On 30th October, the NUJ (UK and Ireland) launched a new campaign to tackle the equal pay gap in the media.
The campaign aims to get more people to take up the fight against gender pay inequality. It is also aiming to put pressure on the UK government to improve the provisions of the Equal Pay Act.
For more on the campaign, including advice on tackling unfair pay and our top-ten equal pay facts go to the NUJ Equal Pay pages.
Useful links on the NUJ web site:What is Equal Pay? Pay Equity Top Ten, By Leena Calvert, Equality Officer
Bauer, a German based publisher owning more than 230 magazines in 15 countries, as well as TV and radio stations, is issuing a rights-grab contract to its freelance contributors in the UK.
The contract was called one of the "harshest" to-date by the NUJ. It obliges freelances to sign away their copyright, waive their moral rights - and included warranties and an indemnity clause, which would have made freelance contributors responsible for the costs of any legal dispute arising from their work. Such costs are typically much higher in the UK than other European countries: taking a case as far as the Court of Appeal can easily cost €500,000 and if you lose there you will have to…
Bauer, a German based publisher owning more than 230 magazines in 15 countries, as well as TV and radio stations, is issuing a rights-grab contract to its freelance contributors in the UK.
The contract was called one of the "harshest" to-date by the NUJ. It obliges freelances to sign away their copyright, waive their moral rights - and included warranties and an indemnity clause, which would have made freelance contributors responsible for the costs of any legal dispute arising from their work. Such costs are typically much higher in the UK than other European countries: taking a case as far as the Court of Appeal can easily cost €500,000 and if you lose there you will have…
To read the full mission statement, click here.
The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ), as part of the third visit of the International Press Freedom Mission to Sri Lanka between October 25 and 29, has joined a statement expressing concern at the deterioration in the situation since the last visit in June 2007.Among the most serious developments that the mission encountered was the use of terrorism legislation, for the first time in the democratic world, to punish journalists purely for what they have written. J.S. Tissainayagam, B. Jasiharan and V. Vallarmathy have been detained since March 2008 and in the case of the first-named, the Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA)…
The Dutch National Archive is placing a selection of photographs from the Ministry for Labour collection on the Flickr photo-sharing web site. This initiative forms part of a wider project to digitise more than one million photos from the Dutch archives.
The photos are shared on a "no copyright restriction" basis. "This means that there are no copyright restrictions on the works designated, either because the National Archive owns the copyright of the photographs and authorises others to use the work without restrictions, or because the copyright may have expired" say the Dutch archivists.
In the Netherlands, copyright protection runs for the whole life of the…
The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) today condemned the attack and attempted abduction of journalist and media advocate Geoffrey Ssebagala by unidentified men in the Ugandan capital, Kampala on Monday and called on authorities to ensure his safety.
"The attempted abduction of Ssebagala is no doubt orchestrated by those who feel threatened by his work as a journalist and advocate for other journalists," said Gabriel Baglo, Director of the IFJ Africa Office. "Authorities must find those who are responsible and ensure Ssebagala's safety. Our colleague has broadcast reports that are critical of the government and others and we are concerned that this attack was in…
The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) is concerned by restrictions imposed by China’s authorities on media reports about the impact of the current global financial turmoil in China. According to journalists who contacted the IFJ, propaganda officials in Guangdong province and the central government in Beijing tried to restrict reporting on factories being shut down in the Pearl River Delta Region, a manufacturing zone in the province, after reports appeared in newspapers.The affected factories include those owned by Hong Kong-based Smart Union Group (Holdings) Limited, a toy manufacturer which reportedly filed for liquidation in October causing the loss of thousands of…
The IWMF Courage in Journalism Awards honor women journalists who have shown extraordinary strength of character and integrity while reporting the news under dangerous or difficult circumstances. The Lifetime Achievement Awardrecognizes a woman journalist who has a pioneering spirit and whose determination has paved the way for women in the news media. This year's awardees are Farida Nekzad, Sevgul Uludag and Edith Ederer for lifetime Achievement.
Farida Nekzad, 31, is the managing editor and deputy director of Pajhwok Afghan News and vice president of the South Asia Media Commission. Despite working under tremendous pressure at a time when women journalists in particular…
The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ),
the European group of the International Federation of Journalists, today expressed
its concerns over plans to “modernise” the statutes of French news agency
Agence France Presse (AFP).
“If by modernization, AFP plans to open itself
up to investment by private companies, then we do not see it as a modernization,”
said EFJ President Arne König. “AFP has a unique statute and mission that
guarantee its independence and private shareholders would harm to the
credibility of the agency. We also point out that it is totally contradictory
to suppress commercial revenues for public broadcasters but…
The IWMF Courage in Journalism Awards honor women journalists who have shown extraordinary strength of character and integrity while reporting the news under dangerous or difficult circumstances. The Lifetime Achievement Award recognizes a woman journalist who has a pioneering spirit and whose determination has paved the way for women in the news media. This year's awardees are Farida Nekzad, Sevgul Uludag and Edith Ederer for lifetime Achievement.
Farida Nekzad, 31, is the managing editor and deputy director of Pajhwok Afghan News and vice president of the South Asia Media Commission. Despite working under tremendous pressure at a time when women journalists in particular…
The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) welcomes reports that
broadcaster Jun Digamon has finally been cleared of libel charges after a seven
year legal battle against a former local TV celebrity.
According to the National Union of Journalists
of the Philippines (NUJP),
an IFJ affiliate, a Regional Trial Court Branch 17 judge found last week that
there was no evidence of libel in Digamon’s reporting and commentary for Radyo
Bombo over an alleged affair between celebrity Jeanette Lomanta and Davao congressman
Prospero Nograles.
Nograles and Lomanta sued several reporters, including
Digamon and fellow Radyo Bombo journalist Alex Adonis.
In…
The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) and its European regional organisation, the European Federation of Journalists, today condemned the killing of journalist Ivo Pukanic and media executive Niko Franjic in a targeted car-bombing attack and warned that a wave of violence against journalists is threatening press freedom and investigative journalism in the country.
"It is shocking that such a violent attack could take place in Europe and we are calling on the authorities to launch a swift investigation to find those responsible," said IFJ General Secretary Aidan White. "This latest attack is part of a continuing attack on press freedom and investigative journalism in…
The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ), the regional group of the International Federation of Journalists, today condemned the beating of journalist Makis Nodaros in Southern Greece, who appeared to be targeted for his investigative reporting on corruption and mismanagement of relief efforts for victims of Greek forest fires.
"We are joining with our Greek colleagues to demand a full investigation that finds not only finding those who attacked Makis but also identifies those who ordered this shocking attack," said EFJ General Secretary Aidan White. "This is an appalling example of how journalists are increasingly being targeted for their work."
Nodaros recently…
The International
Federation of Journalists (IFJ) today applauded the news that Chinese citizen journalist
and blogger Hu Jia has been awarded the European Parliament’s 2008 Sakharov
Prize for Freedom of Thought, and called on China to release him from prison
immediately.
The European Parliament reportedly described Hu Jia as “a
leading symbol of China’s
human rights problems… He represents all the other Chinese and Tibetan citizens
who are repressed: lawyers, journalists, petitioners, human rights activists,
writers and cyber-dissidents.”
However, China’s
Foreign Ministry spokesman condemned the European…
Media Release: Sri Lanka October
24, 2008
New Level of
Danger for Sri Lanka’s Journalists as Threats Mount
The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) is alarmed at
widespread and frequent verbal and physical…
The International Federation
of Journalists (IFJ) welcomes the open dialogue between the Ministry for
Information and Communications and leading journalists’ organisations in Nepal after a
constructive meeting between Information and Communications Minister Krishna
Bahadur Mahara and the Federation of Nepali Journalists (FNJ) on October 21.
During the meeting Dharmendra Jha, President of the FNJ,
an IFJ affiliate, presented the
Minister with a 15-point memorandum on media related issues under Nepal’s
newly elected democratic government.
The memorandum emphasised the imperative for a guarantee for press
freedom to be an unalterable element of…
The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) welcomes the overturning of a death sentence of young journalist Sayed Parvez Kambakhsh at his appeal hearing in Kabul on October 21 as an encouraging step towards justice but demands a full withdrawal of all charges.
The IFJ reiterates the message to Afghanistan President Hamid Karzai by the Afghan Independent Journalists Association (AIJA), an IFJ affiliate, and the Committee to Protect Afghan Journalists (CPAJ) to follow through on a commitment he made to the country’s two leading journalists organisations to intervene in this case.
A Kabul appeals court replaced the death penalty with a 20 year…
The
European Federation of Journalists (EFJ), the European group of the
International Federation of Journalists, today backed Romanian journalists in
their demand that the government respect the collective agreements it
negotiated with journalists and other staff working for public media.
At
its Congress on October 18, the Romanian journalists’ union MediaSind, an IFJ and EFJ affiliate, called on the government for a fair
and rapid implementation of the collective agreement.
“The
role of authorities is not only to create the regulatory framework for public
broadcasting, but also to guarantee political independence and sufficient
financing, which…
The International Federation of Journalists today welcomed the action of China to allow foreign reporters to work freely as a “challenging step forward” and called on the country to embrace press freedom principles in all areas of media policy.
On Friday new regulations, approved by Prime Minister Wen Jiabao, were announced. These make permanent the less restrictive rules for reporting that were introduced prior to the Olympic Games and were due to expire on October 17. Under the regulations foreign reporters are able to travel where they wish without prior permission and to interview anyone who is willing to talk to them.
"This is a…
A number of publishers including Time INC, Hachette and Forbes have won a lawsuit against a file-sharing web site that hosted entire copies of their magazines and delivered them to thousands of registered users.
Mygazines.com allowed users to upload and share digital copies of magazines such as Marie Claire, Esquire and Playboy, catalogues and other copyrighted material.
The case was settled in early September, with Mygazines agreeing to remove copyrighted material, monitor uploads for any content not authorised by the publishers and open a channel to allow Mygazines to be notified when copyrighted content appears.
Mygazines.com now explains on its front page that "due to…
The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) today called on the Greek government to investigate reports that local authorities near the border with the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia failed to respect journalists' rights when four Macedonian journalists were filming near an army training site.
"We understand concerns about filming near security and military institutions, but we believe the Greek government must provide a full explanation of the circumstances around the arrest of these journalists," said IFJ Deputy General Secretary Paco Audije. "There must be no suggestion that accredited journalists have been subject to unwarranted pressure and…
A number of publishers including Time INC, Hachette and Forbes have won a lawsuit against a file-sharing web site that hosted entire copies of their magazines and delivered them to thousands of registered users.
Mygazines.com allowed users to upload and share digital copies of magazines such as Marie Claire, Esquire and Playboy, catalogues and other copyrighted material.
The case was settled in early September, with Mygazines agreeing to remove copyrighted material, monitor uploads for any content not authorised by the publishers and open a channel to allow Mygazines to be notified when copyrighted content appears.
Mygazines.com now explains on its front page…
The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ), the regional group of the International Federation of Journalists, today welcomed a ground-breaking commitment by the Irish government to bring in a new law giving freelance journalists the right to collective representation by trade unions.
The commitment was secured by the Irish Congress of Trade Unions as part of the national partnership agreement recently finalised in Dublin.
The campaign was led by the EFJ affiliate, the Nation Union of Journalists, and another sister union, SIPTU and was supported by the European Federation.
The EFJ has been fighting for years at national and European level for the rights of freelance media workers…
The International Federation of
Journalists (IFJ) is dismayed to learn of further orders by China’s Central Propaganda
Department against reporting on the tainted milk scandal which has swept China
and the world in the past month.
The IFJ learned that on October 10 the
Central Propaganda Department ordered media not to report on a lawsuit filed in
Yunnan province in early October against the General Administration of Quality
Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine (GAQSIQ), by parents of a baby who reportedly
developed kidney stones after consuming tainted milk.
The IFJ was told that the Propaganda
Department immediately ordered all media not to…
The number of women employed in broadcasting has fallen for the second time in as many years, according to new research by Ofcom published Wednesday. The media regulator said there was 'little evidence' that broadcasters were actively trying to recruit a more diverse workforce - but added that it was reassuring to see the number of minority ethnic and disabled people in the industry gradually increasing. The Ofcom report, based on data submitted by 138 TV and radio broadcasters at the end of 2007, found that women made up 44.9 per cent of the 72,000 people employed in the industry last year - down from 45.6 per cent in 2005. Women represented 31.8 per cent of the staff employed at senior…
IPS: Pakistan's mushrooming electronic media has transformed the political landscape in this South Asian nation where illiteracy bars some 60 percent of the people from reading newspapers. It has also thrown up new challenges for young people entering media, particularly women.
Read the full story on IPS web site
From ILGA-Europe
The aim of this publication is to contribute to increased and better reporting of homophobic and transphobic incidents by providing tools and a methodology to document and report violence motivated by hatred against lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people in a systematic and factual manner.
This handbook is designed for LGBT and human rights organisations who intend to monitor the occurrence of homophobic and transphobic incidents and violence in order to advocate for legislative changes to increase legal protections from violence motivated by hatred towards LGBT people at national, European and international levels.
The lack of documented facts on…
The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) is deeply concerned for the safety of journalists and media workers in Pakistan after a cameraman received serious gunshot wounds while reporting on a clash between students at a college in Karachi on October 12.
The Pakistan Federal Union of Journalists (PFUJ), an IFJ affiliate, reported Farhan Somroo, a cameraman with Aaj TV, is in a critical condition after he was hit in the stomach by two bullets.
Reporter Osma Chaudhry was also injured, but is out of danger. Four other people were also hurt in the incident.
Somroo and Chaudhry were reporting on pre-admission entry exams for students at Karachi's Swedish…
The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) today welcomed the launch of the Journalists' Association of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) national survey on women journalists' working conditions.
The survey of conditions in the UAE was announced at a regional workshop held in Abu Dhabi on October 8 and 9 that gathered thirty representatives from unions and association of journalists in the Gulf region to address gender stereotypes in the profession.
The survey was initiated in response to the increasing number of women leaving their jobs as journalists in the UAE.
"The survey will examine the reasons for women's departure and the means for bringing them back into the…
The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) today welcomed the launch of the Journalists' Association of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) national survey on women journalists' working conditions.
The survey of conditions in the UAE was announced at a regional workshop held in Abu Dhabi on October 8 and 9 that gathered thirty representatives from unions and association of journalists in the Gulf region to address gender stereotypes in the profession.
The survey was initiated in response to the increasing number of women leaving their jobs as journalists in the UAE.
"The survey will examine the reasons for women's departure and the means for bringing them back…
The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) today strongly condemned the latest efforts by the Korean government to control YTN, a 24-hour television channel, in a move that has lead to the firing of journalist union activists protesting the changes.
For almost 90 days journalists have taken over the office of the newly appointed president of YTN, Gu Bon-hong, who they believe was installed to give the government control over the news channel. The dispute has led to the firing of 6 staff members while others have been suspended and disciplined. The president is working from an office nearby due to the deadlock in the talks between management and staff.
The IFJ…
The International
Federation of Journalists (IFJ) urges all members of Fiji’s
interim military government to ensure that the country’s media is not impeded
in reporting on a controversial High Court decision on October 9 which proclaims
Fiji’s
2006 military coup to be “not unlawful”.
Attorney-General Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum has warned Fiji’s media
to be “careful of what they print,
air or post”, saying they could be
held liable for contempt if they publish comments made by ousted prime minister
Laisenia Qarase last week regarding his dissatisfaction with the court’s
decision, according to Pacific Media…
The International
Federation of Journalists (IFJ) called on China’s
Government to maintain relaxed restrictions on the media beyond the October 17 deadline
set for expiration of its temporary Olympic Reporting Regulations for foreign
journalists as well as those from Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan.
“If China allows the special reporting regulations
to lapse, it will send a message that the limited gains for media freedom made during
the Olympic Games are being unwound,” IFJ Asia-Pacific
said.
“A free media is impossible while China continues
to fetter local and foreign journalists with heavy-handed interference and to
detain…
The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) today condemned the mounting delays in the appeal trial of Afghan journalist Sayed Parvez Kambakhsh, who is fighting a death sentence for the alleged crime of "blasphemy."
A Kabul appeals court has been delaying the appeal since June 15. In some instances it has cited Kambakhsh's ill health, which has been a direct result of his prolonged imprisonment.
"There is no excuse for these interminable delays," said IFJ General Secretary Aidan White. "This is additional cruelty which adds to his ordeal and his poor health. We insist that the courts act in good faith and ensure that this case is dealt with speedily. We are…
Update: On October 11 the Government Information Office issued a statement to the IFJ in response to this media release. The statement can be read here.
The International
Federation of Journalists (IFJ) has expressed fears for the independence of Taiwan’s
media after escalating instances of government interference in state-owned
media.
The IFJ has learned that the Government
Information Office (GIO) demanded on September 26 that the state-owned Central
News Agency (CNA) alter reports on the contaminated milk powder scandal which
has engulfed China.
GIO also demanded that CNA withdraw
a report which criticised President Ma Ying-Jeou, who took office…
The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) today welcomed the provisional release of Moussa Kaka by authorities in Niger after the journalist spent more than a year in detention on charges that he was linked to rebels in the northern part of the country.
"We believe that all accusations against Moussa Kaka are baseless and that he was targeted for his investigative reporting," said Gabriel Baglo, Director of the IFJ Africa Office. "His conditional release is indeed good news to the media fraternity on the continent despite the fact that he was unjustifiably held in appalling and inhumane conditions for over a year even after two judges ordered him release."
Kaka,…
As the global financial crisis has thrown companies into turmoil, it is workers who are bearing the heaviest burden of instability and recession, the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) said today as it marked the World Day for Decent Work.
Tens of thousands of workers in the financial services sector and millions more across the global economy face unemployment and a bleak future and in journalism and media the story is equally chilling.
In journalism employment conditions have been in decline for years as media owners have cut deep into labour rights and security of employment in order to protect high profit margins in a changing market. Thousands of journalists around the…
The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) today condemned the killing of Sri Lankan television journalist Rashmi Mohamed who died in a bombing of the opening ceremony of the new office of Sri Lanka's United National Party (UNP) in Anuradhapura.
"Once again indiscriminate terrorist violence has claimed a journalists' life and that of innocent civilians," said IFJ General Secretary Aidan White. "Sri Lanka is one of the most dangerous countries for journalists in the world and they are all too often targeted or part of the collateral damage of the country's violent conflict."
The IFJ joined its Sri Lankan affiliates and other Sri Lankan media groups in mourning the…
Gathered in the city of Buenos Aires, Argentina, on 29 and 30 August, 2008, representatives of the unions of journalists of Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Costa Rica, Chile, El Salvador, Honduras, Mexico, Paraguay, Peru, Dominican Republic, Uruguay and Venezuela, members of the Federation of Journalists of Latin America and the Caribbean (FEPALC), affiliated to the International Federation of Journalism, in the frame of the regional seminar "Female Leadership in Union and Media" organized by the IFJ Regional Office (IFJ/LA).
We consider:* That the situation of inequality of gender in the region is so evident, both in unions and communication media, where, despite the growing…
The US Senate passed the "Shawn Bentley Orphan Works" Bill on 26 September. This Bill will facilitate the digitisation of works whose author is unknown by universities, archives and libraries, by limiting remedies in case of copyright infringements.
If passed, this law would allow for users to digitise orphan works - provided that they have performed a diligent search to try to find the author. The Bill instructs the Register of Copyrights to create guidelines on what constitutes a diligent search.
A user who uses a work without such a search could be liable for statutory damages up to $150,000. The Bill also prevents US courts ordering compensation for non-commercial use of…
The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ), the European group of the International Federation of Journalists, said today it is worried about some proposals made by the French President Nicolas Sarkozy as he launched a national discussion on print media.
After the launch of the "Etats généraux de la presse écrite" (a national forum on written press that is organized by the government to consider changes in the sector) the unions, the EFJ and the IFJ are particularly concerned about proposals that could increase media ownership concentration and decrease journalists' rights over their own work.
"We are amazed by some contradictions in Mr.…
Gathered in the city of Buenos Aires, Argentina, on 29 and 30 August, 2008, representatives of the unions of journalists of Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Costa Rica, Chile, El Salvador, Honduras, Mexico, Paraguay, Peru, Dominican Republic, Uruguay and Venezuela, members of the Federation of Journalists of Latin America and the Caribbean (FEPALC), affiliated to the International Federation of Journalism, in the frame of the regional seminar "Female Leadership in Union and Media" organized by the IFJ Regional Office (IFJ/LA).
We consider:
* That the situation of inequality of gender in the region is so evident, both in unions and communication media, where, despite the growing…
The Eastern Africa Journalists Association (EAJA), an association that brings together journalists unions and associations in Eastern Africa, today published a regional report on "Gender Equality in the Media in Eastern Africa". The report is based on key gender planning concepts, namely Sex and Gender, Gender Equality and Gender Mainstreaming.
The report reveals the vivid role that women journalists can play through their journalists’ organizations in the region and the vibrant role of the media in addressing gender issues. It is part of a project that was designed to tackle core problems facing women in the media, empower women journalists to fight for their rights and give…
The Eastern Africa Journalists Association (EAJA), an association that brings together journalists unions and associations in Eastern Africa, today published a regional report on "Gender Equality in the Media in Eastern Africa". The report is based on key gender planning concepts, namely Sex and Gender, Gender Equality and Gender Mainstreaming.
The report reveals the vivid role that women journalists can play through their journalists’ organizations in the region and the vibrant role of the media in addressing gender issues. It is part of a project that was designed to tackle core problems facing women in the media, empower women journalists to fight for their rights and…
Today the International Federation of Journalist and its regional group, the European Federation of Journalists (EFJ), expressed their support for Greek journalists in their fight against the new law adopted by the Greek government that endangers journalists' health care and pensions.
Despite protests by all Greek unions and other social actors the new law goes into effect on October 1.
"We have closely followed this long struggle by our Greek colleagues to safeguard the social benefits and pension system in Greece," said EFJ Chair Arne König. "And we are extremely frustrated that despite all the demonstrations, strikes and other actions by our affiliates and…
Today the International Federation of Journalist and its regional group, the European Federation of Journalists (EFJ), expressed their support for Greek journalists in their fight against the new law adopted by the Greek government that endangers journalists' health care and pensions.
Despite protests by all Greek unions and other social actors the new law goes into effect on October 1.
"We have closely followed this long struggle by our Greek colleagues to safeguard the social benefits and pension system in Greece," said EFJ Chair Arne König. "And we are extremely frustrated that despite all the demonstrations, strikes and other actions by our affiliates and other…
The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) is alarmed that another journalist has been murdered in Thailand, the second such case within two months.
Jaruek Rangcharoen, a reporter for the Thai daily Matichon, was shot dead in Suphanburi province in central Thailand on September 27, according to the Thai Journalists' Association (TJA).
Jaruek had reported on alleged corruption within the local administrative organisation, and had expressed concerns about his safety, according to local reports.
Another Matichon reporter, Athiwat Chaiyanurat, was shot dead in Nakorn Sri Thammarat province, in southern Thailand, on August 1. Athiwat had also reported on…
The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ), the European group of the International Federation of Journalists, today expressed its solidarity with staff and unions at Italian TV channel La7 who are facing an unprecedented wave of lay-offs that will cut more than a quarter of the work force.
"Not only did these massive lay-offs take place without warning but they also pose a serious danger to pluralism in Italian media," said EFJ President Arne König. "This TV channel is the only alternative at national level to the public broadcaster RAI, which is controlled by Prime Minister Berlusconi's government, and the channels owned by Mr. Berlusconi outright, which makes it very…
The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) welcomes the release of writer and editor U Win Tin after 19 years’ detention in a jail in Burma, but deplores the military regime’s continuing detention of other writers and political prisoners.U Win Tin, a retired journalist, was the longest serving political prisoner in Burma. He was arrested on July 4, 1989, and sentenced to 20 years’ jail accused of “anti-government propaganda”.Now aged in his 70s, U Win Tin was released on September 23 after Burma’s junta granted an amnesty to about 9000 prisoners for “good behaviour”, according to state media. Five other political prisoners were also…
The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) condemns the decision by Malaysia’s Home Minister to detain blogger Raja Petra Kamarudin for two years under the country’s draconian Internal Security Act (ISA).The order, signed on September 22 by Home Minister Syed Hamid Albar, extends Raja Petra’s detention for two years on the grounds that his writing poses a threat to “national security”.Raja Petra has not been subject to a trial, and the order was issued despite ongoing habeas corpus proceedings by his lawyers.Raja Petra is a blogger and editor of the political website Malaysia Today. He has run the popular alternative political website for two years, and…
The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) is worried by reports of continuing attacks against media outlets in Nepal.According to the Federation of Nepali Journalists (FNJ), an IFJ affiliate, a group of people attacked the office of Sandhyakalin, a daily evening paper located in a central district of Kathmandu, on September 21. The group was reportedly protesting against reports in the paper about an earlier protest against a government decision to cut funding allocated for the public observance of upcoming festivals.Meanwhile, an armed group of about 15 people attacked staff and equipment at the offices of the Kathmandu-based daily Metro Post and weekly Democracy on September…
Israeli journalists
have spoken out against restrictions on freedom of movement facing reporters in
Palestine and
propose a joint forum with Palestinian colleagues to deal with a range of
problems facing media and journalists in the region.In a meeting with a
delegation from the International Federation of Journalists in Jerusalem last
week leaders of the Jerusalem Association of Journalists proposed setting up a regional
forum to encourage joint action by Palestinian and Israeli journalists on
issues such as safety and freedom of movement. They also suggest setting up a hotline
to help journalists in trouble. "This would be a
major step forward for journalists," said IFJ…
The International Federation of Journalists and its European group, the European Federation of Journalists (EFJ), today condemned the administrators of football in Romania for encouraging violenmt attacks on sports journalists.
The Romanian Football Federation (FRF), led by president Mircea Sandu, a member of the Executive Committee of the European Football Federation UEFA, has encouraged some football professionals in Romania to act violently - including throwing stones and being abusive - against journalists and the media.
"It is a scandal that football players are being encouraged to throw stones at journalists by their managers and…
The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) supports moves by its Indonesian affiliate, the Alliance of Independent Journalists (AJI), to review media laws in Indonesia after another guilty verdict in a media defamation case last week.The Central Jakarta District Court found Tempo magazine guilty of defaming Asian Agri and ordered the magazine’s publisher to pay 50 million rupiah (about US$5,400) in damages and publish apologies in several publications. The verdict followed legal action by Asian Agri over a series of investigative reports in Tempo in 2007 which alleged it had engaged in massive tax evasion."The lawsuit was Asian Agri's way of silencing the media," AJI said…
The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) welcomed the Iraqi government's investigation into the recent killing of four employees of Iraqi satellite TV channel Al Sharqiya in Mosul but said that authorities must investigate all unsolved killings, including the assassination of Iraqi union president Shihab Al-Timimi, if they want to ensure press freedom in the country.
"This terrible case illustrates the grave dangers Iraqi journalists still face," said IFJ General Secretary Aidan White. "We welcome the Prime Minister's announcement of an investigation into these deaths but we cannot forget the scores of Iraqi colleagues who were killed with impunity, including journalist…
The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) fears a growing clampdown against the media is under way in Malaysia, with two journalists arrested on September 12 under the Internal Security Act (ISA).Raja Petra Kamarudin, a blogger and editor of the political website Malaysia Today, is being held without charge under the ISA. He has run the popular alternative political website for two years, and has broken a string of controversial stories on the site.His office was reportedly raided by police about 10 days ago, according to local media reports, and equipment and papers were confiscated. Access to the Malaysia Today site was reportedly blocked for a week on government orders. Several…
The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) joins the call by fellow international press freedom organisations Article 19 and Reporters Without Borders for the President of Afghanistan, Hamid Karzai, to intervene immediately in the case of Ahmed Ghous Zelmay.
Zelmay, a former journalist and spokesman for the Attorney-General, was arrested by police on November 4, 2007, for publishing a Dari translation of the Qur’an, a criminal act under Islamic law.
On September 13, more than 10 months after his arrest, Zelmay was sentenced by a Kabul court to 20 years in prison. His colleague Mullah Qari Mushtaq received the same sentence.
Conservative…
The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) is
horrified to learn that two people belonging to a minority religious sect in Pakistan were
murdered shortly after a broadcaster on one of the country’s main television
channels urged viewers to kill “blasphemers” and “apostates” as a religious
duty.
According to available information, Amir Liaqat Hussain,
anchoring a program on religion on the widely viewed GEO TV on September 7,
declared that the murder of members of the Ahmadi sect was the righteous duty
of people of the Islamic faith.
He followed up by urging two other participants on his
program, who belonged to…
The International
Federation of Journalists (IFJ) condemns the detention in Thailand of an
Australian writer accused of offending the monarchy in a novel published
several years ago.
Harry Nicolaides was detained on August 31 as he was about to board a
flight to Australia, and has
been held in a remand centre in Bangkok
to await trial, according to news reports.
He is accused under Thailand’s
lese majeste laws of offending the country’s monarchy in a novel released three
years ago. Fifty copies were printed,
according to news reports.
The case underscores the IFJ’s concerns about Thailand’s severe
and…
The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) and its
local affiliates in Sri
Lanka today launched an online campaign video
condemning the arrest and indictment of senior Tamil journalist J.S.
Tissainayagam, who passed his sixth month in jail on September
7.
All
individuals and organisations are invited to join the campaign to Stop the War
on Journalists in Sri Lanka
and watch the “Release Tissa” video at http://asiapacific.ifj.org/articles/free-tissainayagam to help generate international support to end the attacks on free media in
Sri
Lanka.
Tissainayagam was
arrested on March 7, 2008, while working as the editor of the…
The International
Federation of Journalists (IFJ) is appalled that relatives and friends of four
journalists in the Philippines
received menacing text messages claiming falsely that three of the journalists had
been killed and the other seriously injured in an accident in Capiz.
According to the National Union of Journalists of the Philippines (NUJP), an IFJ affiliate, the message sent on August
31 said NUJP Capiz chapter president
John Heredia, Capiz Times editor
Gerry Pagharion and Capiz Chronicle publisher
Edward Basilonia were declared dead at Capiz Emmanuel
Hospital while Inquirer correspondent Felipe Celino was
in a critical condition.
The…
The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) today condemned the killing of Magomed Yevloyev, a Russian web site owner critical of the government who was shot in the head by police, and called for an independent investigation into his death.
Yevloyev, who died on Sunday after being shot while in police custody, was the owner of www.ingushetiya.ru, which reports on allegations of abuses, abductions and killings in Ingushetia in Russia's north Caucasus.
"The death of a leading journalist in police custody raises red flags, especially in light of the incredible violence against Russian journalists in the past two decades," said IFJ General Secretary Aidan White. "Only a…
The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) is deeply concerned that quality journalism in Australia is being seriously undermined as corporate cutbacks bite hard into a major national newspaper group known for its influential mastheads. Fairfax Media, which publishes The Sydney Morning Herald, Melbourne’s The Age, The Australian Financial Review and regional weeklies, announced on August 25 that it would cut 550 jobs - about 8 to 10 per cent of the workforce - including more than 120 journalists. On August 27, the editor of The Age, Andrew Jaspan, was sacked.The cuts are the third round of major job-shedding at Fairfax in four years. News reports also said Fairfax planned to…
The
International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) today called for the release of
three journalists -- Canadian Amanda Lindhout, Australian
Nigel Brenan and Somali Abdifatah
Mohammed Elmi and their driver only
named as Mahad -- after they
were abducted on Saturday near the Somali capital, Mogadishu.
“This shocking
incident underscores the terrible dangers and threats that continue to face journalists
in Somalia,”
said Gabriel Baglo, the Director of the IFJ Africa office. “We call for them to
be set free immediately. The Somali authorities must act urgently to see our
colleagues come to no harm.”
According to
IFJ’s affiliate, the…
The International Federation of
Journalists (IFJ) is deeply distressed at reports that one journalist was
killed and another injured in a bomb blast in the Sungai Kolok district of
Narathiwat province in southern Thailand
on August 21.
Chalee Boonsawat, a reporter for Thai Rath newspaper, was killed in the
attack outside a restaurant in Sungai Kolok, a town near Thailand’s border with Malaysia.
Local news reports said Phadung
Wannalak, a reporter with ModernNINE TV, as among the 30 people injured in the
attack.
The Thai Journalists’ Association
(TJA), the Confederation of Thai Journalists and the Thai Broadcast…
Today the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) has called on the French satellite company Eutelsat to reinstall the Chinese-language television station NTDTV and three Mandarin radio stations, following their suppression for “technical reasons” on 16 June 2008. The IFJ says that the technicalities of this bar on the broadcaster look increasingly bogus."The likelihood is that official Chinese pressure has led to the exclusion of the United States-based NTDTV from access to the satellite," said Aidan White, IFJ General Secretary. "It's time to end this absurd posturing and let NTDTV get back on the air." The IFJ says that the so-called technical…
