ARCHIVES: International
This year could be the deadliest one yet for journalists. A wave of killings in the first days of the new year have undermined hopes that the falling death toll recorded in 2008 was the first sign of a change in the pattern of killings which have risen dramatically in recent years. "The welcome relief brought about by the decline in the killings of journalists in 2008 has been shot lived," said Aidan White, International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) General Secretary at a press conference to... MORE
The economic downturn has forced the postponement of the World Association of Newspapers (WAN) annual congress and forum, the largest annual international gathering of newspaper executives and editors, MediaGuardian.co.uk has reported. This year's annual conference for WAN and its related organisation, the World Editors Forum (WEF), was scheduled to take place March 22-25 in Hyderabad. WAN/WEF hopes to reschedule the 62nd World Newspaper Congress and 16th World Editors Forum for late November... MORE
Freedom retreated in much of the world in 2008, the third year of global decline as measured by Freedom House's annual survey of political rights and civil liberties. Sub-Saharan Africa and the former Soviet Union saw the most reversals, while South Asia showed significant improvement. "The advance of freedom in South Asia was a rare bright spot in a year that was otherwise marked by setbacks and stagnation," says Freedom House Director of Research Arch Puddington, who pegged the start of the... MORE
During the past year, ninety-five journalists in 32 countries paid with their lives for exercising their profession. This figure, according to the 2008 Press Emblem Campaign (PEC) report, is lower than the record 115 journalists killed last year, but this drop of 17.5 per cent is solely due to an improvement in security in Iraq. On average, nearly two journalists were killed every week in the course of the last three years (96 in 2006; 115 in 2007; 95 in 2008). Many others were injured,... MORE
Media coverage of car crashes may harm rather than help public health. The media tends to obscure the bigger picture of motor-vehicles crashes as a leading cause of injury and death—and the number-one killer of young adults—by presenting car crashes as episodic, human interest stories. This type of coverage, according to two new studies published in the US-based National Safety Council's 'Journal of Safety Research', gives the impression that crashes are random and unpreventable. The studies... MORE
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has agreed to open the World Newspaper Congress, World Editors Forum and Info Services Expo 2009, the global summit meetings of the world’s press, to be held in Hyderabad, India, from March 22-25, 2009. The events, organised by the World Association of Newspapers (WAN) and hosted by the Indian Newspaper Society (INS), are expected to draw 2,000 newspaper publishers, managing directors, CEO, chief editors and other senior newspaper executives at a time when the... MORE
For the sixth consecutive year, Iraq is the deadliest country in the world for the press, the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) has found in its end-of-year analysis. The 11 deaths recorded in Iraq in 2008, while a sharp drop from prior years, remained among the highest annual tolls in CPJ history. Worldwide, CPJ found that 41 journalists were killed in direct connection to their work in 2008, down from 65 last year. It is investigating another 22 deaths to determine whether they were work... MORE
Attacks on journalists throughout the world—by organised crime groups in Latin America, autocratic regimes in the Middle East, repressive governments in Africa and by combatants in war zones—pose serious threats to press freedom, the World Association of Newspapers (WAN) has said in its half-year review of press freedom worldwide. The report, presented Monday to the Board of the Paris-based WAN, highlighted a growing list of abuses against press freedom and freedom of expression. Thirty-nine... MORE
NowPublic has declared "crowd-powered" news reports of terrorist attacks in Mumbai as a climactic moment in a year in which citizen journalism proved its mettle. The India tragedy heads a list of 'Top 10 Moments In User-Generated News' determined by editors at the Vancouver-based startup. NowPublic's '2008: A Year in User-Generated News' serves as a snapshot and analysis of the seismic shift in the ways we use to gather, share and consume news and information. "2008 not only proved the concept... MORE
Najam Sethi, editor-in-chief of Friday Times and Daily Times in Pakistan, has been awarded the 2009 Golden Pen of Freedom, the annual press freedom prize of the World Association of Newspapers (WAN). Sethi, whose newspapers advocate liberal and secular ideas in a country too-often torn by religious extremism, was honoured for his outstanding defence and promotion of press freedom under difficult circumstances and constant personal danger. Due to the editorial policies of the newspapers, which... MORE
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