2005-2014

The Gannett Company, the largest newspaper publisher in the US, said on Friday that its second-quarter profit more than doubled from a year ago, helped by a rebound in broadcast revenue, a one-time tax gain and a less severe drop in print advertising, the Associated Press (AP) has reported. But revenue at the company, which publishes USA Today, and owns more than 80 other daily newspapers and 23...

The Malaysian Islamic opposition party newspaper has escaped closure and won a new publishing permit from the government which had accused it of violating laws, an official said Thursday, according to an Agence France-Presse (AFP) report. The government has in recent weeks also refused to immediately renew the licences for two other opposition newspapers in what critics have said is a crackdown...

The Brazilian daily Jornal do Brasil will discontinue its print edition and publish exclusively on the Internet starting September 1, the owner of the 119-year-old newspaper said Wednesday. Based in Rio de Janeiro, the once-influential paper has lost thousands of subscribers in recent years amid turmoil in the editorial offices and serious financial woes. Though it was founded by monarchists...

A Khartoum criminal court on Thursday sentenced three senior members of the opposition daily Rai Al Shaab (People’s Opinion) to jail terms ranging two to five years on charges of “publishing incorrect information” and “attacking the state with a view to undermining the constitutional system.” Deputy editor Abuzur Al Amin was given a five-year sentence while editor Ashraf Abdelaziz, and political...

Azerbaijan’s representative to the European Court of Human Rights has announced that his government appealed Friday against a ruling issued by the court in April ordering Azerbaijan to free Eynulla Fatullayev, an opposition newspaper editor who has been held since April 20, 2007. Paris-based Reporters sans Frontières (RSF) over what will happen to Fatullayev and regards this announcement as...

Press freedom groups have condemned the Malaysian government’s decision to suspend the distribution of three opposition newspapers – Suara Keadilan, Kabar Era Pakatan and Rocket – since June 30 and restrict the distribution of a fourth, Harakah, since Thursday. “This is the second time since Prime Minister Najib Razak’s election in 2008 that the opposition press has been subjected to this kind of...

For the first time in 19 years, the Turkmen government will allow the establishment of private newspapers, the BBC has reported. President Gurbanguly Berdymukhamedov was also quoted in the official media as saying new parties could also be formed, but that it should not happen too soon. The ex-Soviet state has seen some liberalising reforms in recent years. But critics say the changes are only...

A US appeals court has struck down a government policy that banned the broadcasting of profanity, ruling that the rule is unconstitutional, says a BBC report. The policy was drawn up in 2004 and meant that broadcasters could be fined if indecent words went on air. The details: [ Link] The court said the FCC's (Federal Communications Commission) policy had a "chilling effect" on broadcasters. The...

The coalition government in UK has unveiled plans for a major review of libel law in a bid to better protect freedom of speech and expression in the media and the research sector, and to cut down on "libel tourism", says a report in The Guardian. On July 9, the Ministry of Justice announced it is to publish a draft defamation bill that will be put out for consultation and pre-legislative scrutiny...

Over 2000 angry protesters — led by local Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh (RSS) leaders — barged into the office of Headlines Today news channel on Friday and vandalised the ground floor of the Videocon Towers at Jhandewalan in New Delhi. The mob was protesting a sting operation aired by Headlines Today, which linked RSS leader Indresh Kumar with Devender Gupta — a key accused in the Ajmer...