Press Freedom

OP-ED: Misunderstanding Bahrain’s Shia Protesters

By Genieve Abdo and Jasim Husain Ali
Listening to the rhetoric coming out of Tehran, one might assume that Bahrain's Shia opposition is relying on help from its co-religionists next door. But, in fact, the opposite is true: the Shia opposition wants nothing more than for Tehran to stay out of the sectarian dispute unfolding in the tiny kingdom.

MEDIA: It’s Still a Man’s World, Especially at the Top

By IPS Correspondents
Long known as a "boy's club", the worldwide media industry continues to struggle with gender equality, with new research showing women are still underrepresented in the majority of newsrooms across the globe.

WIKILEAKS: Australians Call For Legislation to Protect Whistleblowers

By Neena Bhandari
Some Australians are convinced their government is sharing intelligence information with foreign powers about citizens implicated by documents released by Wikileaks.

YEMEN: Death Toll Rising at Peaceful Protests

By IPS Correspondents
Despite an ongoing dialogue between U.S. officials, human rights groups and Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh regarding concerns over the use of lethal force to quell anti- government protests throughout the Persian Gulf state, the death toll continues to rise in Yemen's port city of Aden and in other locations.

MEDIA-DOMINICAN REPUBLIC: A Bad Case of Quid Pro Quo

By Elizabeth Eames Roebling
At first glance, the Dominican Republic appears to be a bastion of free information, with seven print dailies and seven national television stations. But journalists here say that more subtle means of coercion have become the norm.

INDIA: Whistleblowers Pay With Their Lives

By Sujoy Dhar
On a winter evening this January, Amarnath Pandey was returning home through a low-lit alley of a suburban town in India’s heartland state Uttar Pradesh when a motorcycle-riding gunman suddenly appeared and fired at him.

HUNGARY: Media Struggles to Find a Free Voice

By Zoltán Dujisin
EU pressure may force Hungary to step back on some provision of its controversial media law, but its main goal has been achieved before it even took effect: media are intimidated.

Mideast Crackdown Puts U.S. Democracy Line to the Test

By Aprille Muscara
As popular protests escalated in some restive Arab countries Friday, U.S. President Barack Obama criticised the regime- sanctioned blood- letting of innocent demonstrators mobilising against government corruption and repression.

U.N. Chief Rebukes Repressive Middle Eastern Leaders

By Thalif Deen
As the military and the police try to violently suppress demonstrations spreading across Bahrain, Yemen, Libya, Iraq and Iran, a usually reticent U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki- moon is taking a hard line against the oppressive authoritarian regimes in the politically volatile Middle East - and specifically against unrelenting leaders cracking down on protesters.

Soviet Shadow Over Russia

By Kester Kenn Klomegah
With less than a year remaining for parliamentary and presidential elections in Russia, human rights activists and opposition forces have become targets of political intimidation and frequent harassment by law enforcement agencies. They see an effort to exclude them from the country’s democratic process.

Jailed Reporters at 14-Year High, CPJ Says

By IPS Correspondents
The number of reporters in detention around the world has reached the highest level in 14 years, with China and Iran claiming top spots as jailhouses for journalists, according to the annual "Attacks on the Press" report released by the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) Tuesday.
Mahmoud Ben Romdhane Credit: A.D.McKenzie

Tunisia Speaks Up, Shakily

By A. D. McKenzie
Freedom of expression, freedom of assembly and freedom of the press are the big gains of Tunisia's so-called Jasmine Revolution, according to a top Tunisian economist, writer and opposition figure. But he warns that dark days still lie ahead.

Assange in Decisive Fight Over Swedish Rape Law

By Andreas Lönnqvist
The attempt to extradite the Wikileaks founder Julian Assange for questioning over allegations of sexual crimes has caused a big debate about the Swedish justice system abroad. The case has also brought the comparatively broad definitions of what constitutes rape in this country into the limelight.

MALAYSIA: Online Media Fight Internet Clampdown

By Baradan Kuppusamy
A government plan to control online media has sparked widespread protest from journalists and lawmakers who say the move is a sign of the ruling party’s desperation as it prepares for a "do or die" general election.

EGYPT: Mubarak Switches On Smear Campaign

By Emad Mekay
The regime of embattled Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak has unleashed a media campaign to discredit pro-democracy protestors. That comes on the back of a violent crackdown by his supporters.

EGYPT: A Revolution, Unplugged

By Aprille Muscara
Despite the Hosni Mubarak regime's attempts at muzzling communication and dissent, and the reportedly government- sanctioned shutdown of Egypt's last standing Internet service provider to individual users Monday, Egyptians are still managing to get their voices heard and mobilise - both through advanced technical workarounds and older, traditional technologies.

SRI LANKA: Press Freedom Burns in Colombo

By IPS Correspondents
At 2 a.m. on Monday morning, the headquarters of one of Sri Lanka's leading bilingual news sources, Lanka E-News (LEN), was burned down in the predawn darkness.

TAIWAN: Media Fights Propaganda Masked as News

By Dennis Engbarth
A coalition of journalist and civic organizations is waging a campaign to rid the Taiwan media of government propaganda masquerading as news, and signs are that the campaign has taken "the first steps" towards victory.

The Ethics of Social Networking for Journalists

By Estrella Gutiérrez
The digital revolution is turning people into producers, as well as consumers, of media content. But this new reality has yet to be fully assimilated, and journalists face questions and uncertainties about their social role, their duties and also their rights.
The face-off between police and protesters is building up. Credit: Mohammed Omer

EGYPT: Embattled Regime Cuts Internet Services

By Cam McGrath
Twitter was an early casualty. Then Facebook access became spotty. But when the Internet itself went down, Egyptian pro-democracy activists knew their protests were having an effect.

VIETNAM: Communist Party Steps on Already Stifled Newspapers

By Marwaan Macan-Markar
A week after Vietnam’s ruling Communist Party ended its pivotal congress of the country’s political elite, there is little evidence in the state-controlled media of a possible return to the openness that once saw high-profile corruption scandals exposed in print here.
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