Media Freedom

World’s Press Calls for Greater Protection for Journalists

WAN/IFRA The World Association of Newspapers and News Publishers (WAN-IFRA) has called on governments worldwide for greater protections for media working in conflict areas, in the wake of the widely reported murders of two photojournalists in the Middle East. A resolution issued by the Board of WAN-IFRA, meeting Sunday on the eve of the World Publishing Expo in Amsterdam, also called for a concerted global effort to end impunity for the killers of journalists. “The targeting of journalists represents a serious threat to maintaining free, independent media. Stronger protections, more resources and better…Read more

Zambian government launches code of ethics for journalists

Media Institute of Southern Africa  At the launch of the Independent Broadcasting Authority (IBA) in Lusaka on 3 September 2014, Zambia's Information and Broadcasting Services Minister Joseph Katema also launched a code of ethics for Zambian media. Katema told Zambian media they must be loyal to the public and are responsible for delivering the truth to the public, rather than to individuals and their private agendas. Dr Katema said all media institutions in the country, whether private or public, should maintain high ethical and professional standards in carrying out their noble role of…Read more

Shots fired at home of senior leader of Pakistani journalists’ union

The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) reiterates its serious concerns towards safety of journalists in Pakistan after the senior leader of the IFJ affiliate, the Pakistan Federal Union of Journalists (PFUJ), had shots fired at his home this week. Unidentified people fired shots at the home of Rana Mohammad Azeem, the Lahore-based president of the PFUJ, on September 16 in a move he believes was intended to intimidate and silence him. The PFUJ said this was the second time in a week that shots have been fired. No one was hurt in either…Read more

In Telangana, India, 70 members of press detained, two channels blocked, media threatened

Scores of journalists and media workers were briefly detained Tuesday and Wednesday [September 10 and 11, 2014] in India's newly carved state of Telangana after protesting the blocking of two local TV news channels, according to news reports. The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns the detentions and calls on the state's chief minister to stop using incendiary language against the press. Around 70 journalists, media workers, and employees of news outlets werearrested earlier this week while protesting the blacking out of two local TV channels, according to news reports. The privately owned Telugu-language news channels, TV9 and ABN…Read more
CMAG Statement on The Maldives

CMAG Statement on The Maldives

14/02/2012By: Commonwealth Secretariat The Commonwealth Ministerial Action Group (CMAG) have issued the following statement on the situation in The Maldives: Statement by the Chair on behalf of CMAG 1. The Commonwealth Ministerial Action Group (CMAG) held an extraordinary meeting by teleconference to consider the situation in the Republic of Maldives. The meeting was convened by the Commonwealth Secretary-General, Kamalesh Sharma, and chaired by Hon Surujrattan Rambachan, Minister for Foreign Affairs and Communications of Trinidad and Tobago. Other members of the Group who participated in the meeting were: Hon Kevin Rudd, Minister for Foreign…Read more
UK Public wants tougher, independent press regulation

UK Public wants tougher, independent press regulation

 14/02/2012 By: MediaLawyer There is public "consensus" that the Press needs a tougher regulatory system independent of politicians, Culture Secretary Jeremy Hunt said. Newspapers must face "credible punishment" for stepping out of line and the Government would look "very, very carefully" at the recommendations of the Leveson Inquiry into Press standards, he added. Speaking to Andrew Marr on the BBC, he said any new regulatory body "must have the confidence of the public". But he said the "elephant in the room" was technological advances which newspapers were struggling to adapt to, with increasing…Read more