South Sudan Commemorates World Press Freedom Day

May 4, 2016 / By Jok P Mayom, Gurtong South Sudan on Tuesday joined the rest of the world in marking the World Press Freedom Day under the theme “Access to information and fundamental freedoms” with calls to protect journalists. The celebration held at Nyakuron Cultural Centre and attended by media houses in Juba was organized…

NMC Jabs Gov’t Over RTI Bill

2 May, 2016 / By http://news.peacefmonline.com/ Chairman of the National Media Commission (NMC), Mr. Kwasi Gyan-Apenteng, has expressed disquiet about the long delay of the passage of the Right to Information (RTI) Bill. Although he noted Ghana has come far in its quest for freedom of expression, he said the absence of a relevant and specific…

Myanmar and World Press Freedom Day

2 May, 2016 / By Mizzima.com On the face of it, Myanmar appears to have turned the page on locking up journalists. One of the first acts of the new Aung San Suu Kyi-Htin Kyaw government was to free several journalists who had been locked up during the tenure of President Thein Sein’s government. But…

Newspapers: Staying relevant in the digital age

April 29, 2016 / By Gwen Lister, African Free Press After four decades in print, Gwen Lister says she’s been called a “dinosaur” because she was and remains a believer in newspapers – even in the face of the digital tsunami. Gwen Lister is the Founding Editor and currently Publisher of The Namibian newspaper. As the digital…

Alarming trends in media freedom blight Europe

23 April, 2016 / By Pier Luigi Parcu in Euroactiv.com Freedom of expression and media pluralism are principles enshrined in the EU’s Charter of Fundamental Rights. Member states are bound to guarantee them, as they represent the essence of liberal democracies. But Pier Luigi Parcu asks whether this is true in practice. Pier Luigi Parcu…

World Press Freedom Index: Indian media is under stress

21 April, 2016 / By ET Brandequity Media in India continues to be under stress as the country figures low at 133 out of 180 nations in the latest World Press Freedom Index. The international watchdog said, Prime Minister Narendra Modi is being ‘indifferent’ to threats against scribes. The damning report by Paris-based free press…

Promoting Media Pluralism and The Diversity of Cultural Expressions: UNESCO Trains Senegalese Journalists on the 2005 Convention

April 6, 2016 / By UNESCO, Published By BigNewsNetwork.com The 2005 Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions allocates an important place to the role of media. Whether it be through highlighting the importance of media as essential advocates of the Convention, or the central role given to freedom of…

Media ownership situation ‘high risk’ to diversity of opinion

April 4, 2016 / By Michael O’Regan The Irish Times Report calls for retrospective reform of competition law to restrict influence of individuals. Concentration of media ownership in Ireland poses a “high risk” to diversity of opinion, according to a report compiled by a Dublin City University lecturer. Fewer owners limit the opportunity for diversity of opinion and…

New Power Party proposal targets media monopolies

March 30, 2016 / By By Chen Wei-han, Tapei Times The New Power Party (NPP) caucus yesterday proposed draft legislation to prevent media monopolies and to maintain media pluralism to address issues that sparked protests against media monopolization in 2012. The proposal seeks to limit media mergers, stipulating that a company cannot own more than three…

The importance of real pluralism in the media

9 March 2016 / Published Buenos Aires Herald A true democracy requires various other essential ingredients rather than free elections at regular intervals and one of them is media pluralism that fully reflects a diverse society. Such a pluralism obviously demands a multiplicity of opinions but rather more than that — there must be a level…