State Control

The process to award four community radio licences, approved by the Swazi government in October 2008, has plunged into controversy and uncertainty, according to the Media Institute of Southern Africa (MISA). This follows a statement issued on February 5 by the Swaziland Radio Regulator stating that the four applicants short-listed for the licences have been disqualified as opposed to having their...

Botswana's new Media Practitioners Act is a threat to the rights and free operations and existence of the media in the country, free speech groups have said. While the law says it is aimed at preserving media freedom, upholding standards of professional conduct and promoting ethical standards and discipline, these good intentions are undermined by many sections of the law which we believe restrict...

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...

An Argentine radio station political commentator has been fired allegedly motivated by pressure from the Cristina Kirchner government over a controversy unleashed in the country's news media. Journalist Nelson Castro had signed a contract to host the program "Puntos de vista" (Points of View), aired by Radio del Plata radio station, through to the end of 2009, but it was cancelled after he...

Cook Islands has launched the country's Official Information Act (OIA) implementation plan, the Pacific Islands News Association (PINA) has said quoting Cook Islands News. "We are the first Pacific Island jurisdiction to introduce a freedom of information regime and there is a lot of interest from other Pacific Island countries who are considering a similar thing," said deputy Prime minister Sir...

Swaziland's Prime Minister, Sibusiso Dlamini, notorious for harassing and closing down media houses during his previous term as prime minister between 1993 and 2003, has assured journalists that they will enjoy media freedom during his new term. Dlamini was recently re-appointed by the king. Speaking to editors during a breakfast meeting on January 29, 2009, Dlamini said the media shouldn't be...

Journalists in at least three Iraqi cities were harassed on Wednesday as police, soldiers, prisoners, some government employees, and displaced persons kicked off the early voting phase of Iraq's provincial councils elections, according to local and international news reports and journalists who spoke to the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ). In the southern city of Basra, 15 Iraqi reporters...

Reporters sans Frontières (RSF) has condemned a proposed criminal law amendment before Czech Republic parliament that would ban the media from publishing the contents of police telephone taps or any information about the tapping of phones by the police. The proposed amendment provides for sentences of one to five years in prison and fines up to 5 million crowns (182,000 euros) for violators. “In...

Reporters sans Frontières (RSF) has expressed dismay at Equatorial Guinea deputy information minister Purita Opo Barila’s arbitrary decision, announced on January 19, to dismiss four journalists from state radio and TV broadcaster RTVGE for “insubordination” and “lack of enthusiasm.” “Equatorial Guinea is one of those African countries about which nothing or almost nothing is known because the...

Iran's culture and Islamic orientation minister Mohammad Hossein Safar-Harandi has banned BBC’s new Farsi-language TV station from operating in the country, and also forbidden Iranian journalists to work for foreign news media, Reporters sans Frontières has reported. The decision follows the BBC World Service’s launch on January 14 of BBC Persian TV, a satellite TV station targeted at Farsi...