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BAKU, Azerbaijan: Azerbaijan's independent media face violence, pressure and a worsening climate, international observers warned Wednesday, as a popular opposition paper in the Caspian Sea nation faces eviction from its editorial offices. In a joint statement read to journalists at the newspaper Azadliq, nations which are members of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe called on...

Three Danish journalists are on trial for publishing classified intelligence reports about Iraqi weapons of mass destruction. Niels Lunde, the editor-in-chief of Berlingske Tidende, one of Denmark's top national dailies, and reporters Michael Bjerre and Jesper Larsen are charged with disclosing information that is confidential for reasons of national security. If convicted, the men face up to two...

Kelsey Tyburski, a junior at Archbishop Mitty High School in San Jose, looked forward to receiving her Ellegirl magazine in the mail every month for the past two years. She depended on its advice about the best clothing, makeup and jewelry for each season. But this summer, Ellegirl published its last print issue. ``I'm very bummed,'' said Tyburski. Although Ellegirl relaunched its Web site in...

SAN FRANCISCO, Nov 13 (Reuters) - News and information company Reuters Group Plc (RTR.L: Quote, Profile , Research) has taken a stake in Web media syndication site Pluck Corp. and agreed to distribute blogs worldwide as part of its new media strategy. Reuters has invested $7 million in the Austin, Texas-based company in return for an undisclosed ownership stake, Pluck Co-founder and Chief...

The St. Paul Pioneer Press will eliminate the equivalent of 40 full-time jobs after seeing ad revenue drop in key categories, a trend that accelerated in recent months. The jobs will be cut through a combination of attrition, buyouts and layoffs. The newsroom, the paper's single largest department, will cut the equivalent of 20 full-time positions. The other cuts will be spread across the...

The general entertainment segment on television is at its aggressive best. Channels are using every possible means to grab viewer attention. You just can't escape TV promos—not just on television, but also in newspapers and out on the streets, too. Haven't you seen huge hoardings hitting you at the railway station, while driving, and even outside malls? Truly, the channel wars have now spilled out...

Al-Jazeera, the Arab news network the Bush administration says is a tool of al-Qaeda, will launch Wednesday its English version, which will be available in 70 million households worldwide. Al-Jazeera International will broadcast from Doha, Qatar, and from bureaus in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia; London; and Washington, D.C. Cable and satellite distribution deals are expected to be announced today...

One of India's largest listed media firms, Zee Telefilms Ltd. has bought 50 percent in Dubai-based Taj Television's Ten Sports channel for an undisclosed sum. Zee has said that its all-cash purchase was based on an enterprise value of $114 million for Taj Television. "The financial statements of the Abdul Rahman Bukhatir-owned Taj Television would be consolidated in Zee's books. Taj TV is expected...

So much for the government's whingeing about "biased" media coverage of the Iraq war. New research suggests Tony Blair et al might have got off lightly: academics who have analysed coverage of the war have found that many media reports filed during the conflict favoured coalition forces - with more than 80% of all stories taking the government line on the moral case for war. "Our findings fail to...

The Zimbabwe government has directed the country's largest journalism training school to accept only students who have completed a controversial national youth-service training programme -- blamed by critics for brainwashing youths into zealots of President Robert Mugabe's ruling Zanu-PF party. Churches and human rights groups say graduates of the training programme, which is run by former and...