International Media

Sad Journalism Anniversary

by

Article in The Columbia Journalism Review by Jon Alsop, /7/25

Headline:  “The Unresolved Legacy of the Charlie Hebdo Massacre”

Subhead:  “The decade since the attack on a French satirical magazine.”

“. . .Ten years ago today, in January 2015, the staff of Charlie Hebdo held their first editorial meeting of the year. They debated a new book, by the controversial author Michel Houellebecq, depicting an imagined Muslim president of France; “everyone was on top form and happy,” one journalist recalled. The staff heard what they thought were firecrackers in the street outside, then saw a man enter the office with a gun; initially, the journalist said, the staff suspected a practical joke, but it soon transpired that it wasn’t. Two terrorists affiliated with a branch of Al Qaeda had gained entry to the offices. In total, they killed twelve people, including a janitor and eight members of the editorial staff. . .”

https://www.cjr.org/the_media_today/the-unresolved-legacy-of-the-charlie-hebdo-massacre.php

India Corruption Kills Reporter

by

Photograph: @MukeshChandrak9

Article in The Guardian by Hannah Ellis-Petersen, 1/6/25

Headline:  “Indian press groups call for investigation after journalist’s body found in septic tank”

Subhead:   “Mukesh Chandrakar had reported on alleged corruption in the construction industry and had a popular YouTube channel”

“Indian media rights groups have called for an investigation after the body of a missing journalist was found hidden in a septic tank.

“Mukesh Chandrakar, 32, was a well-known freelance journalist in the Indian state of Chhattisgarh who contributed to some of the country’s biggest news channels. He had also widely reported on alleged corruption in the construction industry on his popular YouTube channel.”

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/jan/06/indian-journalist-mukesh-chandrakar-body-found-in-septic-tank-ntwnfb

Journalist Mass Shooting Anniversary

by

Article in AP by Staff, 01/3/24

Headline:  “Algerian social media influencer detained in France accused of calling for attacks”

“PARIS (AP) — French police on Friday detained a social media influencer from Algeria who is accused of calling on his followers to carry out attacks in France, Interior Minster Bruno Retailleau said.

“The arrest in the Brittany port city of Brest on France’s western coast comes as the country is preparing to mark the 10th anniversary next week of deadly January 2015 attacks in Paris against the satirical Charlie Hebdo newspaper and a kosher supermarket.

“On Jan. 7, 2015, two French-born al-Qaida extremists stormed Charlie Hebdo’s newsroom and killed 12 people, including the chief editor, cartoonists and a policeman in a nearby street.”

https://apnews.com/article/france-algeria-tiktok-terror-arrest-8401d12ec0bd79140acbcb8cac543637

Journalist Car Blown Up

by


Article in Committee to Protect Journalists by STaff, 12/26/24

Headline: “Israeli strike kills 5 Al-Quds Al-Youm TV journalists in central Gaza”

“Beirut, December 26, 2024—Israeli forces killed five journalists and media workers with Al-Quds Al-Youm TV, a channel affiliated with the Islamic Jihad militant group, in a Thursday strike on their vehicle outside Al-Awda Hospital in central Gaza’s Nuseirat refugee camp. The Associated Press reported that footage showed the van had visible press markings.

“CPJ denounces Israel’s killing of five journalists working for Al-Quds Al-Youm TV,” said Carlos Martinez de la Serna, CPJ’s program director in New York. “The Israeli strike on their vehicle, which was clearly marked ‘Press,’ means that at least nine Gazan journalists have been killed in less than two weeks. The international community must act now to protect Palestinian journalists in Gaza and end Israel’s impunity for these killings.”

https://cpj.org/2024/12/israeli-strike-kills-5-al-quds-al-youm-tv-journalists-in-central-gaza/

by


Encyclopedia Brittanica

Article in Committee to Protect Journalism by Staff, 12/18/24

Headline: “The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns a Kyrgyzstan court’s decision upholding convictions against four journalists from anti-corruption investigative outlet Temirov Live, two of whom were sentenced to lengthy prison terms.”

On Wednesday, the Bishkek City Court upheld an October 10 first instance court decision sentencing Makhabat Tajibek kyzy to six years in prison, Azamat Ishenbekov to five years in prison, and reporter Aike Beishekeyeva and former reporter Aktilek Kaparov to three years of probation. Prosecutors did not appeal the acquittals of seven other current and former Temirov Live staff.”

https://cpj.org/2024/12/kyrgyzstan-court-upholds-convictions-of-4-anti-corruption-journalists/

 

Refuge for Congo Journalists

by

RWB Photo

Article in Reporters Without Borders by Staff, 12/16/24

Headline: “DRC: RSF and UNPC open a residence for displaced journalists in North Kivu province”

“Since last September, two journalists have been killed and multiple media workers have been attacked. Around twenty community radio stations have been closed, censored or subjected to control by the M23 rebel group this summer, while others have been threatened with prosecution by the government. Due to the many dangers journalists face in North Kivu, a north-eastern province of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), they are forced to flee their homes. Around fifty journalists from North Kivu had been displaced by the end of June 2024.”

https://rsf.org/en/drc-rsf-and-unpc-open-residence-displaced-journalists-north-kivu-province

Government Control and Public Media

by

Article in Columbia Journalism Review by Sacha Biazzo, 12/11/24

Headline:  “Lucia Annunziata on the Transformation of Italy’s Public Broadcaster Under Giorgia Meloni”

Subhead:  “An anchor turned politician on her exit from RAI.”

“Historically, RAI, Italy’s public broadcaster, has always been subject to government control. During the political era dominated by Silvio Berlusconi, the late media mogul turned three-time prime minister, for example, the infamous “Bulgarian Diktat” caused an uproar: following a declaration by Berlusconi, management effectively removed the journalist Enzo Biagi, anchor Michele Santoro, and satirist Daniele Luttazzi . . . from public TV altogether.

“Today, under the right-wing prime minister Giorgia Meloni, efforts to align RAI with the government’s agenda have been seen as even more pervasive—the broadcaster has undergone a series of radical transformations, often referred to using the shorthand TeleMeloni.”

https://www.cjr.org/the_media_today/qa_lucia_annunziata_telemeloni_italy_rai.php

Hope for Syrian Journalists

by


Article in Committee to Protect Jounalists by Staff, 12/11/24

Headline: CPJ calls on new Syrian leaders to protect journalist safety, hold Assad’s media persecutors to account

“As Syria transitions to a new government following the December 8 toppling of Bashar al-Assad, the Committee to Protect Journalists calls on authorities to take decisive action to ensure the safety of all journalists and hold accountable those responsible for the killing, imprisonment, and silencing of members of the media during the country’s 13-year civil war.

“ ‘Scenes of journalists rushing to cover Syria’s post-Assad regime raise hope for the start of a new chapter for the country’s media workers,’ said CPJ Program Director Carlos Martinez de la Serna. ‘While we wait for the missing to return and the imprisoned to be released, we call on the new authorities to hold the perpetrators to account for the crimes of killing, abducting, or jailing reporters.’ ”

https://cpj.org/2024/12/cpj-calls-on-new-syrian-leaders-to-protect-journalist-safety-hold-assads-media-persecutors-to-account/

No News Without Tax?

by


Article in Al Jezeera by Staff, 12/12/24

Headline:  “Australia plans to tax tech giants if they fail to pay news outlets”

Subhead: “Firms like Meta face tax if they don’t pay for news driving traffic to their sites, depriving media firms of revenue.”

“The Australian government has announced plans to tax Big Tech firms if they fail to share revenue with local news media organisations.

“The measure, applicable from January 1, will force firms like Meta and Google with an Australian-based revenue in excess of 250 million Australian dollars ($160m) to pay for content or face a hefty tax bill that could amount to millions.”

“. . . Announcing the move, Communications Minister Michelle Rowland said on Thursday that the rapid growth of digital platforms had ‘disrupted’ the media landscape and was ‘threatening the viability of public interest journalism’ ”.

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/12/12/australia-to-force-tech-giants-to-pay-for-news

Sudan Journalists at Risk

by

Photo: AFP/Amaury Falt-Brown

Article by Staff in Citizens to Protect Journalists, 12/12/24

Headline:  “Rapid Support Forces kill Sudanese journalist Hanan Adam and brother”

“On Monday, December 8, soldiers with the paramilitary group Rapid Support Forces (RSF) killed journalist Hanan Adam, a correspondent for local Sudan Communist Party-affiliated newspaper al-Midan, and her brother, Youssef Adam, at their home in the village of Wad Al-Asha in the east-central al-Gezira state, according to statements by the Sudanese Journalists’ Union and the Sudan Communist Party.

“We are deeply shocked and outraged by Rapid Support Forces’ brutal killing of journalist Hanan Adam and her brother in al-Gezira state, which further illustrates the extreme conditions journalists and their families currently face in Sudan,” said CPJ Interim MENA Program Coordinator Yeganeh Rezaian, from Washington, D.C

https://cpj.org/2024/12/rapid-support-forces-kill-sudanese-journalist-hanan-adam-and-brother/