Uncategorised

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) - A U.S. District Court judge ruled Wednesday that FBI agents did not use excessive force on Puerto Rican journalists who covered a raid last year on properties owned by an independence activist. U.S. District Court Judge Jose Fuste said in his ruling that courts have previously found that law enforcement officers ''may reasonably use force against members of a crowd...

Reporters Without Borders voiced grave concern about death threats sent to Farida Nekzad, editor of Afghanistan’s sole independent news agency, Pajhwok. The worldwide press freedom organisation called on the authorities to track down those responsible for the threats. For several days, Farida Nekzad has been received phone calls and emails threatening her with the same fate as Zakia Zaki and...

The presidential office Monday urged journalists and representatives of media related civic groups to accept President Roh Moo-hyun's proposal to hold a live TV debate on his government's plan to close most of the pressrooms at government offices by August. The Journalists Association of Korea (JAK) turned down Roh's offer, insisting that five prerequisites for the debate with the president remain...

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan: The Supreme Court reprimanded a senior journalist Tuesday over a report related to President Gen. Pervez Musharraf's suspension of Pakistan's top judge. The reprimand to Mohammed Saleh Zaafir came amid increasing curbs on the media's ability to report on the political crisis triggered by the suspension of Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammed Chaudhry. The court interrupted a...

Local newspapers are making inroads into producing their own video newscasts and challenging local TV stations, reports Broadcasting & Cable. Video newscasts are becoming a popular tactic employed by local newspapers looking to add a younger audience that is increasingly looking beyond print media for news sources. Newspapers who've made the digital transition include Miami Herald, Florida-based...

LONDON, June 12--Prime Minister Tony Blair on Tuesday said the news media, driven by increasing competition and pressure from fast-changing technology, has largely abandoned impartial reporting in favor of sensation, shock and controversy, which he said demoralizes public servants and badly serves the public. "The fear of missing out means today's media, more than ever before, hunts in a pack,"...

(CPJ/IFEX) - (New York, 12 June 2007) - Rwanda's Information Minister revoked the publication license of a newspaper without a required court order three days after the paper's first edition. "The Weekly Post", a privately owned, English-language weekly, did not publish this week after Information Minister Laurent Nkusi revoked its authorization, according to a copy of an official letter obtained...

(RSF/IFEX) - Reporters Without Borders has voiced satisfaction at the transitional federal government's decision to allow three privately-owned radio stations - HornAfrik, Shabelle and Quran Karim (Holy Koran) - to resume broadcasting on 10 June 2007, four days after it ordered them to suspend operations. "This decision was to be expected, as the high-handed fashion in which the stations were...

(RSF/IFEX) - Reporters Without Borders has given a cautious welcome to a decision by the Tashkent prosecutor's office to drop charges of tax evasion, defamation and working without accreditation against three freelance journalists who work for the German public broadcaster Deutsche Welle. After investigating Yuri Chernogayev, Sajera Ruzikulova and Obid Shabanov for months, the prosecutor's office...

ISLAMABAD: Journalists have announced to stage a protest demonstration today (Tuesday) as Senate Secretariat denied to issue cards to journalists for coverage of the Upper House session following a successful negotiations between member of National Assembly and the journalists after pandemonium of last week. Imposing ban on permanent cards of journalists, Senate Chairman Mohammedmian Soomro...