2005-2014

In Latin America, Uruguay has set an exemplary precedent by adopting a definitive community media law. The House of Representatives unanimously adopted the law on December 12. 2007. Reporters Without Borders, which supported the democratic law, has hailed it as a model for the rest of the region. The law defines community radio and TV stations as “services of public interest, independent of the

The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) today called for an investigation into the death of private radio station director Abdou Mahaman, who was killed after his vehicle ran over a landmine Tuesday night in Niger’s capital Niamey. “We are shocked by this brutal killing and we are sending out condolences to his wife, his children and his colleagues,” said Gabriel Baglo, Director of the...

The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) has again called on the United States (US) to free Al-Jazeera cameraman Sami al-Haj who has been held at the Guantanamo Bay detention centre for five-and-a-half years. “Sami al-Haj has never been charged with a crime and the US Government has failed to produce any credible evidence against him,” said IFJ General Secretary Aidan White. “He should be...

Swedish King Carl XVI Gustaf has agreed to open the World Newspaper Congress, World Editors Forum and Info Services Expo 2008, the global summit meetings of the world’s press, to be held in Göteborg, Sweden, next June. The events, organised by the World Association of Newspapers, are expected to draw more than 1,500 newspaper publishers, managing directors, CEO, chief editors and other senior...

The World Association of Newspapers (WAN) has launched a new website to support and promote the use of cross-media audience measurements that will allow publishers to provide a more complete picture of their reach than print circulation alone. The website for the Media Measurement Initiative Task Force contains the latest research and insights regarding the rapidly changing landscape of online...

The commander of the Sri Lankan army, Major-General Sarath Fonseka has labelled some journalists and sections of the media as “traitors”. In an interview published in the state-controlled Sinhala daily Dinamina on January 2, Foneska said the “treachery” of the media was the only obstacle hampering the military’s fight to defeat the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE). “The biggest obstacle is...

The Iraqi Government has promised to shortly issue a full report on targeting and killings of journalists since the invasion of the country five years ago. More than 250 journalists and media staff have died since 2003 says the IFJ-affiliated Iraqi Union of Journalists. With a media killing every five days over the past two years casualties in Iraq have pushed the global death toll of journalists...

The words leap from the page in a familiar bold white-on-black font, every word heavily underlined: "Bullying can hurt so much that kids at the receiving end can be driven to kill. At a Gurgaon school, two 14-year-olds did just that and shot their classmate." It's a classic Daily Mail story given a classic Daily Mail treatment. But this is Delhi, and Mail Today a joint venture between the India...

Kasturi & Sons has launched Ergo, a free daily, in Chennai, says a Mint report. Some backgrounders: Ergo, a 16-page, all-colour tabloid, is India’s first free daily from a large media house. Free newspapers try to recover all their costs—of publishing and distribution—from advertising. Globally, such free newspapers are now published in at least 52 countries. While Ergo is the newest offering, the...

Faisal Abbas Ghazala, the correspondent of the satellite TV station Kolsat was released on 21 December after more than a month in detention in Mosul. Accused of terrorism, Ghazala, 34, spent a total of 31 days detained in different locations. He was arrested by Kurdish security forces who stormed into his home in Mosul early in the morning of 19 November and dragged from his bed. He was held in