Govt policies

South African President Kgalema Motlanthe has reportedly refused to sign the Films and Publications Amendment Bill, questioning its constitutionality and returning it "untouched" to Parliament, according to the Media Institute of Southern Africa (MISA). The controversial bill, drafted by the Department of Home Affairs (DHA) and initially meant to fight child pornography, has been referred back to...

The Union government has announced 100 per cent foreign direct investment (FDI) in the facsimile editions of foreign newspapers, provided the investment is held directly by the owners of original publication. According to the new FDI norms for facsimile editions issued by the commerce ministry on Wednesday, the policy for FDI in publication of facsimile edition of foreign newspapers include...

The proposed changes in the Cable Television Network Regulations Act have been put on hold after top editors of major television news channels unanimously agreed to oppose the proposed amendments. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Wednesday stepped in to assure news broadcasters that nothing would be finalised without "the widest possible consultation with all the stakeholders and eliciting their...

The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) has welcomed recommendations released by the French government in its Green Paper on press reforms in France. The Green Paper, published on January 8, contains 90 recommendations to reform the current functioning of the press in France. An important proposal concerns existing authors' rights to remuneration for multiple-use of a journalistic work...

The Uruguayan Senate has approved a bill that provides for modifications to several articles of the country's press law, in addition to articles in the Criminal Code. The modifications include significant elements affecting defamation and the offence of "insult to authorities" (desacato), the World Association of Community Radio Broadcasters (AMARC) has reported. The bill was unanimously approved...

The Korean government must act urgently over fears for the future of press freedom in the country, the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) has urged. The call is among a number of IFJ proposals to end the deadlock between staff and management in a 154-day battle over editorial independence at the broadcaster YTN, a 24-hour news network. IFJ, which has concluded an emergency mission to...

The Botswana Parliament on December 10 pressed ahead with passing of the controversial Media Practitioners Bill. The bill, which faced fierce objections and an outcry from the media and the public in general, is now at the parliamentary committee stage before the final vote, according to the Media Institute of Southern Africa (MISA). The bill provides for the setting up of a statutory media...

The Council of Europe’s decision to adopt a treaty on access to information has created more ire than evoking support because of its "incomplete" and "unsupportive" status. Without discussing issues pointed out by members of parliament, over 250 civil society groups, a dozen European information commissioners and several governments—the secretive approach of Council of Europe (CoE) has raised

The Kazakh government's human rights record, including free speech issues, is inconsistent with standards embraced by the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), whose chairmanship the former is to take over in 2010. This, says Human rights Watch, risks undermining the integrity of the institution's human rights principles. One of the key problem areas is the government's rigid

The Union government has issued guidelines for foreign news and current affairs magazines publishing Indian editions, requiring them to have Indians in all key editorial and executive positions. The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting has also mandated that 75 per cent of the boards of directors of the publishing companies should be resident Indians. The magazines have been allowed to...