News

The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) has condemned the Colombo high court’s indictment of journalist JS Tissainayagam Monday on terrorism charges for articles he published in 2006. Sri Lanka’s Terrorist Investigation Division arrested Tissainayagam, the editor of news website OutreachSL, and five of his colleagues within a few days in March 2008. Three of the group were released later that...

Australia's second largest press group Fairfax Media announced Tuesday it would slash five percent of its workforce, or 550 jobs, as part of a plan to save 50 million dollars (43 million US). Unions said the redundancies in Australia and New Zealand would affect around 180 journalists in the group that publishes the flagship Sydney Morning Herald and the Age newspapers, Agence France-Presse (AFP)...

Reporters sans Frontières (RSF) has called on Indian authorities to put an immediate stop to the censorship and violence against the media in Kashmir that has been prompted by a wave of protests against Indian rule. At least 13 journalists were beaten by police yesterday in Srinagar, local TV stations are being censored and a curfew is making it hard for newspapers to bring out their issues....

The National Union of Somali Journalists (NUSOJ) has condemned the August 23 abduction of Canadian female journalist Amanda Lindhout and Australian photojournalist Nigel Brennan at KM13, a western suburb of Mogadishu between Afgoye district and the capital city. These two journalists arrived in Mogadishu on August 20. Lindhout, who is a Baghdad-based journalist, is freelancing for French TV...

Fifteen media persons were on Sunday injured when they were allegedly assaulted by security personnel while moving around to report events in curfew-bound Srinagar, Hindustan Times has reported. The Srinagar-based mediapersons working for local, national and international news organisations had to face the wrath of Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) personnel who refused to "honour" the curfew...

Hamas has allowed a Palestinian newspaper to be distributed in Gaza Strip and kept the ban on two others, according to a Xinhua report. Hassan Abu Hashish, director of the Hamas' governmental press office, said the ban on the Jerusalem-based al-Quds daily was lifted "after the newspaper's directors pledged to remain professional and objective in their coverage of the events in Gaza Strip." Abu...

The Israeli army raided and closed down three Palestinian radio stations on Wednesday, according to the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ). IFJ has demanded a full inquiry into the military crackdown on three radio networks operating out of the city of Hebron which provoked new demonstrations by Palestinian journalists across the West Bank and Gaza. "Sending the army into media houses...

Reporters sans Frontières (RSF) has condemned the requirements imposed on foreign journalists by Hezbollah in the areas it controls in Lebanon. Press accreditation issued by the Lebanese information ministry is of no use in Hezbollah-controlled areas, where journalists must obtain permission from the party's press bureau. Three Brazilian journalists - reporter Marcos Losékan and cameraman Paulo...

Authorities in Niger summarily suspended a private broadcaster for a month citing unspecified regulatory violations, according to local journalists and news reports. The station has provided sympathetic coverage of the country's former prime minister, now jailed on corruption charges, according to several sources. In a ruling obtained by the New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ)...

The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) wants the Broadcast Audience Research Council to start its audience measurement activities by January next year with representatives from the government, says a report in the Hindu Businessline. The Authority is also seeking regulation over content. “With increased convergence and the blurring of boundaries between carriage and content, the recent...