2005-2014

One of the world's most distinguished newspaper publishers came out of retirement last week at the age of 79. He had settled in France, a country he loved and which loved him back, only last week having bestowed on him the Légion d'Honneur for services to journalism. But duty called. He flew home and headed for his old office. Next morning he went to bury, and praise, the young man to whom he had...

WASHINGTON – U.S. military officials in Iraq were fully aware that a Pentagon contractor regularly paid Iraqi newspapers to publish positive stories about the war, and made it clear that none of the stories should be traced to the United States, according to several current and former employees of Lincoln Group, the Washington-based contractor. In contrast to assertions by military officials in...

Jack N. Anderson, 83, a Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative reporter who for years was America's most widely read newspaper columnist, died Dec. 17 at his Bethesda home. He had Parkinson's disease. A crusader in the mold of muckrakers from a century ago, unbounded by contemporary notions of objectivity, Mr. Anderson was highly successful during the 1950s and 1960s, when few reporters actively...

As part of a general relaxation of state controls over the media sector, the Kyrgyz authorities have announced plans to privatise government-owned newspapers. But editorial staff are doubtful that they will win complete independence. A decree by President Kurmanbek Bakiev on December 8 announced that two of the three main national papers, Slovo Kyrgyzstana and Kyrgyz Tuusu, are to be sold off. All...

Management and staff at Piramida, an independent television and radio broadcaster in Kyrgyzstan, are up in arms at a takeover they say could undermine their freedom of speech. The new shareholders say the change in ownership is perfectly legal and will not alter editorial policy at Piramida. The case highlights the politically-charged atmosphere surrounding any major change in company ownership in...

WANA: A tribal journalist’s family escaped unhurt after his house was attacked with bombs that damaged a wall of the journalist’s house. Dilawar Khan Wazir, a Wana-based tribal journalist working with BBC World Service and a Pakistani English daily, told Daily Times on Friday that apparently he was the target of the explosion, which took place at 5am on Friday. "It is no longer safe to live in...

Located on the first-floor of a condominium in suburban Delhi, the serpent’s lair is conspicuous by its inconspicuousness. No nameplate or fancy decoratives adorn the front door. A secretary answers the bell and leads visitors into a spartan drawing room. "Sir will be here in a while," he says in a mechanical tone. The flat has had more than its share of visitors of late – at least his voice...

Last September, Danish author Kåre Bluitgen was set to publish a book on the Muslim prophet Muhammad, but couldn't find an illustrator. Artistic representations of the human form are forbidden in Islam -- so three artists turned down Bluitgen's offer to illustrate the book, fearing they would pay with their lives for doing so. The largest newspaper in Denmark, Jyllands-Posten, in turn asked for...

The New York Times' revelation yesterday that President Bush authorized the National Security Agency to conduct domestic eavesdropping raised eyebrows in political and media circles, for both its stunning disclosures and the circumstances of its publication. In an unusual note, the Times said in its story that it held off publishing the 3,600-word article for a year after the newspaper's...

ISLAMABAD – Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz has suspended PTV’s Chief Editor (Current Affairs) for imposing a ban on coverage of members of the so-called "forward bloc" of the ruling Pakistan Muslim League who are seeking removal of party chief Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain. The prime minister responded when the members presented the matter in the National Assembly through a privilege motion and later...