13 Jul 2018 | Magazine, News and features, Volume 47.02 Summer 2018
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In the summer 2018 issue of Index on Censorship magazine Caroline Muscat takes a closer look at the truths this year’s European Capital of Culture, Valetta in Malta, is hiding
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The sprawl of construction sites represents the reality of Malta. It’s a sign of progress, never mind the fact that planning laws are farcical. The country’s affluence is shown by the number of cars on the road, never mind the traffic congestion. Its freedom is evidenced in the number of media outlets and news portals, never mind the fact that they all offer similar content. It’s all about appearance, not substance. Scratch beneath the surface and the problems start to appear.
“National pride has reached historic levels,” Prime Minister Joseph Muscat told more than 100,000 people who flocked to the nation’s capital, Valletta, for its inauguration as Europe’s Capital of Culture 2018. The announcement was made as the country was grappling with the assassination of its most prominent journalist, Daphne Caruana Galizia, and as accusations of a collapse in the rule of law continued to haunt Malta.
Restaurants offering mouth-watering dishes are found across the length and breadth of Malta’s islands, but while digging into a bruschetta few stop to question the sudden influx of Sicilian restaurants that are suspected of being money-laundering fronts for the Sicilian mafia.
Operation Beta, led by the Italian authorities in 2017, culminated in the arrest of 30 people as part of a major clampdown on illegal gaming activities and money laundering linked to a Sicilian family, the Santapaola-Erculanos, linked to the mafia by the Italian media. Almost a year later, Italian police cracked an operation involving Sicilians, Maltese and Libyans smuggling Libyan fuel into the European market. Once again, a link to the Santapaola-Erculano family emerged. A look at the histories of the mafia clans reveals deep family connections to Malta as a hub from which to extend their reach and profits.
The links date back to 1974, when a Sicilian man and his bride went to the Maltese island of Gozo on their honeymoon. They loved the island so much they frequently returned. To the locals who interacted with him in Pjazza San Frangisk, in Victoria, he was known simply as Toto.
But Toto was Salvatore Riina, the mafia boss who terrorised Sicily and made the Italian State tremble while making friends in Malta.
Over the years, Malta has continued to attract shady characters, including politically exposed politicians, from countries including India, Ukraine and Azerbaijan. There are clear risks in probing too deeply into the shadows of modern Malta – not that this is obvious to anyone landing in the country for a fortnight of sun and sea. Popular events, such as the annual music festival the Isle of MTV, continue to offer a distraction on the islands that were once a safe haven for tourists and locals. But the recent release of the Panama Papers linked a Maltese minister, Konrad Mizzi, and the prime minister’s chief of staff, Keith Schembri, to $1.6m payments to Dubai companies. Both deny the claims of payments.
It is now clear that a political party elected in 2013 on the promise of change was not thinking of adding transparency or media freedom. Since the Panama Papers revelations, journalists have piled up stories of scandals, but nothing has changed. Deals selling off the country’s assets continue to be made, shrouded in secrecy. And in the midst of all this, calls for justice for an assassinated journalist continue to echo in the air.
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Daphne Caruana Galizia was killed because of what she exposed. Seven months later, the institutions that failed to protect her are the same institutions that are failing to bring those who ordered her killing to justice. Every month, on the date marking her death, citizens gather to call for justice in the country’s capital. They gather in front of a makeshift memorial before the law courts as a reminder that justice has not been served. Every time, they know they will see each other the following month because nothing will have changed. Yet their presence, and the flowers and candles placed at the foot of the monument, serve as a reminder to the authorities that they will never forget.
Those who mention her name, those who refuse to bow to a society bent by corruption, are insulted and threatened. Journalists and activists keep being reminded of the untold damage they are doing to the country’s reputation. Malta’s image is everything, but it is not what it seems.
When confronted by the news that the European Parliament was sending a delegation to investigate Malta’s anti-money laundering rules, Muscat said: “I invite them to come over to see what a fantastic country we are.” But the Paradise Papers had already shown just how “fantastic” Malta s by casting a dark cloud over its economic miracle.
While workers in other countries have borne the brunt of austerity, the Maltese have never had it so good, shielded by an economic system which relies partly on enticing shell companies to Malta by offering a favourable fiscal regime, in addition to a growing dependence on i-gaming and construction. In addition, Malta’s controversial “sale” of European passports continues, despite concerns about the erosion of democracy.
Living in Malta as a journalist one experiences the stark reality of it all. Those exposing corruption are ostracised and vilified. Their voices are drowned out by the millions spent on the marketing machine to promote Malta and clean its image. Journalism is undermined through an almost complete domination of the narrative by the government – millions of euros spent on PR ridicules weeks of investigative journalism. Government advertising drowns out calls for a democracy that ends corruption and protects freedom of speech.
On 16 May, Labour MP Rosianne Cutajar stood up in parliament and spent 30 minutes criticising the publication of a six-month investigation by The Shift News that exposed pro-government secret Facebook groups with thousands of members posting threats against activists. These posts included threats towards anti-corruption activist Tina Urso, whose home address was also published on the site. Urso filed two complaints with the police, but wasn’t offered any protection.
The MP also said I was sowing the seeds of hatred left behind by Caruana Galizia by attacking the government. Compare this with the exposé of anti-Semitism in the UK Labour Party and the media scandal that followed. In Malta, the scandal was the journalist who dared to speak truth to power.
Caruana Galizia had written: “Malta is in a dangerous place, and now we can no longer say that it is corrupt politicians who have brought it to this point, for it can no longer be denied that those corrupt politicians are a reflection of society.”
In this scenario, the protection of journalists is critical in a landscape that is intolerant of independent thought.
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Caroline Muscat is the co-founder of The Shift News, based in Malta
This article was originally published in the Summer 2018 issue of Index on Censorship magazine. Click here to read about the other articles in the issue.
The latest issue of Index on Censorship magazine, Trouble in Paradise, Escape from Reality: what holidaymakers don’t know about their destinations is out now. Buy a subscription. Buy a print copy from bookshops including BFI, Serpentine and MagCulture (London), News from Nowhere (Liverpool), Home (Manchester), and Red Lion Books (Colchester), or via Amazon. Digital versions available via exacteditions.com or iTunes.
Finally, don’t miss our regular quarterly magazine podcast, also on Soundcloud, including an interview with the founder of the Rough Guides, Mark Ellingham. Come by and visit us.
[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_custom_heading text=”From the Archives”][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner width=”1/3″][vc_single_image image=”89160″ img_size=”213×287″ alignment=”center” onclick=”custom_link” link=”http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1080/03064229108535157″][vc_custom_heading text=”Do not disturb” font_container=”tag:p|font_size:24|text_align:left” link=”url:http%3A%2F%2Fjournals.sagepub.com%2Fdoi%2Fpdf%2F10.1177%2F0306422011399822|||”][vc_column_text]2011
In 2011, Charles Young reported that writers, journalists and even DJs are falling foul of Malta’s censorious laws[/vc_column_text][/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=”1/3″][vc_single_image image=”64776″ img_size=”213×287″ alignment=”center” onclick=”custom_link” link=”http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1080/03064220008536796″][vc_custom_heading text=”Social disturbance” font_container=”tag:p|font_size:24|text_align:left” link=”url:http%3A%2F%2Fjournals.sagepub.com%2Fdoi%2Fpdf%2F10.1177%2F0306422015571882|||”][vc_column_text]March 2015
News footage provided by readers and viewers has entered a new era, where we’re faced with more propaganda, hoaxes and graphic detail than ever before. Vicky Baker looks at the increasingly tough verification process at the BBC’s user-generated content department[/vc_column_text][/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=”1/3″][vc_single_image image=”99282″ img_size=”full” alignment=”center” onclick=”custom_link” link=”http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1080/03064229308535477″][vc_custom_heading text=”Index around the world” font_container=”tag:p|font_size:24|text_align:left” link=”url:http%3A%2F%2Fjournals.sagepub.com%2Fdoi%2Fpdf%2F10.1177%2F0306422018769585|||”][vc_column_text]Spring 2018
Attacks on journalists are escalating in areas formerly seen as safe,
including the USA and the European Union, says Danyaal Yasin[/vc_column_text][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][vc_separator][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row content_placement=”top”][vc_column width=”1/3″][vc_custom_heading text=”Trouble in Paradise” font_container=”tag:p|font_size:24|text_align:left” link=”url:https%3A%2F%2Fwww.indexoncensorship.org%2F2018%2F04%2Fthe-abuse-of-history%2F|||”][vc_column_text]The summer 2018 issue of Index on Censorship magazine takes you on holiday, just a different kind of holiday. From Malta to the Maldives, we explore how freedom of expression is under attack in dream destinations around the world.
With: Martin Rowson, Jon Savage, Jonathan Tel [/vc_column_text][/vc_column][vc_column width=”1/3″][vc_single_image image=”100843″ img_size=”medium” alignment=”center” onclick=”custom_link” link=”https://www.indexoncensorship.org/2018/06/trouble-in-paradise/”][/vc_column][vc_column width=”1/3″ css=”.vc_custom_1481888488328{padding-bottom: 50px !important;}”][vc_custom_heading text=”Subscribe” font_container=”tag:p|font_size:24|text_align:left” link=”url:https%3A%2F%2Fwww.indexoncensorship.org%2Fsubscribe%2F|||”][vc_column_text]In print, online. In your mailbox, on your iPad.
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5 Jul 2018 | News and features, Volume 47.02 Summer 2018, Volume 47.02 Summer 2018 Extras
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Vicky Baker, Meera Selva, Harriet Fitch Little and Benji Lanyado. Credit: Rosie Gilbey
“I would always err towards saying go rather than don’t go,” said Benji Lanyado, travel writer and founder of picture agency Picfair, speaking at a panel debate to launch the summer 2018 issue of Index on Censorship magazine.
The latest issue of the magazine, Trouble in Paradise, looks at the free speech issues that are prominent in certain top travel destinations, and yet are often overlooked by tourists and the tourist industry. Countries covered included Mexico, Malta, the Philippines and the Maldives. For the launch, a panel of travel writers and editors shared their thoughts on the roles of writers to tell the full story, rather than the nice, PR holiday story, and discussed the free speech implications of travel.
Taking place at The Book Club in Shoreditch, London, Lanyado was joined by former foreign correspondent Meera Selva, and Harriet Fitch Little, a Financial Times writer. The discussion was chaired by Vicky Baker, a journalist at the BBC.
“The best travel writers do weave in the history and the politics of a place,” said Selva, while Fitch Little, talking about travel writing that might be paid for by travel companies or tourist boards as opposed to publications, said “there’s a way to write about a press trip that is fascinating and revealing.”
All panellists agreed on the value of speaking to locals in a destination, though they also acknowledged that doing so was not necessarily on the top of everyone’s holiday priority list, in particular families who might just want a nice break or might not have the budget for more adventurous travel – and that shouldn’t necessarily be condemned. “We all need escapism from time to time,” said Baker.
The panel also discussed whether travel journalists should write about problematic countries at all, raising questions about whether travelling to these places – and encouraging others to travel to them – benefits corrupt regimes.
“The best travel writers don’t just regurgitate the travel documents provided by the government,” Lanyado said.
“Sometimes you can get so obsessed by the pitfalls of a country and the leaders of a country that you forget about the people, and they can be totally different,” he added and asked whether boycotting a country was a form of censorship in its own right.
“If you don’t go, you don’t learn about the people,” said Baker.
Selva recalled a story of a travel journalist who went on a press trip to North Korea. While this journalist had first-hand experience of government propaganda, they also saw another side of the country when their bus driver did a detour into the countryside, heading off the beaten track. Had the travel journalist not gone, they would not have been able to report on this side.
The question of “ethical travel” was picked up by an audience member, Tina Urso from Malta, who spoke about Daphne Caruana Galizia, a Maltese journalist who was murdered on 16 October 2017 some 70 metres away from her home. Her death, which remains unsolved, exposed Malta’s dark side. There is now a memorial to Daphne opposite the central law courts in Valletta, the capital.
Urso said how this memorial is constantly dismantled, but that tourists, more so than locals, regularly rebuild it. She therefore saw the presence of tourists in Malta as playing a fundamental – and positive – role in highlighting these free speech abuses.
Finally, Fitch Little, who worked for local press in Lebanon and Cambodia, noted that there can sometimes be pressure coming from the other direction, namely pressure for writers to ham up the darker sides of destinations and that this too can conceal the real truth. She said how when writing about Cambodia, UK media often wanted a particular angle, usually one related to the Khmer Rouge.
Equally, when working for Time Out in Lebanon, her friends back home found it hard to believe that the country could have nice restaurants, for example, having seen the country in a more negative light. “Less sexy stories don’t get told,” she said.
For more information on the summer issue of the magazine, click here. Included in the issue is an article from a Maltese journalist, Caroline Muscat, on corruption in the country, a look at journalists living under protection due to their reporting of the drug wars in Baja California Sur and an interview with Federica Angeli, a journalist who lives under 24-hour police protection following her exposé of the mafia in the pretty Italian seaside resort of Ostia.
[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1/3″][vc_custom_heading text=”Trouble in Paradise”][vc_column_text]The summer 2018 issue of Index on Censorship magazine takes you on holiday, just a different kind of holiday. From Malta to the Maldives, we explore how freedom of expression is under attack in dream destinations around the world.
With: Martin Rowson, Jon Savage, Jonathan Tel [/vc_column_text][/vc_column][vc_column width=”1/3″][vc_single_image image=”100843″ img_size=”medium”][/vc_column][vc_column width=”1/3″][vc_custom_heading text=”Subscribe”][vc_column_text]In print, online. In your mailbox, on your iPad.
Subscription options from £18 or just £1.49 in the App Store for a digital issue.
Every subscriber helps support Index on Censorship’s projects around the world.
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26 Jun 2018 | Awards
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Winners of the Freedom of Expression Awards Fellowship receive 12 months of capacity building, coaching and strategic support. Through the fellowships, Index seeks to maximise the impact and sustainability of voices at the forefront of pushing back censorship worldwide.
[/vc_column_text][/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=”1/2″][vc_video link=”https://youtu.be/Qv66jpE3kuk” align=”center”][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row full_width=”stretch_row” css=”.vc_custom_1504188991311{background-color: #f2f2f2 !important;}”][vc_column][vc_tta_tabs color=”white” active_section=”1″][vc_tta_section title=”2019 Fellows” tab_id=”1554816605919-419ceeb9-dbd4″][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner][vc_custom_heading text=”2019 Fellows” font_container=”tag:h2|text_align:center” use_theme_fonts=”yes”][vc_column_text]Selected from over 400 public nominations and a shortlist of 15, the 2019 Freedom of Expression Awards Fellows exemplify courage in the face of censorship. Learn more about the fellowship.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner width=”1/4″][vc_custom_heading text=”Arts” font_container=”tag:h4|text_align:center” use_theme_fonts=”yes”][vc_custom_heading text=”Zehra Doğan” font_container=”tag:h4|text_align:center” use_theme_fonts=”yes” link=”url:https%3A%2F%2Fwww.indexoncensorship.org%2F2019%2F04%2Farts-fellow-2019%2F|||”][vc_single_image image=”104529″ img_size=”full” onclick=”custom_link” link=”https://www.indexoncensorship.org/2019/04/arts-fellow-2019/”][/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=”1/4″][vc_custom_heading text=”Campaigning” font_container=”tag:h4|text_align:center” use_theme_fonts=”yes”][vc_custom_heading text=”CRNI” font_container=”tag:h4|text_align:center” use_theme_fonts=”yes” link=”url:https%3A%2F%2Fwww.indexoncensorship.org%2F2019%2F04%2Fcampaigning-fellow-2019%2F|||”][vc_single_image image=”104518″ img_size=”full” onclick=”custom_link” link=”https://www.indexoncensorship.org/2019/04/campaigning-fellow-2019/”][vc_column_text]The 2019 Campaigning Award is supported by Mainframe[/vc_column_text][/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=”1/4″][vc_custom_heading text=”Digital Activism” font_container=”tag:h4|text_align:center” use_theme_fonts=”yes”][vc_custom_heading text=”Fundación Karisma” font_container=”tag:h4|text_align:center” use_theme_fonts=”yes” link=”url:https%3A%2F%2Fwww.indexoncensorship.org%2F2019%2F04%2Fdigital-activism-fellow-2019%2F|||”][vc_single_image image=”104520″ img_size=”full” onclick=”custom_link” link=”https://www.indexoncensorship.org/2019/04/digital-activism-fellow-2019/”][vc_column_text]The 2019 Digital Activism Award is sponsored by Private Internet Access[/vc_column_text][/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=”1/4″][vc_custom_heading text=”Journalism” font_container=”tag:h4|text_align:center” use_theme_fonts=”yes”][vc_custom_heading text=”Mimi Mefo” font_container=”tag:h4|text_align:center” use_theme_fonts=”yes” link=”url:https%3A%2F%2Fwww.indexoncensorship.org%2F2019%2F04%2Fjournalism-fellow-2019%2F|||”][vc_single_image image=”104523″ img_size=”full” onclick=”custom_link” link=”https://www.indexoncensorship.org/2019/04/journalism-fellow-2019/”][vc_column_text]Sponsored by Daily Mail and General Trust, Daily Mirror, France Medias Monde, News UK, Telegraph Media Group, Society of Editors[/vc_column_text][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][/vc_tta_section][vc_tta_section title=”2018 Fellows” tab_id=”1501506166658-bae3c112-ebd9″][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner][vc_custom_heading text=”2018 Fellows” font_container=”tag:h2|text_align:center” use_theme_fonts=”yes”][vc_column_text]
Selected from over 400 public nominations and a shortlist of 16, the 2018 Freedom of Expression Awards Fellows exemplify courage in the face of censorship. Learn more about the fellowship.
[/vc_column_text][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner width=”1/4″][vc_custom_heading text=”Arts” font_container=”tag:h4|text_align:center” use_theme_fonts=”yes” link=”url:https%3A%2F%2Fwww.indexoncensorship.org%2F2017%2F04%2Farts-fellow-2017%2F|||”][vc_custom_heading text=”Museum of Dissidence” font_container=”tag:h4|text_align:center” use_theme_fonts=”yes” link=”url:https%3A%2F%2Fwww.indexoncensorship.org%2F2018%2F04%2Farts-fellow-2018%2F|||”][vc_single_image image=”97994″ img_size=”full” alignment=”center” onclick=”custom_link” link=”https://www.indexoncensorship.org/2018/04/arts-fellow-2018/”][/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=”1/4″][vc_custom_heading text=”Campaigning” font_container=”tag:h4|text_align:center” use_theme_fonts=”yes” link=”url:https%3A%2F%2Fwww.indexoncensorship.org%2F2017%2F04%2Farts-fellow-2017%2F|||”][vc_custom_heading text=”ECRF” font_container=”tag:h4|text_align:center” use_theme_fonts=”yes” link=”url:https%3A%2F%2Fwww.indexoncensorship.org%2F2018%2F04%2Fcampaigning-fellow-2018%2F|||”][vc_single_image image=”97988″ img_size=”full” alignment=”center” onclick=”custom_link” link=”https://www.indexoncensorship.org/2018/04/campaigning-fellow-2018/”][vc_column_text]The 2018 Campaigning Award is supported by Doughty Street Chambers[/vc_column_text][/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=”1/4″][vc_custom_heading text=”Digital Activism” font_container=”tag:h4|text_align:center” use_theme_fonts=”yes” link=”url:https%3A%2F%2Fwww.indexoncensorship.org%2F2017%2F04%2Fdigital-activism-2017%2F|||”][vc_custom_heading text=”Habari RDC” font_container=”tag:h4|text_align:center” use_theme_fonts=”yes” link=”url:https%3A%2F%2Fwww.indexoncensorship.org%2F2018%2F04%2Fdigital-activism-2018%2F|||”][vc_single_image image=”97990″ img_size=”full” alignment=”center” onclick=”custom_link” link=”https://www.indexoncensorship.org/2018/04/digital-activism-2018/”][vc_column_text]The 2018 Digital Activism Award is sponsored by Private Internet Access[/vc_column_text][/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=”1/4″][vc_custom_heading text=”Journalism” font_container=”tag:h4|text_align:center” use_theme_fonts=”yes” link=”url:https%3A%2F%2Fwww.indexoncensorship.org%2F2017%2F04%2Fjournalism-2017%2F|||”][vc_custom_heading text=”Wendy Funes” font_container=”tag:h4|text_align:center” use_theme_fonts=”yes” link=”url:https%3A%2F%2Fwww.indexoncensorship.org%2F2018%2F04%2Fjournalism-2018%2F|||”][vc_single_image image=”98000″ img_size=”full” alignment=”center” onclick=”custom_link” link=”https://www.indexoncensorship.org/2018/04/journalism-2018/”][vc_column_text]The 2018 Journalism Award is sponsored by Vice News[/vc_column_text][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][/vc_tta_section][vc_tta_section title=”2017 Fellows” tab_id=”1524472475785-d2464a89-c53e”][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner][vc_custom_heading text=”2017 Fellows” font_container=”tag:h2|text_align:center” use_theme_fonts=”yes”][vc_column_text]
Selected from over 400 public nominations and a shortlist of 16, the 2017 Freedom of Expression Awards Fellows exemplify courage in the face of censorship. Learn more about the fellowship.
[/vc_column_text][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner width=”1/4″][vc_custom_heading text=”Arts” font_container=”tag:h4|text_align:center” use_theme_fonts=”yes” link=”url:https%3A%2F%2Fwww.indexoncensorship.org%2F2017%2F04%2Farts-fellow-2017%2F|||”][vc_custom_heading text=”Rebel Pepper” font_container=”tag:h4|text_align:center” use_theme_fonts=”yes” link=”url:https%3A%2F%2Fwww.indexoncensorship.org%2F2017%2F04%2Farts-fellow-2017%2F|||”][vc_single_image image=”94724″ img_size=”full” alignment=”center” onclick=”custom_link” link=”https://www.indexoncensorship.org/2017/04/arts-fellow-2017/”][/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=”1/4″][vc_custom_heading text=”Campaigning” font_container=”tag:h4|text_align:center” use_theme_fonts=”yes” link=”url:https%3A%2F%2Fwww.indexoncensorship.org%2F2017%2F04%2Fcampaigning-fellow-2017%2F|||”][vc_custom_heading text=”Ildar Dadin” font_container=”tag:h4|text_align:center” use_theme_fonts=”yes” link=”url:https%3A%2F%2Fwww.indexoncensorship.org%2F2017%2F04%2Fcampaigning-fellow-2017%2F|||”][vc_single_image image=”94725″ img_size=”full” alignment=”center” onclick=”custom_link” link=”https://www.indexoncensorship.org/2017/04/campaigning-fellow-2017/”][vc_column_text]The 2017 Campaigning Award is supported by Doughty Street Chambers[/vc_column_text][/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=”1/4″][vc_custom_heading text=”Digital Activism” font_container=”tag:h4|text_align:center” use_theme_fonts=”yes” link=”url:https%3A%2F%2Fwww.indexoncensorship.org%2F2017%2F04%2Fdigital-activism-2017%2F|||”][vc_custom_heading text=”Turkey Blocks” font_container=”tag:h4|text_align:center” use_theme_fonts=”yes” link=”url:https%3A%2F%2Fwww.indexoncensorship.org%2F2017%2F04%2Fdigital-activism-2017%2F|||”][vc_single_image image=”94726″ img_size=”full” alignment=”center” onclick=”custom_link” link=”https://www.indexoncensorship.org/2017/04/digital-activism-2017/”][vc_column_text]The 2017 Digital Activism Award is sponsored by Private Internet Access[/vc_column_text][/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=”1/4″][vc_custom_heading text=”Journalism” font_container=”tag:h4|text_align:center” use_theme_fonts=”yes” link=”url:https%3A%2F%2Fwww.indexoncensorship.org%2F2017%2F04%2Fjournalism-2017%2F|||”][vc_custom_heading text=”Maldives Independent” font_container=”tag:h4|text_align:center” use_theme_fonts=”yes” link=”url:https%3A%2F%2Fwww.indexoncensorship.org%2F2017%2F04%2Fjournalism-2017%2F|||”][vc_single_image image=”94727″ img_size=”full” alignment=”center” onclick=”custom_link” link=”https://www.indexoncensorship.org/2017/04/journalism-2017/”][vc_column_text]The 2017 Journalism Award is sponsored by CNN[/vc_column_text][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][/vc_tta_section][vc_tta_section title=”2016 Fellows” tab_id=”1501487515382-d17ff4cd-299e”][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner width=”1/6″][vc_custom_heading text=”2016 Fellows” font_container=”tag:h3|text_align:left” use_theme_fonts=”yes”][/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=”1/6″][vc_custom_heading text=”Arts | Murad Subay” font_container=”tag:h4|text_align:center” use_theme_fonts=”yes” link=”url:https%3A%2F%2Fwww.indexoncensorship.org%2F2016%2F11%2Farts-fellow-2016%2F|||”][vc_single_image image=”74790″ img_size=”full” alignment=”center” onclick=”custom_link” link=”https://www.indexoncensorship.org/2016/11/arts-fellow-2016/”][/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=”1/6″][vc_custom_heading text=”Campaigning | Bolo Bhi” font_container=”tag:h4|text_align:center” use_theme_fonts=”yes” link=”url:https%3A%2F%2Fwww.indexoncensorship.org%2F2016%2F03%2Fcampaigning-2016%2F|||”][vc_single_image image=”82685″ img_size=”full” alignment=”center” onclick=”custom_link” link=”https://www.indexoncensorship.org/2016/03/campaigning-2016/”][/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=”1/6″][vc_custom_heading text=”Digital Activism | GreatFire” font_container=”tag:h4|text_align:center” use_theme_fonts=”yes” link=”url:https%3A%2F%2Fwww.indexoncensorship.org%2F2016%2F03%2Fdigital-activism-2016%2F|||”][vc_single_image image=”82689″ img_size=”full” alignment=”center” onclick=”custom_link” link=”https://www.indexoncensorship.org/2016/03/digital-activism-2016/”][/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=”1/6″][vc_custom_heading text=”Journalism | Zaina Erhaim” font_container=”tag:h4|text_align:center” use_theme_fonts=”yes” link=”url:https%3A%2F%2Fwww.indexoncensorship.org%2F2016%2F03%2Fjournalism-2016%2F|||”][vc_single_image image=”82702″ img_size=”full” alignment=”center” onclick=”custom_link” link=”https://www.indexoncensorship.org/2016/03/journalism-2016/”][/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=”1/6″][vc_custom_heading text=”Music in Exile | Smockey” font_container=”tag:h4|text_align:center” use_theme_fonts=”yes” link=”url:https%3A%2F%2Fwww.indexoncensorship.org%2F2016%2F03%2Fmusic-in-exile-2016%2F|||”][vc_single_image image=”81098″ img_size=”full” alignment=”center” onclick=”custom_link” link=”https://www.indexoncensorship.org/2016/03/music-in-exile-2016/”][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][/vc_tta_section][vc_tta_section title=”2015 Fellows” tab_id=”1501487515639-5231aa25-0705″][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner width=”1/6″][vc_custom_heading text=”2015 Fellows” font_container=”tag:h3|text_align:center” use_theme_fonts=”yes”][/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=”1/6″][vc_custom_heading text=”Arts | El Haqed” font_container=”tag:h4|text_align:center” use_theme_fonts=”yes” link=”url:https%3A%2F%2Fwww.indexoncensorship.org%2F2015%2F03%2Farts-2015%2F|||”][vc_single_image image=”81111″ img_size=”full” alignment=”center” onclick=”custom_link” link=”https://www.indexoncensorship.org/2015/03/arts-2015/”][/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=”1/6″][vc_custom_heading text=”Campaigning | Amran Abdundi” font_container=”tag:h4|text_align:center” use_theme_fonts=”yes” link=”url:https%3A%2F%2Fwww.indexoncensorship.org%2F2015%2F03%2Fcampaigning-2015%2F|||”][vc_single_image image=”81118″ img_size=”full” alignment=”center” onclick=”custom_link” link=”https://www.indexoncensorship.org/2015/03/campaigning-2015/”][/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=”1/6″][vc_custom_heading text=”Digital Activism | Tamás Bodoky” font_container=”tag:h4|text_align:center” use_theme_fonts=”yes” link=”url:https%3A%2F%2Fwww.indexoncensorship.org%2F2015%2F03%2Fdigital-activism-2015%2F|||”][vc_single_image image=”81126″ img_size=”full” alignment=”center” onclick=”custom_link” link=”https://www.indexoncensorship.org/2015/03/digital-activism-2015/”][/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=”1/6″][vc_custom_heading text=”Journalism | Rafael Marques de Morais” font_container=”tag:h4|text_align:center” use_theme_fonts=”yes” link=”url:https%3A%2F%2Fwww.indexoncensorship.org%2F2015%2F03%2Fjournalism-2015%2F|||”][vc_single_image image=”81131″ img_size=”full” alignment=”center” onclick=”custom_link” link=”https://www.indexoncensorship.org/2015/03/journalism-2015/”][/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=”1/6″][vc_custom_heading text=”Journalism | Safa Al Ahmad” font_container=”tag:h4|text_align:center” use_theme_fonts=”yes” link=”url:https%3A%2F%2Fwww.indexoncensorship.org%2F2015%2F03%2Fjournalism-2015-2%2F|||”][vc_single_image image=”81138″ img_size=”full” alignment=”center” onclick=”custom_link” link=”https://www.indexoncensorship.org/2015/03/journalism-2015-2/”][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][/vc_tta_section][/vc_tta_tabs][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][three_column_post title=”Fellows News” category_id=”16143″][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row equal_height=”yes”][vc_column][vc_empty_space height=”5px”][vc_custom_heading text=”2020 Freedom of Expression Awards Fellowship Timeline” font_container=”tag:h3|text_align:center” use_theme_fonts=”yes”][vc_row_inner equal_height=”yes” el_class=”awards-timeline-grid”][vc_column_inner width=”1/6″][vc_single_image image=”80944″ img_size=”full”][vc_column_text]Coming Soon
NOMINATIONS[/vc_column_text][/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=”1/6″][vc_single_image image=”80945″ img_size=”full”][vc_column_text]DEC 2019
JUDGING PANEL[/vc_column_text][/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=”1/6″][vc_single_image image=”80946″ img_size=”full”][vc_column_text]JAN 2020
SHORTLIST ANNOUNCED[/vc_column_text][/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=”1/6″][vc_single_image image=”80947″ img_size=”full”][vc_column_text]Spring 2020
AWARDS FELLOWSHIP WEEK[/vc_column_text][/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=”1/6″][vc_single_image image=”80948″ img_size=”full”][vc_column_text]Spring 2020
AWARDS GALA[/vc_column_text][/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=”1/6″][vc_single_image image=”80949″ img_size=”full”][vc_column_text]APR 2020 – MAR 2021
AWARDS FELLOWSHIP[/vc_column_text][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][vc_empty_space][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row full_width=”stretch_row”][vc_column][vc_custom_heading text=”About the Awards Fellowship” font_container=”tag:h3|text_align:center” use_theme_fonts=”yes”][vc_row_inner equal_height=”yes” el_class=”awards-timeline-grid”][vc_column_inner width=”1/6″][vc_single_image image=”94804″ img_size=”full”][/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=”1/6″][vc_column_text]One Full Year
Fellows receive 12 months of direct assistance, starting with an all-expenses-paid training week in London in April 2018.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=”1/6″][vc_column_text]Survive
Index helps fellows build key partnerships, troubleshoot and receive expert support in multiple areas including digital security, strategy and communications.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=”1/6″][vc_column_text]Thrive
Fellows work with Index and partners to identify and realise key strategic goals.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=”1/6″][vc_column_text]Amplify
Index promotes news and regional developments through our magazine, website and social media.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=”1/6″][vc_column_text]Network
Fellows become part of a supportive community of free expression champions worldwide.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][vc_custom_heading text=”What we look for in selecting Awards Fellows” font_container=”tag:h3|text_align:center” use_theme_fonts=”yes”][vc_row_inner equal_height=”yes” el_class=”awards-timeline-grid”][vc_column_inner width=”1/6″][vc_single_image image=”94805″ img_size=”full”][/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=”1/6″][vc_column_text]Timeliness
A significant contribution within the past 12 months.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=”1/6″][vc_column_text]Resilience
Courage to speak out, persisting in the face of adversity.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=”1/6″][vc_column_text]Innovation
Creative ways of promoting free expression or circumventing censorship.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=”1/6″][vc_column_text]Impact
Evidence of shifting perceptions, influencing public or government opinion, contributing to legislative change.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=”1/6″][vc_column_text]Need
Those cases where the 2018 Awards Fellowship can potentially add the most value.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][vc_custom_heading text=”We award Fellowships in four categories” font_container=”tag:h3|text_align:center” use_theme_fonts=”yes”][vc_row_inner equal_height=”yes” el_class=”text_white”][vc_column_inner width=”1/4″ css=”.vc_custom_1501508115518{background-color: #cb3000 !important;}”][vc_custom_heading text=”Arts” font_container=”tag:h3|text_align:left” use_theme_fonts=”yes”][vc_column_text]for artists and arts producers whose work challenges repression and injustice and celebrates artistic free expression[/vc_column_text][/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=”1/4″ css=”.vc_custom_1501508268476{background-color: #d98c00 !important;}”][vc_custom_heading text=”Campaigning” font_container=”tag:h3|text_align:left” use_theme_fonts=”yes”][vc_column_text]for activists and campaigners who have had a marked impact in fighting censorship and promoting freedom of expression[/vc_column_text][/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=”1/4″ css=”.vc_custom_1501508309950{background-color: #cb3000 !important;}”][vc_custom_heading text=”Digital Activism” font_container=”tag:h3|text_align:left” use_theme_fonts=”yes”][vc_column_text]for innovative uses of technology to circumvent censorship and enable free and independent exchange of information[/vc_column_text][/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=”1/4″ css=”.vc_custom_1501508333043{background-color: #d98c00 !important;}”][vc_custom_heading text=”Journalism” font_container=”tag:h3|text_align:left” use_theme_fonts=”yes”][vc_column_text]for courageous, high-impact and determined journalism that exposes censorship and threats to free expression[/vc_column_text][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][vc_empty_space height=”15px”][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_separator color=”black”][vc_row_inner equal_height=”yes”][vc_column_inner width=”1/2″][vc_custom_heading text=”Support the Index Awards.” font_container=”tag:p|font_size:28|text_align:center” use_theme_fonts=”yes” link=”url:https%3A%2F%2Fwww.indexoncensorship.org%2Fsupport-the-freedom-of-expression-awards%2F|||”][vc_column_text]
By donating to the Freedom of Expression Awards you help us support individuals and groups at the forefront of tackling censorship.
Find out more
[/vc_column_text][/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=”1/2″ css=”.vc_custom_1528707303361{background-image: url(https://www.indexoncensorship.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/EMK_2426web-1460×490-1.jpg?id=99905) !important;background-position: center !important;background-repeat: no-repeat !important;background-size: cover !important;}”][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][vc_empty_space height=”30px”][vc_separator color=”black”][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row full_width=”stretch_row_content_no_spaces” css=”.vc_custom_1500453384143{margin-top: 20px !important;padding-top: 20px !important;padding-bottom: 20px !important;}”][vc_column][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner][vc_custom_heading text=”SPONSORS” font_container=”tag:h1|text_align:center” use_theme_fonts=”yes” css=”.vc_custom_1484567001197{margin-bottom: 30px !important;}”][vc_column_text]
The Freedom of Expression Awards and Fellowship have massive impact. You can help by sponsoring or supporting a fellowship.
Index is grateful to those who are supporting the 2019 Awards Fellowships:
[/vc_column_text][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][vc_row_inner equal_height=”yes” el_class=”container container980″][vc_column_inner width=”1/2″ offset=”vc_col-xs-6″][vc_single_image image=”80918″ img_size=”full” alignment=”center” onclick=”custom_link” img_link_target=”_blank” link=”https://uk.sagepub.com/”][/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=”1/2″ offset=”vc_col-xs-6″][vc_single_image image=”80921″ img_size=”full” alignment=”center” onclick=”custom_link” img_link_target=”_blank” link=”https://www.google.co.uk/about/”][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][vc_row_inner equal_height=”yes” el_class=”container container980″][vc_column_inner width=”1/3″ offset=”vc_col-xs-6″][vc_single_image image=”85983″ img_size=”full” alignment=”center” onclick=”custom_link” link=”https://www.privateinternetaccess.com/”][/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=”1/3″ offset=”vc_col-xs-6″][vc_single_image image=”85977″ img_size=”full” alignment=”center” onclick=”custom_link” link=”http://www.edwardian.com/”][/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=”1/3″ offset=”vc_col-xs-6″][vc_single_image image=”105358″ img_size=”234×234″ alignment=”center” onclick=”custom_link” link=”https://mainframe.com/”][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][vc_row_inner equal_height=”yes” el_class=”container container980″][vc_column_inner width=”1/3″ offset=”vc_col-xs-6″][vc_single_image image=”105536″ img_size=”full” alignment=”center” onclick=”custom_link” img_link_target=”_blank” link=”http://www.vodafone.com/content/index.html#”][/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=”1/3″ offset=”vc_col-xs-6″][vc_single_image image=”105360″ img_size=”234×234″ alignment=”center” onclick=”custom_link” link=”https://www.francemediasmonde.com/”][/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=”1/3″ offset=”vc_col-xs-6″][vc_single_image image=”105359″ img_size=”234×234″ alignment=”center” onclick=”custom_link” link=”https://www.dailymail.co.uk/home/index.html”][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][vc_row_inner equal_height=”yes” el_class=”container container980″][vc_column_inner width=”1/3″ offset=”vc_col-xs-6″][vc_single_image image=”80924″ img_size=”200×200″ alignment=”center” onclick=”custom_link” img_link_target=”_blank” link=”https://psiphon.ca/”][/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=”1/3″ offset=”vc_col-xs-6″][vc_single_image image=”105361″ img_size=”200×200″ alignment=”center” onclick=”custom_link” link=”https://www.telegraph.co.uk/”][/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=”1/3″ offset=”vc_col-xs-6″][vc_single_image image=”105363″ img_size=”200×200″ alignment=”center” onclick=”custom_link” link=”https://www.societyofeditors.org/”][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][vc_row_inner equal_height=”yes” el_class=”container container980″][vc_column_inner width=”1/3″ offset=”vc_col-xs-6″][vc_single_image image=”105365″ img_size=”200×200″ alignment=”center” onclick=”custom_link” link=”https://www.news.co.uk/”][/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=”1/3″ offset=”vc_col-xs-6″][vc_single_image image=”106100″ img_size=”200×200″ alignment=”center” onclick=”custom_link” link=”https://www.mirror.co.uk/”][/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=”1/3″ offset=”vc_col-xs-6″][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][vc_column_text]
If you are interested in sponsorship you can contact [email protected]
[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]
26 Jun 2018 | Magazine, News and features, Press Releases
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— Index special issue finds the dark side of summer holiday destinations not being reported on travel sites
— Editor calls on travel journalists to tell the whole story
— July 4 debate in London’s Book Club
With holidaymakers packing up for their summer trips, a new issue of Index on Censorship magazine reveals the uglier side of countries with tourist appeal and calls on travel writers to do more to give travellers the whole picture.
Index editor Rachael Jolley said: “On travel websites for popular destinations like Mexico, Maldives and Malta there is little sign of the crackdown on freedoms we are seeing in these nations. From the horrific numbers of journalists being killed in Mexico, to the murder of journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia in Malta, and anti-Muslim riots in Sri Lanka, with worshippers attacked on the way to mosques.
“I would like to see travel journalists do more to tell the whole story. With fewer travellers carrying print travel guides, which traditionally did give more background on political tensions and freedoms, digital versions need to step up to give travellers the full range of information, rather than just the glossy bits.”
“With many countries depending on travel spending as a vital part of their economy, the travel industry can also do more to press for change,” she added.
A discussion on the theme, will take place on 4 July at the Book Club in Shoreditch, chaired by BBC World journalist Vicky Baker. Panellists include former foreign correspondent Meera Selva, founder of the travel picture agency Picfair, Benji Lanyado, and Harriet Fitch Little, who writes for the Financial Times travel section, and formerly worked as a journalist in Lebanon.
Tourism is the main pillar of Mexico’s Baja California Sur’s economy, which is now the setting of some of the fiercest drug battles in the country. Conditions for journalists and human rights activists have deteriorated dramatically, according to the Index report Trouble in Paradise.
The security profile of Baja California Sur has changed enormously, but because it’s a tourist spot the government wants to hide that, Mexico correspondent Stephen Woodman writes in the Index report.
Journalist Federica Angeli, whose exposure of mafia in the pretty seaside town of Ostia, near Rome, has resulted in her having to live under 24-hour police protection. “Ostia is a paradise inhabited by demons,” Angeli told Index.
In Malta, where the recent murder of journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia remains largely unsolved, Maltese journalist Caroline Muscat writes: “Those who mention her name, those who refuse to bow to a society bent by corruption, are insulted and threatened. Journalists and activists keep being reminded of the untold damage they are doing to the country’s reputation.”
Honeymoon destination the Maldives is also covered. The “disappearance” of a journalist, the killing of a blogger, death threats, imprisonment and hefty fines are placing an enormous pressure on those who seek to inform the public about what is going on, writes Zaheena Rasheed.
Just how much do these darker sides affect tourism? New data analysed exclusively for Index looks at the power of tourism spend, and just how valuable tourism is to economies such as Mexico and the Maldives.
Also in the magazine: how journalists’ conditions are deteriorating in Iraq, despite the retreat of Isis, Jon Savage on bands and bans, and Filipino news boss Maria Ressa on keeping going despite government pressure for her news operation to give up, plus a short story on the future of facial recognition by award-winning writer Jonathan Tel.
Editors’ notes:
For media tickets to the debate, email: [email protected]
Index on Censorship magazine was first published in 1972 and remains the only global magazine dedicated to free expression. Since then, some of the greatest names in literature and academia have written for the magazine, including Nadine Gordimer, Mario Vargas Llosa, Amartya Sen, Samuel Beckett, as well as Arthur Miller and Harold Pinter. The magazine continues to attract great writers, passionate arguments, and expose chilling stories of censorship and violence. It is the only global free expression magazine.
Each quarterly magazine is filled with reports, analysis, photography and creative writing from around the world. Index on Censorship magazine is published four times a year by Sage, and is available in print, online and mobile/tablets (iPhone/iPad, Android, Kindle Fire).
Winner of the British Society of Magazine Editors 2016 Editor of the Year in the special interest category.
[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row content_placement=”top”][vc_column width=”1/3″][vc_custom_heading text=”Trouble in paradise” font_container=”tag:p|font_size:24|text_align:left” link=”url:https%3A%2F%2Fwww.indexoncensorship.org%2F2018%2F06%2Ftrouble-in-paradise%2F|||”][vc_column_text]The summer 2018 issue of Index on Censorship magazine takes a special look at how holidaymakers’ images of palm-fringed beaches and crystal clear waters contrast with the reality of freedoms under threat
With: Ian Rankin, Victoria Hislop, Maria Ressa [/vc_column_text][/vc_column][vc_column width=”1/3″][vc_single_image image=”100776″ img_size=”medium” alignment=”center” onclick=”custom_link” link=”https://www.indexoncensorship.org/2018/06/trouble-in-paradise/”][/vc_column][vc_column width=”1/3″ css=”.vc_custom_1481888488328{padding-bottom: 50px !important;}”][vc_custom_heading text=”Subscribe” font_container=”tag:p|font_size:24|text_align:left” link=”url:https%3A%2F%2Fwww.indexoncensorship.org%2Fsubscribe%2F|||”][vc_column_text]In print, online. In your mailbox, on your iPad.
Subscription options from £18 or just £1.49 in the App Store for a digital issue.
Every subscriber helps support Index on Censorship’s projects around the world.
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