News

21 May 2007

Russian newspaper quite a story itself

MOSCOW — One of the computers on reporter Vyacheslav Izmailov's desk is more than a decade old, an antique by high-tech standards. But he refuses to part with the machine: Mikhail S. Gorbachev paid for it with his 1990 Nobel Peace Prize money. "It is pretty outdated and not of much practical use anymore, but I will never throw it away," said Izmailov, the military analyst for the fiercely...

More
21 May 2007

Nominations open for CJFE international journalism awards

Journalists who have made a raised awareness of issues related to human rights or press freedom violations are eligible to be nominated for one of two awards organized by the Canadian Journalists for Free Expression (CJFE). Nomination deadline: June 20. The International Press Freedom Award will be presented to a journalist or media organization that has demonstrated a significant commitment to...

More
21 May 2007

Zimbabwe: Photographer sought by police goes into hiding

(IFJ/IFEX) - The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) today called on the Zimbabwean government to end its attacks and harassment of journalists and to stop police harassment of newspaper photographer Boldwill Hungwe. "We are very upset by recent incidents that show a pattern of media repression and we urge the government to put an end to it," said Gabriel Baglo, Director of the IFJ...

More
21 May 2007

68 sign protest letter against Bulgarian FOI amendments

(ARTICLE 19/IFEX) - A letter calling on members of the Bulgarian National Assembly not to pass proposed amendments which would substantially weaken the national system for access to information was endorsed by 68 organisations and individuals from around the world. The letter, drafted by ARTICLE 19, was sent to legislators earlier today. The proposed amendments to Bulgaria's Access to Public...

More
21 May 2007

Russian journalists fight for independent media

Nadya Azghikkina and I worked together for many years editing a Russian-language feminist newsletter called Vyi i Myi. (You and We was founded by Colette Shulman, who has worked tirelessly for decades on behalf of women and NGOs in Russia.) Today, Nadya is with the Russian Union of Journalists (RUJ), working to train journalists, especially women, in Russia's underserved provincial cities and...

More
21 May 2007

Azerbaijani newspapers evicted, editor threatened

New York, May 21, 2007—Local authorities evicted the independent Russian-language weekly Realny Azerbaijan and the Azeri-language daily Gündalik Azarbaycan from their Baku offices on Sunday night, saying that the publications’ building violates safety regulations. The action comes amid a series of threats, attacks, and cases of harassment targeting the muckraking newspapers—including, most...

More
21 May 2007

Militants kill Iraqi journalist in Baghdad

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Militants kidnapped and killed a journalist from one of Iraq's most popular national newspapers in southern Baghdad on Sunday, his employers said on Monday. Ali Khalil had become a father only a few days before he was killed, they said. He was the 105th journalist to be killed in Iraq since hostilities started four years ago. Khalil, 21, worked for the Azzaman newspaper and had...

More
19 May 2007

Google reach deals with news websites

INTERNET SEARCH engine Google is understood to have reached deals with several large UK news groups over carrying their content on Google News. The deals are reputedly being kept strictly secret for fear that Google will end up having to pay for similar licences with all of the 4500 news services it carries on its news aggregator. It now seems that Google has accepted it has lost the argument over...

More
19 May 2007

Fairfax links with Google to take online to next stage

FAIRFAX DIGITAL says it will run Google AdWords advertisements on its online news outlets as the media group seeks to integrate its content with the global search giant. The agreement allows revenue generated from Google's pay-per-click advertisements on websites belonging to flagship publications such as The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age to be shared between Fairfax and Google. Fairfax...

More
19 May 2007

Russia asks journalists union to vacate office on eve of world press event

The Russian government has asked the Russian Union of Journalists (RUJ), which represents more than 100,000 journalists, to vacate its offices in central Moscow. RUJ Secretary-General Igor Yakovenko said the union received a letter from the Federal Property Management Agency on May 16 saying it would have to hand over its premises to the state-owned Russia Today TV station within a month. RUJ is...

More