8 Jun 2010 | Index Index, minipost, News
The launch of the first new independent domestic Zimbabwean newspaper in 17 years was disrupted by Harare police on Friday (4 June). Shortly before the first edition of NewsDay was due to be delivered to newstands around Harare, the newspaper’s marketing manager, Linda Msika, was arrested along with distribution staff and vendors. Police officers were allegedly unhappy that NewsDay — given a publishing license by the Zimbabwe Media Commission last week — was to give away Friday’s edition for free. After being detained for several hours, staff members were released without charge, and the distribution of the newspaper was allowed to proceed. NewsDay, owned by the independent Alpha Media Holdings group, is expected to offer a counterpoint to Harare’s two state-owned, pro-government newspapers.
7 Jun 2010 | Uncategorized
In Bangladesh a pro-opposition Bengali-language newspaper Amar Desh has been closed down, allegedly because of publishing irregularities. Reports suggest that more than 200 police stormed the paper’s offices. You don’t have to be a cynic to suspect that the content and stance of the newspaper might have been what is at issue here.
Meanwhile, in Italy, Silvio Berlusconi, who is Italy’s largest media owner, is backing a draft bill that could imprison or impose heavy fines on journalists who report public interest stories that involve wire taps before the final phase of prosecution. Given the length of many trials, this is a serious block on some kinds of reporting.
Curbing the powers of journalists to report information in the public interest either by direct or indirect means is a significant assault on free speech and on the values enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Remove their power to criticise government policy or to expose some types of corruption, and journalists risk becoming organs of propaganda for the ruling party.
If Machiavelli were writing his guidelines for conscienceless princes today, then he would no doubt advocate scaring journalists into cowering submission, making them terrified to publish anything critical of the ruler. Luckily, however, journalism attracts some extraordinarily brave people Anna Politkovskaya, who relentlessly exposed corruption in Putin’s Russia, and was murdered for this, is just one humbling example.
One side effect of the Internet’s invention is that today what is suppressed in one place often reappears somewhere else. In fact the more forceful the attempt to clamp down on what is published, the more likely it is that the views being suppressed will be spread widely. Would-be censors take note. You may be sowing dragon’s teeth.
21 May 2010 | News, United Kingdom
As the Mail on Sunday continues to take criticism for reporting the taped conversations of the FA chief, Brian Cathcart asks if it’s ever right to secretly record private conversations
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1 Apr 2010 | Index Index, minipost, Uncategorized
The Chinese government has reportedly invested £4bn to expanding the nation’s news networks and media channels. Newspapers such as the China Daily are to be remodelled to resemble British broadsheets, and China Central Television (CCTV), the country’s largest state television network, is to increase their service to include broadcasts in Russian and Arabic in addition to its English, French and Spanish transmissions. The move comes after President Hu Jintao’s remark on the “increasingly fierce struggle in the domain of news and opinion” in the global media circuit. Click here for an in-depth look at China’s conflicting approaches to international and national news.
