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Press freedom organisations have strongly condemned the murder in Baidoa of presenter Ali Mohammed Omar of Radio Warsan on February 16, and deplored the “deteriorating security situation” in Somalia which it said was taking a toll on journalists. Omar was shot in the head on his way home. Somali Transitional Government troops patrol Mogadishu in January 2007 in the government officials'

CONAKRY (Reuters) - Up to a week ago, Guinea's private radio stations were broadcasting dramatic first-hand accounts of violent street clashes between anti-government protesters and security forces. But since President Lansana Conte decreed martial law on Feb 12, non-government broadcasters are either off the air or playing innocuous music as media freedom becomes another casualty of the military...

(RSF/IFEX) - RSF has categorised as "confusing" the manner in which a new warrant was issued on 7 February 2007 for the arrest of Freddy Muñoz, the Colombian correspondent of the pan-Latin American television station Telesur, who was freed on 9 January after being held for 50 days. Charged with providing logistical support for a 2002 bombing by guerrillas of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of...

A journalist has been stabbed to death in northern Nicaragua, police in the country said today. Police spokesman Omar Flores told The Associated Press that Danilo Torres Rodriguez was found dead yesterday in his home in Esteli, 65 miles north of Managua, the capital. Police believe the 54-year-old’s killers stole his vehicle and then abandoned it in another part of the city, but they have no...

February 18, 2007 -- The magazine publishing world was abuzz last week as the latest circulation numbers showed continued weakness - meaning more editors are surely on the hot seat. Magazines - like television and other Old-Guard media - are seeing readers and advertising dollars follow consumers online. "What's hurting magazines the most is the loss of readers of its printed pages to the Internet...

At a party to celebrate the launch of its latest title Look last week, IPC chief executive Sylvia Auton told staff: 'This year will be our biggest ever.' Such occasions are not renowned for plain speaking, but there was some substance behind Auton's corporate platitudes. 'The UK market has simply never been tougher,' she said, adding that the internet is about to make life even harder. Hours...

February 18, 2007 -- A war between old and new media has begun. After peaceably co-existing for years, the analog and digital media worlds have swapped the first salvos over content in what could be a very messy - and costly - battle. Earlier this month, Apple CEO Steve Jobs squeezed off a shot over the bow of the music industry by posting a 1,800-word missive seeking to abolish copyright...

Reporters Without Borders voiced deep concern today about the disappearance last night of Subramaniam Ramachandran, the correspondent of the Tamil dailies Thinakural and Valampuri in the Vadamaradchi region north of Jaffna. The organisation said it was worried about the cruel lack of protection for media personnel in this region. “Alarming acts of violence against journalists and human rights...

A Venezuelan juvenile court has slapped a fine against an opposition daily for publishing a tongue-in-cheek newspaper editorial based on a dialogue between President Hugo Chávez and his 9-year-old daughter. The director of Tal Cual opposition newspaper, Teodoro Petkoff, right and comedian Laureano Marquez, centre, at a press conference in Caracas, Wednesday, February 14, 2007. Marquez, one of

The much-awaited hearings on the July 2004 murder of Forbes Russia Editor Paul Klebnikov have been put off until mid-March after two key suspects failed to appear in court Thursday, news agency RIA Novosti has reported. Paul Klebnikov's 2004 murder stoked international concern about freedom of speech in Russia, an issue pushed back into the spotlight by the killing last year of crusading Russian