Defend the Press

The Day Egypt Disappeared

Submitted by Mary Bottari on February 14, 2011 - 9:00am

On February 11, 2011, after 30 years of dictatorship, Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak announced he was stepping down. As ancient pharaohs slumbered inside, a crowd of over a million surrounded the rose-colored Cairo Museum setting off fireworks and jumping for joy as they peacefully forced a modern pharaoh to flee. This hopeful moment will be studied for years, and no topic will be more hotly debated than the role of social media in the uprising.

A Victory for Ehren Watada -- and for Freedom of the Press

Submitted by Sarah Olson on November 26, 2007 - 10:00am

Ehren WatadaEhren WatadaArmy First Lieutenant Ehren Watada saw his case move one step closer to resolution earlier this month when a federal court issued a preliminary injunction against a second court martial. The Army's prosecution of the first officer to publicly refuse to deploy to Iraq has been in legal limbo since a February court martial ended abruptly when the military judge threw out a stipulation agreement and declared a mistrial.

In June 2006, Lt. Watada held a press conference where he declared that the Iraq War was illegal, and that it was his duty to refuse orders to deploy. Lt. Watada was charged with violations of articles 87 and 133 of the Uniform Code of Military Justice for refusing to deploy to Iraq, and publicly explaining his reasons for doing so. If convicted, he faced up to six and a half years in prison.

Following February's mistrial, the Army refiled charges against Lt. Watada, and prepared for a second court martial. The defense argued Fifth Amendment protection against being tried for the same crime twice, and filed appeals with every level of military court. Lt. Watada's claims to constitutional protections were not heard in court until the case reached the civilian, federal district court, in Tacoma, Washington.

Beatdown on Bloggers

Submitted by Sheldon Rampton on October 20, 2007 - 2:26pm

As the internet becomes an increasingly important source of information for the public, government repression is shifting from traditional journalists to bloggers, according to the latest Worldwide Press Freedom Index issued by Reporters Without Borders.

Main Source: 
Reporters Without Borders, October 16, 2007

Journalists Jailed

Submitted by Sheldon Rampton on October 19, 2007 - 1:10pm

The executive editor and CEO of Village Voice Media were arrested Thursday night after publishing details of what they call "breathtaking abuse of the constitution" in a grand jury subpoena against their Arizona newspaper, the New Times.

Main Source: 
Arizona Republic, October 19, 2007

"Just in Time" Censorship

Submitted by Diane Farsetta on October 4, 2007 - 1:44pm

It isn't just Burmese pro-democracy activists who have been denied Internet access by heavy-handed government censors. "OpenNet Initiative, which tracks Internet censorship, has documented signs that in recent years several governments -- including those of former Soviet republics Belarus, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan -- have closed off Internet access, or at least opposition Web sites, during periods preceding elections or times of intense protests.

Main Source: 
New York Times, October 4, 2007

Prisoner 345

Submitted by Sheldon Rampton on July 25, 2007 - 3:51pm

"For the past five years," Sami al-Haj, a cameraman for Al Jazeera, "has been the only journalist known to be held in Guantánamo Bay," reports Rachel Morris. Al-Haj was originally detained in December 2001 while trying to cross the border into Afghanistan with a team of other journalists. After examining his case, Morris can find little evidence to justify his detention.

Main Source: 
Columbia Journalism Review, July/August 2007

Melanie Morgan Still Wants to Kill

Submitted by Sheldon Rampton on July 25, 2007 - 9:36am
Main Source: 
Media Matters for America, July 20, 2007

What's Fair in Coverage of RCTV Shutdown?

Submitted by Diane Farsetta on May 29, 2007 - 1:15pm

Fairness & Accuracy In Reporting (FAIR) is criticizing U.S. news media for presenting Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez's non-renewal of the television station RCTV's broadcast license "as a simple matter of censorship." FAIR points out that "RCTV and other commercial TV stations were key players in the April 2002 coup that briefly ousted Chavez's democratically elected government." Moreover, "the Venezuelan government is basing its denial of license on RCTV's involvement in the 2002 coup, not on the station's criticisms of or political opposition to the government." BBC News reports that the Latin American press is portraying Chavez as "authoritarian" and Venezuelan media as "increasingly suffocated." Journalism and human rights groups have denounced the non-renewal of RCTV's license. Governments have the right not to renew a broadcast license, but a standard process should be followed, international rights groups maintain. "We're not arguing that the concession ... should be given to RCTV," said the Committee to Project Journalists' Carlos Lauria. "We're just saying that there's no process to evaluate if it should be." Just Foreign Policy's Patrick McElwee agrees, but notes that a 1987 law -- enacted previous to Chavez -- "charges the executive branch with decisions about license renewal" and "does not seem to require any administrative hearing."

Main Source: 
Fairness & Accuracy in Reporting (FAIR), May 25, 2007

The Not-So-Free Press, Worldwide

Submitted by Diane Farsetta on May 24, 2007 - 1:19pm

After giving an interview to Afghanistan's Tolo TV in which she called the Afghan parliament "worse than a stable or a zoo," because "at least there you have a donkey that carries a load and a cow that provides milk," Malalai Joya was suspended from Parliament. Joya, a young lawmaker and rights activist, has been threatened by warlords, while Afghan officials have sought to intimidate Tolo TV. Human Rights Watch is calling for Joya to be reinstated. In Thailand, the government is closing down community radio stations, allegedly for using "illegal frequencies." Rights activists say the shut-downs are at least partially due to stations having aired interviews with ousted prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra. In Iraq, local journalists and news organizations, along with the Committee to Protect Journalists, are protesting the government's ban on journalists reporting from attack scenes. Lastly, the OpenNet Initiative found that 25 of 40 countries it studied "block Web sites for political, social or other reasons." The "most extensive filters" are imposed by China, Iran, Myanmar, Syria, Tunisia and Vietnam.

Main Source: 
Associated Press, May 21, 2007

Afghanistan's "Must Ban TV" and Other Press Concerns

Submitted by Diane Farsetta on May 7, 2007 - 10:07am

"Intimidation and harassment of the Afghan news media have come from a variety of sources," reports Pamela Constable, "including government prosecutors, police, regional militias, parliament, Islamic clerical councils and U.S.-led military forces." The Afghan parliament is considering banning "news coverage that disturbs the public or has an 'un-Islamic' theme." The measure, which is expected to pass in some form, would also "give the Ministry of Information and Culture full control of state-run broadcast media." Fazel Sangcharaki, who heads Afghanistan's National Union of Journalists, said, "We are very concerned about the state of press freedom. ... The government is getting weaker, and they do not want the media to expose its flaws." Afghanistan's new constitution guarantees freedom of the press, and the number of news outlets has increased dramatically. But reporters are often intimidated, attacked or even killed. Afghan officials have repeatedly targeted the popular "Tolo TV"; the Afghan attorney general ordered three of its journalists arrested, its cameras are banned from parliamentary debates, and its "hard-hitting talk show" was banned.

Main Source: 
Washington Post, May 7, 2007
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