-year rule.

State of the News Media 2008, Pew Research Center, March 17, 2008
The state of the American news media in 2008 is more troubled than it was a year ago. And the problems, increasingly, appear to be different than many experts have predicted.

The Quality & Independence of British Journalism, Media Wise, February 1, 2008
The quality and independence of British journalism has been severely damaged since the Wapping Dispute in 1986, when Rupert Murdoch challenged the power of the print unions. Over the last 20 years, the research shows, profits have doubled and pagination has trebled, across the industry, while the number of jobs is about the same and productivity, in terms of the number of stories produced by journalists, has trebled.

Media Being Silenced as Political Crisis Intensifies, IFEX, January 31, 2008
A continuing ban on live broadcasts and new death threats to journalists in Kenya are silencing media reports on the country's escalating political crisis, says IFEX member the Media Institute.

Environment: Global roundup of Enviroblogs, Global Voices Online, January 24, 2008
Environmental blogs around the world are addressing a myriad issues specific to their region, but of global concern.

Pakistan: Five key problems for media coverage of February’s legislative elections, Reporters Without Borders, January 9, 2008
Despite President Pervez Musharraf’s reassuring statements, Pakistan’s media are not free to provide proper coverage of the legislative elections scheduled for 18 February because of a climate of censorship that is sustained by the permanent threat of fines, closures of news media and arrests of journalists, Reporters Without Borders said today.

Radio Realidad: The Popular Voice in Honduras, NaclaNews, January 3, 2008
In Honduras, campesinos are working with grassroots solidarity organizations to take the media into their own hands. Radio Realidad is one of a growing number of small FM stations that are popping up throughout Latin America to address communities’ needs for information.

Guatemala: The Media's Shortcomings, Global Voices Online, December 27, 2007
In Guatemala, coverage outside of the capital city is said to be not as important for national newspapers, and because of that many stories are left uncovered. In spite of its national circulation, some newspapers choose to devote more coverage to other countries in the region.

Rural Radio Promotes Democracy in Nepal Amid Continuing Uncertainty Over Elections, The Advocacy Project, November 7, 2007
While Nepal’s political parties continue to bicker over elections, tens of thousands of minority and indigenous people in Baglung, central Nepal are being encouraged to participate in the electoral process through a pioneering new radio program.

GEORGIA GRAPPLES WITH RESTRICTED NEWS COVERAGE, Eurasianet, November 8, 2007
One day after the worst political upheaval since Georgia’s 2003 Rose Revolution, a national news brownout has left most Georgians struggling to make sense of the events that shook Tbilisi on November 7, and to predict what lies ahead.

Senate committee says yes to Low-Power FM, Reclaim the Media, October 30, 2007
The United States Senate Commerce Committee voted on Oct. 30 to substantially expand the number of community media outlets in the United States. In a consensus vote, the Committee moved to report Senate Bill 1675, the Local Community Radio Act of 2007, to the full Senate -- and opened the door for thousands of new community radio stations to be built in America's largest cities, and smaller communities across the nation.

Worldwide Press Freedom Index 2007, Reporters Without Borders, October 15, 2007
Eritrea has replaced North Korea in last place in an index measuring the level of press freedom in 169 countries throughout the world that is published today by Reporters Without Borders for the sixth year running.

Russia: Anna Politkovskaya's Memorial Rally, Global Voices, October 8, 2007
On the first anniversary of Anna Politkovskaya's death, a few hundred people gathered in Moscow to pay tribute to her - and to talk politics.

Laugh till you protest: how satire is at the forefront of TV revolution, The Guardian, September 14, 2007
In Pakistan voters are mobilised by new channels with 24-hour coverage of political dramas. As Gen Musharraf clings to power and the country swings from one crisis to another, stations offering 24-hour coverage have done more than just report the news, analysts say - they are indirectly making it.

News from Paradise, TOL NewEurasia, September 6, 2007
To be a tourist in Uzbekistan is to ride the silk highway from one historical wonder to the next, from the architectural oohs of Samarkand to the archaeological aahs of Bukhara. ...The authorities are doing such a good job at keeping reality hidden from visitors, you could be forgiven for not realizing that Uzbekistan is one of the world’s most repressive regimes.

Toward a Global Anti-Censorship Network, Media Channel, August 28, 2007
During the last six months, since the launch of Global Voices Advocacy, we have been trying to cover the increasingly serious threats to online speech occurring around the globe and the efforts to combat them.

Justice for Anna?, Index for Free Expression, August 27, 2007
After the weekend's arrests, Novaya Gazeta, newspaper of murdered journalist Anna Politkovskaya, responds to the news, and outlines how it sees the investigation in to the killing of its reporter continuing

Journalists in Exile, Committee to Protect Journalists, June 19, 2007
Nearly six years ago, Eritrean authorities raided the offices of the country’s private newspapers, shut them down, and detained at least 10 journalists. Tipped off by friends, Milkias Mihreteab, then editor-in-chief of the independent weekly Keste Debena, went into hiding, narrowly escaping arrest.

Journalists hounded by ‘forest mafiosi’, Index for Free Expression, June 25, 2007
Journalists and environmental activists investigating deforestation in Cambodia are facing harassment, death threats and censorship after a report accused senior officials within the country's government of involvement in illegal logging, kidnapping and attempted murder.

ARMENIA: RADIO LIBERTY TO REMAIN ON AIR, Eurasianet, August 6, 2007
A new agreement signed between the US Broadcasting Board of Governors and an Armenian private radio company will allow Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty to continue broadcasting in Armenia.

Government Moves to End RFE/RL Broadcasts in Armenia, Armenia Liberty, June 27, 2007
The National Assembly is due debate on Thursday government bills that could end the Armenian-language broadcasts of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, a key source of information for a considerable part of Armenia’s population.

Pakistan: Journalists observe black day, South Asian Media Network, June 8, 2007
Journalists across the country observed a ‘black day’ on June 8 in protest against the government decision of restricting the electronic media from airing the ongoing judicial crisis and termed the move ‘unjustified’ and ‘black law’.

Information War in the Jungle, NaclaNews, June 1, 2007
This is a war of information. And it is the oil company itself that has taught us to fight it," said Heriberto Gualinga, who is a kind of ‘communications boss’ of the indigenous Kichwa community of Sarayaku in the Ecuadoran jungle.

Pulling the Plug, NPR's On the Media, May 18, 2007
At midnight on Sunday, May 27, President Hugo Chavez is yanking the license of Venezuela’s most watched TV network, Radio Caracas Television. Chavez says the station is pornographic, that it’s a mouthpiece of the US Empire and an instrument of the Venezuelan bourgeoisie.

In India, newspapers are likely to be a long story, Los Angeles Times (free registration required), May 18, 2007
NEW DELHI — Extra! Extra! Researchers have discovered a place where the newspaper, a threatened species in some parts of the world, is still thriving. That would be India, home to 1.1 billion people. And not only is the press in robust health, it's breeding at an astonishing rate.

Media Under Attack, UNESCO, May 3, 2007
Control of the media has always been a temptation. Repressive regimes without a free press go to extreme lengths to silence journalists. New media are harder to control than traditional media, but so is the quality of the information they put out.

Killing the messenger – the deadly cost of news, the UNESCO Courier, May 2007
In the past decade, over 1,000 journalists have been murdered. According to Rodney Pinder, Director International News Safety Institute, as long the issue of impunity is not addressed, the number of deaths will remain high.

Please Copy This Film: Video and the People's Movement in Oaxaca, MediaRights, March 20, 2007, by Nicole Betancourt
After I left my job as Executive Director of MediaRights, I moved to the city of Oaxaca, Mexico with my husband and daughter for 12 months to study, consult and make art.

World Press Freedom Day: let our voices be heard, World Association of Newspapers, April 6, 2007
(WAN) has launched a website and campaign dedicated to World Press Freedom and the upcoming World Press Freedom Day, May 3.

Background Reports on East Timor Available, Freedom House, April 5, 2007
In preparation for the upcoming presidential election in East Timor, Freedom House is providing background information on the state of political rights and civil liberties in the country.

UNESCO posthumously honours slain Russian journalist Anna Politkovskaya, UN News Centre, 30 March 2007 –
Anna Politkovskaya, the esteemed Russian journalist and outspoken human rights campaigner who was killed last October, will be awarded the prestigious 2007 United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO)/Guillermo Cano World Press Freedom Prize, the first time the honour has been bestowed posthumously in its 10-year history.

State of the American News Media, 2007: Mainstream Media Go Niche: Project for Excellence in Journalism Report Finds Every TV News Component Losing Audience, March 12, 2007
For the first time in years, every sector of television news lost audience in 2006. And newspapers, despite garnering a larger audience than ever for their content via online platforms, faced more downbeat financial assessments. The shifting economic fundamentals are spurring mainstream news organizations to try to build audience around "franchise" areas of coverage, specialties and even crusades, according to "The State of the American News Media, 2007," the fourth annual report on the state of U.S. journalism by the Project for Excellence in Journalism.

Debunking false preconceptions: Newspapers live and multiply, Editors Weblog, February 6, 2007
Contrary to the widespread belief in Western Europe and Northern America, global newspaper circulation is on the rise and new newspapers are being launched at a remarkable rate. The latest figures from the World Association of Newspapers.

Attacks on the Press in 2006, Committee to Protect Journalists, February 2007
Silence. When a journalist is killed, more often than not, there is silence. In Russia, someone followed Anna Politkovskaya home and quietly shot her to death in her apartment building. The killer muffled the sound of the gun with a silencer. Her murder made headlines around the world in October, but from the Kremlin there was nothing. No statement. No condolences. Silence.

A Sharp Eye On Ethiopia – N.Va. Network to Provide Outlet for Views Suppressed in Homeland, Washington Post, February 6, 2007
After three decades as a prominent reporter in Ethiopia, the arrests and jailings -- punishment for articles deemed critical of the government -- became too much for Mulugeta Lule. He fled his country and now works for a District parking company.

Reporters Without Borders issues its 2007 annual press freedom survey, RSF, February 1, 2007
The survey, published on 1 February, reports on press freedom in 98 countries and includes the main violations of journalists’ rights in 2006 and regional aspects of media and Internet freedom.

Another media is possible, The Panos Institute West Africa, January 22, 2007
Media practitioners in Africa have been challenged to help African governments in formulating a regulatory environment that is conducive to the establishment of indigenous media.