Results matching “journalists.php/12/international federation of journalists”

The saturation of news by Indian media during the Mumbai terrorist attacks is now a subject of debate for the country's Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, who are charging that the intensive live coverage may have helped the terrorists.

Citizen journalists, who used the Internet to post updates and criticisms on services such as Twitter and Flickr, made the realm of Internet reporting an unparalleled sensation.  Traditional media were "too slow and inaccurate," citizen journalists said.

The Federation of European Journalists (FEJ) reports that it is worried about the "modernization" of news provider the Agence France-Presse (AFP) and wishes to discuss the issue with French president Nicolas Sarkozy.

The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) asked Georgia to stop censoring Russian-language press and has asked for all sides of the conflict in South Ossetia to inform the public through "free reporting", reported gipp.ru.

"The world needs to know what is happening and we appeal to both Russian and Georgian authorities to allow media to operate and journalists to work freely", said Aidan White, IFJ General Secretary.

The IFJ showed also showed concern that Russian reporters might be too influenced by the Kremlin in their coverage of the events.

"Georgia claims to be a democratic country and Russia claims to respect international laws but in reality they seem to be paying lip service to these obligations. It is in the interest of peace, reconciliation and rights of both communities to let media work freely", the IFJ says.

Source: gipp.ru, IFJ

See also:
Russia: Novaya Gazeta accused of promoting hatred towards Georgians
Russia: Journalists urged to provide content that "proves" Georgian violence
Opinion: how Georgia outplayed the Russians in the PR war
Russia: reporting about Georgia is "propaganda" and "disinformation"

Russian authorities have asked the media for content that "proves" that Georgia acted violently in the South Ossetia region.

Vladimir Markin, spokesperson for the Investigative Committee for the Public Prosecution Office of the Russian Federation, said that the material that journalists provide would be used to look into criminal cases related to the conflict in the region.

The Committee opened a legal case against Georgia last week, accusing the country of the genocide of individuals of Ossetian ethnicity and killing in a manner that is dangerous to public security, reported gipp.ru.

Source: gipp.ru

See also:
Opinion: how Georgia outplayed the Russians in the PR war
Russia: reporting about Georgia is "propaganda" and "disinformation"

Russian Authorities in charge of mass communication and protection of cultural heritage (Rossvyazkomandzor) called to attention the need for national media to remain within legal boundaries, in light of the recent events in Dagestan when a newspaper was shut down for supposedly promoting extremist views.

Rossvyazkomandzor pointed out that it is necessary that the media conform to the Russian Federation law that dictates that it is forbidden to use "sources of mass information" to release content that contains signs of agitation over social, racial, national or religious backgrounds. If journalists fail to do so and adhere to diffusing extremist content, "steps will be taken", reported gipp.ru.

Nadira Isayeva, editor-in-chief of Dagestan's independent weekly paper Chernovik, was accused of soliciting extremist views and prejudice. The paper quoted guerilla chief Rappani Khalilov, who accused the local the regional authorities in Dagestan and Chechnya of "corruption, robbing his fellow countrymen and enslaving themselves to the Kremlin," reported the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ).

Robert Mahoney, CPJ's Deputy Director, said that it isn't illegal to quote guerilla leaders, mentioning that the authorities should drop the charges against Isayeva and permit her "to work "without fear of retaliation".

"There is no such law in Russia that prohibits quoting extremist leaders, and the quote--as well as the entire article--contains no calls to extremism, does not give a positive image to terrorists, nor does it incite any kind of hatred," said Aleksandr Verkhovsky, director of Sova, an independent Moscow-based watchdog for nationalism and xenophobia.

Source: gipp.ru, CPJ

See also:
Russia: Authorities close Chernovik for extremism

Julian Assange, founder of Wikileaks, says his document-leaking site is helping journalists change the world.

"Imagine a world where companies and government must keep the public, or their employees, or both, happy with their plans, and behavior," Assange says. "That is the world we are striving to create."

Wikileaks has been responsible for the leaking of several major news stories: the U.S. military's operating manuals for its detention facility at Guantanamo Bay; lists of U.S. munitions in Iraq; reports of the looting of Kenya by former president Daniel Arap Moi.

For investigative journalists, this powerful new resource has the potential to provide an endless stream of stories. Assange is beginning to tweak Wikileaks to better accommodate journalists, pre-releasing selected documents to reporters. He is also considering making Wikileaks a subscription service for journalists.

Though Steven Aftergood, head of the Federation of American Scientists' Secrecy Project, is critical of Wikileaks' indiscriminate release policy, he admits Wikileaks could be a powerful tool for journalists.

"Working reporters can use all the help and sources they can get, and Wikileaks does have a track record of getting their hands on documents that other people haven't," Aftergood says. "It also has the potential to introduce another layer of editorial judgment and I believe in editorial judgment on matters of confidentiality."

Source: Wired

Three journalists from ABS-CBN, a leading Filipino media network, along with their source have been missing since 8 June 2008 in Sulu, Mindanao. It's believed the missing four have been abducted by the Abu Sayyaf, a terrorist group based in Southern Philippines.

ABS-CBN network released a statement on 10 June 2008 stating that senior
correspondent Cecilia Victoria "Ces" Oreña-Drilon and cameramen Jimmy
Encarnacion and Angelo Valderama were "missing in Sulu," together with
Mindanao State University Professor Octavio Dinampo, and that "(a)ll efforts are underway to find them and bring them home."

Drilon and her crew were with Professor Dinampom, an activist and peace advocate who invited the team to Sulu, when armed men seized them in the village of Kulasi in the town of Maimbung. The four were on their way to interview a senior Abu Sayyaf terror leader Radulan Sahiron, who is said to be planning to surrender

The Abu Sayyaf is now demanding P10 million for the safe release of the hostages, according a military report. ABS-CBN has said they will not pay. In a statement, the network said, "ABS CBN News will abide by its policy not to pay ransom because this would embolden kidnap for ransom groups to abduct other journalists, putting more lives at risk."

"The fears held for the ABS-CBN crew are a stark reminder that journalism in the Philippines has not ceased to be an incredibly dangerous profession and we honor those journalists who work for press freedom under such difficult circumstances," said the International Federation of Journalists Asia-Pacific.

This would not be the first time journalists have been abducted by Abu Sayyaf. In 2000, ABS-CBN's Val Cuenca and Maan Macapagal were held for nearly a week by the terrorist organization, before being released after successful negotiations. Also in 2000, 10 foreign journalists were kidnapped and later released after their captor's stripped the victims of their equipment and valuables and two French journalists were abducted later that year, but successfully escaped. In 2002, a freelance journalist Arlyn dela Cruz was also abducted by Abu Sayyaf in Sulu. 

Source: GMAnews.TV

Natalia Morar, an investigative reporter in Moscow for the monthly independent newsmagazine New Time was barred from entry to Moscow on her return from an unrelated press trip to Israel. She was sent to her native country, Moldova without further explanations.

Governments worldwide have been undermining protections against disclosure of media sources, especially by the use of search warrants, reported Privacy International, a privacy human rights and civil liberties watchdog. Privacy International says, "the recognition of the need for legal protections has been growing" and that, "in the past few years, new laws have been adopted in many countries."

Today is Stand Up for Journalism day. The European Federation of Journalists voted to support action and events planned in 20 countries across Europe, in a protest against editorial cost cuts and worsening conditions for journalists.

A well-known Sri Lankan columnist has stopped writing, fearing for his life. He was working on an alleged corruption case in a deal for second-hand supersonic jets.

According to the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ), the outsourcing of journalistic and editorial work will only worsen the structural crisis of newspapers in developed countries.

The International News Safety Institute (INSI) in collaboration with The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) has released Live News Africa, a 100-page manual to help journalists reporting in hazardous situations in Africa.

The Russian Union of Journalists is being evicted from its headquarters in Moscow to make space for the Russia Today television channel. The move comes less than two weeks before the union hosts the triennial World Congress of the International Federation of Journalists.

Since last year, the main road to Jaffna has been closed due to heavy combat. Cut from its print supplies, the press has become anemic, and in response members of the International Press Freedom and Freedom of Expression Mission have sent a letter to ambassadors around the world.

The International Federation of Journalists has launched a new AIDS media guide directed towards journalists. The guide, available in English, French, Tamil, Khmer and Tagalog, was created to aid global understanding and reporting of HIV/AIDS by making frequently asked questions easily and internationally accessible.

Source: International Journalists’ Network

Reporters Without Borders voiced “surprise and concern” at the decision by a court in The Hague to jail two De Telegraaf journalists. Bart Mos and Joost de Haas were convicted to 2 days in prison earlier this week for refusing to unveil the name of one of their sources in a criminal trial. After paying the 48 hours sentence, a new court will decide whether the two editors should stay in prison for another 12 days.

The editor-in-chief and two journalists from the Denmark paper Berlingske Tidende are on trial today in front of a Danish court for publishing leaked governmental secrets during February and March of 2004.