Damascus, Syria – The mother of Austin Tice, the American journalist who was captured while on a reporting trip to Syria in August 2012, arrived in Damascus to intensify the search for her son and said she hoped to be able to take him home. Tice, who worked as a freelance reporter for The Washington … Read more
madrid – Venezuela and Cuba released political prisoners this week, including a free speech advocate, but analysts say the threat of legal action in authoritarian countries hampers media freedom. In Venezuela on Thursday, Carlos Correa, the director of the free speech organization Espacio Público, was released after a week in detention, his group reported. Authorities … Read more
New Delhi – Supporters hold candlelight vigil for Mukesh Chandrakar and demand justice for the slain journalist. Chandrakar, who was part of the Mahar community in the Indian city of Bijapur, was known for his coverage of corruption. He worked for the TV news channel NDTV and runs a YouTube channel “Bastar Junction”, which has … Read more
Two journalists were killed and seven others were injured in a deadly gang attack in Haiti earlier this week, underscoring the dangers journalists face in a country that has been plagued by gang violence for years. Earlier, at least two journalists – including one working with Voice of America – were shot by armed men … Read more
Garden – Media freedom is under attack in Zambia, a new report says. The report said that more than 60 percent of those surveyed believe that the media cannot work independently due to frequent incidents of harassment and intimidation by journalists and bloggers. The Media Institute of Southern Africa, or MISA, launched its report on … Read more
Yaounde – Online media journalists in Chad are expressing dissatisfaction and disappointment at the authorities’ refusal to lift the ban on the broadcast of audiovisual content. The High Media and Audiovisual Authority, or HAMA, accuses journalists of reposting videos without the permission of content creators, but journalists say they are being silenced from reporting on … Read more
Washington — A group of US diplomats was in Syria on Friday to talk with the country’s new leaders and seek information on the whereabouts of Austin Tice, a US journalist detained following the fall of President Bashar al-Assad’s government. Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs Barbara Leaf, former special envoy for Syria … Read more
Washington — In the polarized environment during Brazil’s municipal elections, journalists – many of whom were women or minorities – faced disproportionate numbers of online and offline attacks. A report compiled by the Coalition to Protect Journalism, or CDJOR, monitored hostility toward journalists between August 15, when the election campaign began, and October 27, the … Read more
Washington – Experts on cybersecurity and online foreign influence campaigns are urging Bluesky, the social media company whose app has exploded in popularity in recent weeks, to increase moderation to counter potential state-sponsored influence efforts. In the past month, Bluesky, a microblogging platform with its roots in Twitter, has seen its largest increase in new … Read more
Islamabad — Malik Zafar Iqbal Naich was delivering copies of the newspaper for which he works last week when gunmen on a motorcycle shot the journalist dead. Naich, a 45-year-old reporter and news agent for Daily Khabran, became the 12th journalist killed in a deadly year for Pakistan’s media industry. Police are investigating the case … Read more