2005-2014

New York, May 9, 2006 - The Committee to Protect Journalists is concerned by attacks on radio stations in the Comoros in the run-up to May 14 federal elections in the Indian Ocean state. Unidentified assailants armed with machetes stormed two radio stations on the island of Grande Comore on May 5, forcing them off the air for 24 hours. The army shut down a radio station on the island of Mohéli...

(RSF/IFEX) - Reporters Without Borders has voiced shock at the death of five journalists and media assistants in the space of a few days in Iraq. "The first few days of May have been exceptionally murderous for the Iraqi news media," the press freedom organisation said. "We can no longer find words to express our horror at the tragedies constantly suffered by the press in Iraq, where 93...

(New York, May 10, 2006) - Egyptian security officials arrested 11 more political reform activists, including an award-winning blogger, Alaa Ahmed Seif al-Islam, Human Rights Watch said today. This brings to more than 100 the number of people detained over the past two weeks for exercising their rights to freedom of assembly and expression. Approximately half of those arrested are members of the...

(FNJ/IFEX) - In a meeting on 9 May 2006, the Council of Ministers annulled three ordinances - including the controversial media ordinance - promulgated by the former royal government. Talking to reporters at the Prime Minister's official residence after the cabinet meeting, Minister for Land Reform and Management Prabhu Narayan Chaudhari said the government has decided to scrap or review all the...

The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) has welcomed the withdrawal of Shin Corp's defamation suit against media activist Supinya Klangnarong in Thailand, saying that it further highlights the futility of using outdated laws to curb press freedoms. Shin Corp filed a civil defamation case claiming 400 million baht (over US$10 million) in damages against Supinya and Thai Post editors after...

10 May 2006 - Today, ARTICLE 19 releases an analysis of the Maldives Freedom of Press Bill against international standards on freedom of expression. The analysis concludes that while the Bill contains some positive safeguards for freedom of expression, these are outweighed by numerous broad and vaguely worded restrictions that may be abused to control the media. The Bill needs to be amended to...

NEW YORK: International wire service Reuters has invested in Global Voices Online, a non-profit global citizens' media project, sponsored by and launched from the Berkman Center for Internet and Society at Harvard Law School. "Support from Reuters will also allow us to do more outreach and training in parts of the world where there are currently few bloggers. Reuters’ generosity allows us to...

ILLINOIS – More than 2,500 copies of an Illinois college student newspaper containing the cartoons depicting the prophet Muhammad were stolen on Friday. Kristina Zaremba, editor in chief of the Courier, the student newspaper at the College of DuPage in Glen Ellyn, Ill., said the papers went missing shortly after they were distributed Friday morning. Zaremba said the cartoons were published along...

WASHINGTON -(Dow Jones)- Knight Ridder Inc. (KRI) Chairman and Chief Executive P. Anthony Ridder could be entitled to a $9.4-million cash severance payment once the company's planned merger with McClatchy Co. (MNI) closes. According to a regulatory filing from McClatchy on Wednesday, the payment would be made if, during the three-year period following a change of control of the merged company...

Readers want more context and background included in news reporting. They want new ways to receive their news, on next-generation handheld devices, for instance, rather than simply on a Web page. They want fewer ads – especially the kind that animate or show up in popup windows. It turns out that they also want more-telegenic news reporters. These are among the things readers expect from the news...