2005-2014

The Kazakhstan government is keeping journalist Ramazan Esergepov in prison in violation of the law and endangering his health. Paris-based press freedom group Reporters sans Frontières (RSF) said it was “a new attack on his rights” and showed he was being held for “political reasons.” Prison authorities refused for a third time, on January 27 this year, to free him despite his serious health...

The Managua-based daily El Nuevo Diario has been under pressure since the start of the year. One of its reporters, Luis Galeano, has received death threats over two sensational corruption stories he wrote for the newspaper, one in January and the other in February. At the same time, its management accuses the authorities of obstructing importation of the inputs it needs to print, Paris-based press...

A day might come when, rather than dusting off a resumé when looking for work, we would be better advised to clean up our Facebook profile. Staffing agency OfficeTeam recently released results of a survey that showed 43 per cent of human resources managers they polled thought it was somewhat or very likely that profiles on websites such as Facebook and LinkedIn will someday replace resumés for...

Women and young people are the most active users of social media today, and women in their 30s make up more than half of heavy contributors — that is, they engage in six or more social media activities, according to Netpop Research, a San Francisco-based research firm studying Internet trends. Their recent report, Social Animals: Who's Sharing What and Why Online?, is based on results of an online...

Unique visitors to local news websites are less unique and less local than one would assume. A new study from research and consulting firm Borrell Associates challenges many of core ways that online audiences are characterized and counted by local news outlets. On average, a third of the visitors to a local news site live outside the market, and a quarter of the visitors are “fly-bys.” The Borrell...

Press freedom groups have condemned journalist Hilal Al-Ahmadi’s murder Thursday in the northern city of Mosul. Ahmadi, who worked for two local weeklies, the Mosul Echo and Iraqiyoun, was gunned down outside his home. “We are extremely shocked and dismayed by Ahmadi’s death,” Paris-based press freedom group Reporters sans Frontières (RSF) secretary-general Jean-François Julliard said. “The...

Ivorian police in the economic capital, Abidjan, interrogated and issued summonses for questioning last week for editors of newspapers favourable to former presidential candidate Alassane Ouattara, according to local journalists. The UN has recognised Ouattara as the president-elect since disputed November 2010 runoff elections against President Laurent Gbagbo. Police and an assistant prosecutor...

The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) has called for an investigation into the attack on Lara Logan, a reporter for the American TV cable network CBS, last Friday in Tahrir square, Cairo. CBS has confirmed that Logan was the victim of "a brutal and sustained sexual assault and beating." "This is a shocking attack which must not go unpunished," said Jim Boumelha. "The Egyptian Prime...

An Istanbul court on Friday ordered three online journalists detained on charges of “inciting hatred and hostility through the media,” membership of a “terrorist organisation” and obtaining and publishing confidential state documents. They are facing possible sentences of more than 20 years in jail, Paris-based press freedom group Reporters sans Frontières (RSF) has reported They are Soner Yalçin...

Five journalists and the representatives of several NGOs including the Federation of Colombian Journalists (Fecolper) have been directly threatened in a particularly disturbing email that began circulating Thursday. Sent from the Gmail account of “Aguilas Fénix,” it is signed by the central division of the “Aguilas Negras” (Black Eagles), a feared paramilitary group responsible for terror...