2005-2014

The protests rocking the Arab world this week have one thread uniting them: Al-Jazeera, the Qatar-based satellite channel whose aggressive coverage has helped propel insurgent emotions from one capital to the next, says a New York Times report. Al-Jazeera has been widely hailed for helping enable the revolt in Tunisia with its galvanizing early reports, even as Western-aligned political factions...

The Nicaraguan Centre for Human Rights (CENIDH) announced that in the coming weeks it will present a report to the Inter-American Human Rights Commission (CIDH) about press freedom violations in the country, AFP reports. In recent months, two newspapers have alleged persecution at the hands of President Daniel Ortega, while an opposition TV network went off the the air several days ago. From the...

Journalist Adem Yavuz Arslan was threatened several times since his book on the killing of Turkish-Armenian journalist Hrant Dink was published two weeks ago, IPS Communication Foundation (BIANET) has reported. The book revealed volatile information on the murder. Arslan has applied for police protection. Arslan, Ankara correspondent for the Bugün ('Today') newspaper, was threatened by means of a...

Viewing TV coverage of terrorist events causes deterioration of psychological resources, such as commitment and a sense of success, and to feeling threatened, which in turn can also lead to loss of resources and other negative affects. This has been found in a new study at the University of Haifa. “Mass media plays a central role in reporting on terrorism and political violence. The present study...

News Corp will launch its long-awaited digital newspaper created for Apple Inc's iPad on February 2, two weeks after the two companies were widely expected to introduce the new product, Reuters has reported. News Corp Chairman Rupert Murdoch and Apple Vice President of Internet Services Eddy Cue will introduce the Daily, a digital newspaper for tablet devices, at the Solomon Guggenheim Museum in...

A Chinese journalist known for being critical of the government said Friday that he's been fired by one of the country's most daring media companies for refusing to tone down his writing, the latest sign of China's tightening grip on press freedom, Canadian Press has reported. Chang Ping, a former editor and columnist for publications owned by the Southern Media Group, said the dismissal wasn't...

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has filed a lawsuit against writer Ahmet Altan and Taraf newspaper. According to IPS Communication Foundation (BIANET), the prime minister recently launched a case against the Beyoglu Troupe of Actors and prior to that, against writers Ataol Behramoglu and Oktay Eksi. Erdogan is now claiming TL50,000 (€ 25,000) in compensation from Altan and Taraf, on...

Nilo Jiménez, secretary for Reporteros Gráficos of the Venezuelan National Press Workers Union (abbreviated to SNTP in Spanish), has reported that he received death threats via several anonymous calls. In these calls, he was urged to stop gathering images of attacks against press freedom for an upcoming union publication, on the occasion of the institution's 65th anniversary. According to the...

The Mae Sot Immigration office in Thailand freed John San Lin, a Burmese freelance journalist, and his colleague Pascal Schatterman, a Belgian national, on the evening of January 24, after they paid a fine of THB500 (US$16). The pair were fined for violating the Immigration Act and were released soon after, John San Lin told Mizzima. They were detained on January 20 in Mae Sot after returning to...

A historic 14-day ban on large public meetings or gatherings ending this week in Funafuti must put Tuvalu's leadership on notice that freedom of assembly and expression are key to democratic rule, says the Pacific Freedom Forum (PFF). The regional media freedom monitoring network says Tuvalu's first-ever invocation of its Public Order Ordinance on January 13, banning public gatherings or meetings...