Global Journalist Noted
2006 most deadly year for journalists says the IPI World Press Freedom Review
Vienna-based International Press Institute's annual press freedom review reported the deaths of 100 journalists making 2006 “the most savage and brutal year in the history of the modern media.”
Local journalists in Iraq accounted for 48 of the deaths. The high profile murder of Russian journalist Anna Politkovskaya added to the 43 journalists killed in Russia since 1997, according to IPI.
In Asia 29 journalists lost their lives, including 10 in the Philippines and five in Sri Lanka where violence against the media is escalating.
Five journalists in Africa died on the job, including a reporter who was killed in Sudan for covering the Danish cartoon controversy surrounding the depiction of Mohammed. The America's added 17 deaths to the list.
To read the full review online, visit www.freemedia.at
Absence of shield laws in Latin America suppresses journalists
During the InterAmerican Press Association's (IPA) four-day seminar, it heard representatives from Bolivia, Uruguay, Venezuela and Ecuador say hostility between government and press is rising.
They were specifically concerned with country leaders, such as the absolute power of Hugo Chavez in Venezuela, President Evo Morales in Bolivia and Morales' desire to open government-friendly media outlets. Uruguay's President Tabare Vazquez accused the media of immoral reports and Ecuador's newly elected Rafael Correa dubbed the press as “information mafias”.
Also discussed was Columbia. Even though the country ranks third on the list of most dangerous countries for journalists, Columbia did not lose any journalists over the past six months. However, the same cannot be said for Mexico, which was described as a “killing ground.”
Reuters to start financial MySpace
Reuters plans to join the social-networking craze by launching a financial version of MySpace later this year.
Instead of using the mass appeal of traditional networking sites, Reuters hopes to attract fund managers, traders and analysts who already utilize the company's messaging service. The service will be exclusive to Reuters' 70,000 subscribers.
“It won't have the latest hot videos and the 'why I am into Metallica and the Arctic Monkeys' blogs,” says Tom Glocer, Reuters chief executive. “Instead we are going to give our financial service users the ability to post their research or if they are traders, post their trading models.”
Glocer says he anticipates that subscribers will be interested in the ability to share research on the site.
Killing the Messenger finds 1,000 journalists killed in past 10 years.
The International News Safety Institute, a coalition of media organizations dedicated to the safety and humane treatment of journalists and press freedom, conducted a survey between January 1996 and January 2006 that found 1,000 journalists were killed in the 10-year period, a death rate of two journalists per week. The survey included all media personnel that died covering the news around the world
In its findings, Killing the Messenger's statistics revealed that one in four journalists died in war and other conflicts, and 657 men and women were killed in peacetime in their own countries. In cases involving murder, two-thirds of the perpetrators were not identified, and probably never will be, according to the report. Nine out of 10 cases have never been prosecuted.
“In many countries, murder has become the easiest, cheapest and most effective way of silencing troublesome reporting, and the more the killers get away with it the more the spiral of death is forced upwards,” says Rodney Pinder, director of INSI. “Most of those killed were murdered because of their jobs – eliminated by hostile authorities or criminals as they tried to shine light into the darkest corners of their societies.”
The report named the 21 most dangerous countries in the past 10 years as Iraq (138 deaths), Russia (88), Colombia (72), Philippines (55), Iran (54*), India (45), Algeria (32), the former republic of Yugoslavia (32), Mexico (31), Pakistan (29), Brazil (27), USA (21), Bangladesh (19), Ukraine (17), Nigeria, Peru, Sierra Leone & Sri Lanka (16), Afghanistan, Indonesia and Thailand (13). Iran's figures were heightened by an accident in December 2005 when a military aircraft crashed in Tehran with 48 journalists and media staff on board. One-third of the deaths occurred near the victims' home, hotel or office, and 91 percent of the journalists killed were on staff, 9 percent were freelancers.
The INSI also made international, national and military recommendations to assess violations against a free press and “recognize the right of the news media, “ as well as urged governments to follow through on accountability by not allowing these crimes to go unpunished.
To read the INSI's full survey, report and recommendations, visit www.newssafety.com .
60th World Newspaper Conference to be held in South Africa
More than 1,500 newspaper publishers, chief editors and newspaper executives will gather to discuss developments and topics affecting the newspaper industry between June 3 and 6 in Cape Town, South Africa for the World Association of Newspapers 60th World Newspaper Conference. The Annual Press Freedom Round Table will cover press freedom and development in Africa.
For more information on the conference, visit www.wan-press.org/capetown2007 .
Freedom House launches new section to website devoted to press freedom trends
Freedom House recently launched a new section of its Web site, freedomhouse.org, dedicated to press freedom trends since 1980 for 194 countries and territories around the world based on its annual Freedom of the Press Survey. Interactive maps on the Web site allow users to click on a country or region to find its press freedom status, a rating of the legal, political and economic environments, population as well as a gross national income per capita, life expectancy, a breakdown of religious and ethnic groups and a summary of events and issues influencing the state of its media.
Other additions to the site include overviews on global press freedom for each year since 2002. New resources include Freedom House press releases, essays and information and links to other press and media freedom organizations.
“Freedom of the press is a fundamental right; without it, there can be no freedom of religion or freedom of expression, and there can be no accountability of governments,” said Karin Karlekar, managing editor of the Freedom of the Press survey, in a Freedom House release.
Freedom House is an independent non-governmental organization working to expand and advocate press freedom around the world.
2006-07 Commonwealth Photographic Awards: Deadline for entries extended by three months
Due to many requests for more time to prepare entries received from people in several countries, the organizers of the 2006/7 Commonwealth Photographic Awards – the Commonwealth Press Union – have decided to extend the deadline for entries for the to Friday 27 April 2007.
'Achievement' is the theme – three different categories to enter – cash prizes to be won!
Full details at www.cpu.org.uk/photoawards/