News

Newspaper websites saw ad spending rise 21.1 percent to $773 million in Q3 versus the same period last year, according to estimates from the Newspaper Association of America. While online ad spending has been slowing down in general, newspaper website ad spend gains appear relatively stable. As the NAA noted in Q306, the category’s growth was 23 percent; viewed sequentially, numbers this quarter...

The law is being bend, moulded and used to curtail the freedom to express. Legal hurdles have been placed in Mongolia for reporters and whistleblowers. The findings have been highlighted in Protecting Journalists’ Confidential Sources and Repealing the Criminal Defamation Legislation, brought out by Globe International. The 'UB Post', Mongolia´s independent weekly English newspaper in Ulaanbaatar...

Australia's proud international reputation for the strength of its democratic institutions and civil rights records received a blow with the latest findings of the 'Report of the Independent Audit into the State of Free Speech in Australia'. RSF focused on the anti-terrorism laws in Australia that “risk being abusively used against the press” such as phone-tapping without judicial supervision or...

Attacks on freedom of expression riding on notorious laws are increasing in Bahrain. Recent incidents have prompted 26 International Freedom of Expression eXchange (IFEX) members and 21 other organisations, led by the Bahrain Centre for Human Rights (BCHR), to urge the authorities to stop their latest clampdown on free expression. The organisations in their call to Bahraini government have...

The US military says it will recommend criminal charges against an Associated Press photographer detained in 2006 on suspicion of helping Iraqi insurgents. The Pentagon says additional evidence has come to light proving Bilal Hussein is a “terrorist media operative” who infiltrated the news agency. The case will be passed to Iraqi judges who will decide if he should be tried. AP says its own...

India has been chosen as the host country for the 62nd World Newspaper Congress, 16th World Editors Forum and Info Services Expo in 2009, the World Association of Newspapers announced today. The global summit meetings of the world's press will be held March 22-25, 2009 in Hyderabad and will be hosted by the Indian Newspaper Society (INS). India has than 2000 daily newspapers in 100 languages with...

A new Dublin freesheet, the Dublin Informer, has been recently launched. The paper is a features paper, rather then newspaper. The Informer says it deliveries 250,000 copies directly to letterboxes once a fortnight. "You will notice that we don't have any news pages. That's because we are a features driven paper where each page has a dedicated content and we have striven to find contributors who...

(BIANET/IFEX) - The Gaziantep First Criminal Court of Peace has ordered the confiscation of the 32nd issue of the local "Coban Atesi" (Shepherd's Fire) newspaper after it published journalist Berkant Coslun's article entitled "Mother, Don't Send Me to the Army". The newspaper stands accused of "damaging the public image of military service." Judge Saban Kaplan decreed the confiscation of the issue...

(IFJ/IFEX) - Journalists from all corners of Africa yesterday launched a new continental federation to provide a unified voice for newsroom staff campaigning for better working conditions and professional rights. The Federation of African Journalists was launched at a congress in Abuja on the theme of "Building a Strong and United Voice for African Journalists" that included participants from 20...

(NUSOJ/IFEX) - The Somaliland Ministry of Information has drafted and proposed a new media law that undermines internationally accepted standards of freedom of expression. The new draft law increases the powers of the Ministry of Information to control the media. It also gives the Minister of Information the power to suspend media organizations, arrest journalists and take over ownership of media...