21 Jan 2019 What makes great journalism? On foreign correspondents and terror
Yet another terrorist act played out in Nairobi just two weeks into 2019.
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14 Jan 2019 Hunger for truth games
Media wars can easily get personal. Today the name of the game is Showtime! Ratings trump sober facts and inconvenient truths. Fox News offers foxy entertainment; The New York Post offers sensationalism; the gutter press epitomised by the likes of the...
07 Jan 2019 Shrinking civic space demands alternative strategies
At the end of 2018, an astonishing statistic was published by CIVICUS Monitor, a research collaborative effort that rates and tracks respect for fundamental freedoms in 196 countries.
...10 Dec 2018 What price freedom of information?
Freedom of information, including the right to access information held by public bodies, is crucial to democracy, good governance, and good citizenship.
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03 Dec 2018 Time for a communication revolution from below!
Sobering words for those who still believe that information and communication technologies (ICTs) are the panacea for the world’s ills. In “Developing Countries Losing Out To Digital Giants” (IPS News, 17 October 2018), Jomo Kwame Sundaram and Anis Chowdhury write:
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26 Nov 2018 New Mexican government should prioritize the protection of journalists
Mexico is among the most dangerous countries in the world to be a journalist. Over 70 journalists were killed during the past decade; 8 have been killed in 2018 alone. Many more have been threatened or assaulted in different forms. Worst of all, impunity is...
19 Nov 2018 WhatsApp calls time on WhatsApp
Social media are accused of bringing about the demise of traditional journalism. They are used to tar news stories with the brush of “fake news” as loud-mouthed politicians eagerly point the finger at what they deem to be critical or unfavourable coverage.
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12 Nov 2018 Integrity in news coverage
The world’s leading newspapers are struggling to maintain their place as voices of conscience in society when via social media everyone is free to express alternative views and opinions....
05 Nov 2018 When media, politics and sexual violence collide
How media report on sexual violence when political interests are at play is a litmus test for how serious they are about professional ethics.
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29 Oct 2018 ‘Fake news’ is undermining Brazilian rights
During Brazil’s military dictatorship (1964-85), the people’s ability to exercise some of their most fundamental human rights was severely curtailed. In addition to engaging in torture, extrajudicial killings, and repression against opposition groups, the successive military governments that governed Brazil during this period relentlessly restricted...