#EU#Italy#PressFreedom#RAI#TV#Television#News#Media#Journalism: "An Italian union has called for political parties to be “eliminated from Rai” as journalists with the public broadcaster went on strike in protest against the “suffocating control” allegedly being wielded by Giorgia Meloni’s rightwing government over their work.
The ruling coalition has been accused of influencing programming, including censoring themes that are not in tune with its rightwing stance.
The strike on Monday came amid a growing debate in Italy about political influence in the media after Rai was accused of censoring an antifascism monologue that was due to be read on one of its TV talkshows by the high-profile author Antonio Scurati.
“This strike is in response to industrial themes … but also there is an aspect linked to the independence and autonomy of journalists,” Daniele Macheda, the president of Usigrai, the main union representing Rai journalists, told reporters in Rome. “Things have happened in Italy, also recently, that do not give us much hope in [the way] things are going.”
It is WILD how suddenly Al Jazeera is part of a free and fair press when Western leaders have done everything since implementation to discredit it, despite it being the most credible news source of this conflict. #PressFreedom
#Israel#AlJazeera#PressFreedom#Journalism#Media#News: "The government on Sunday voted unanimously in favor of closing the Al-Jazeera TV channel in Israel. The decision authorized the communications minister to order the channel to halt its broadcasts in Israel, in Arabic and English; shutter its offices; have some of its equipment confiscated and restrict access to its website.
In making this anti-democratic decision, Israel took a step down the slippery slope on the way to becoming a country that silences people. Previous governments that closed Al-Jazeera's offices were Egypt and the Gulf countries. In any case, Al-Jazeera shouldn't be shuttered, but doing so may turn out to be only a preface to a policy in which any media outlet, Israeli or international, that the government doesn't like is shut down. That's how it is when there's an extreme right-wing government that has declared war on freedom of expression and on the rule of law in Israel."
I thought #VanessaDougnac had a piece published somewhere in English that did the rounds here and elsewhere when she was forced to leave #India a few months ago, but I can't find it at all now. Does anyone else remember it?
(I can find lots of other stories talking about her departure, some with quotes from a statement she released, but what I thought I saw was a story, rather than a statement—though links to the statement also gratefully received!)🙏🧡
On #WorldPressFreedomDay 2024, the 🇺🇸 has dropped to 55th on RSF’a index. https://rsf.org/en/country/united-states
📰📉”After a sharp increase in 2020, #PressFreedom violations have fallen significantly in the United States, but major structural barriers to press freedom persist in this country, once considered a model for freedom of expression.”
New photo-shoot on World Press Freedom Day ... National Press Club president Emily Wilkins talks with advocates for journalists held hostage: Austin Tice, Evan Gershkovich, and Alsu Kurmasheva.
Here, Wilkins talks with Stephen Capus, president of RFE/RL, employer of Alsu Kurmasheva.
Hong Kong was ranked 135 out of 180 countries and territories in RSF's 2024 press freedom index
"Once a bastion of press freedom, the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People’s Republic of China has suffered an unprecedented series of setbacks since 2020, when Beijing adopted a National Security Law aimed at silencing independent voices"
Palestinian journalists covering Gaza awarded the 2024 #UNESCO
/ Guillermo Cano World #PressFreedom Prize.
“In these times of darkness and hopelessness, we wish to share a strong message of solidarity and recognition to those Palestinian journalists who are covering this crisis in such dramatic circumstances,” said Mauricio Weibel, chair of the international jury of media professionals, who recommended the winners of the prize.
TikTok CEO #ShouZiChew has said the company will take the fight against the new law to the courts, but some experts believe that for the #US#SupremeCourt, national security considerations could outweigh #FreeSpeech protection.
According to the New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists (#CPJ), at least 97 members of the #press have been killed since the war broke out in October, 92 of whom were #Palestinians. #Israel#Gaza
5.7 MILLION Italians citizens and resident live in #AbsolutePoverty, 1.3 are children. #Meloni government has done NOTHING for those children, whereas #antiabortion fanatics are now allowed to enter abortion clinics.
And if the #Meloni government passes measures to put in prison journalists who publish information "obtained through illegal means" no matter whether the journalist didn't partecipate in any illegal act, it will be the end of #PressFreedom.
#Journalism#Media#News#AI#GenerativeAI#PressFreedom: "Some journalists fear AI regulation can be used to stifle press freedom. A panel moderated by researcher Felix Simon looked at how governments should (and shouldn’t) regulate AI, and how those rules might impact journalism in the years ahead. Indian editor Ritu Kapur said she understood the need for legislation but expressed her concerns about governments using this as an excuse to increase their control over the public sphere.
“I’m wary about regulation from governments. During this year’s Indian elections, politicians are using AI for campaign purposes, so any regulation coming from entities using AI for their own agenda will be very skewed,” said Kapur, who mentioned a recent incident in which a user asked Google Gemini whether Prime Minister Narendra Modi is a fascist, prompting a response from the government and some backlash online." https://reutersinstitute.politics.ox.ac.uk/news/international-journalism-festival-2024-what-we-learnt-perugia-about-future-news
Latest photo-shoot: Nobel-prize winning economist Joseph Stiglitz at National Press Club in Washington, D.C., Apr. 17. Stiglitz discussed a report for UNESCO on press freedom and economic development.
State Supreme Court judge blocked #Trump’s attempt to gain access to #NBC’s documentary material related to adult film actress #StormyDaniels.
Manhattan Judge Juan #Merchan said Trump atty’s subpoena was “far too broad” & did not meet the #legal standard to compel #NBCUniversal to turn over docs & other items related to the documentary “Stormy.”
“In the instant matter, the Defendant seeks ‘all’ documents, including but not limited to vague & overbroad requests,” #Merchan wrote in the ruling issued Friday.
Come and meet Brick House/Flaming Hydra at #indielib in Columbus tomorrow, and learn how YOUR library can use our new BRIET app to OWN and LOAN (not license) #ebooks
... and how YOUR independent press can SELL ebooks...
NewsClick case in India: RSF and Guernica 37 Chambers call on the European Union to sanction Delhi police officers
Reporters Without Borders (RSF) and Guernica 37 Chambers call on the European Union to sanction four high-ranking officers of the Delhi police, responsible - directly or indirectly - for exactions against dozens of journalists working or having collaborated with the independent media NewsClick.
#Palestine / CPJ calls on United Nations to investigate Israel’s arbitrary detention of Palestinian journalists
[…] “The alarming use of administrative detention by Israeli authorities amid the Israel-Gaza war represents the silencing of dissenting voices, most notably journalists,” said #CPJ Director of Advocacy and Communications Gypsy Guillén Kaiser. “The incidence of administrative detention is a concerning bellwether for Israel’s efforts to restrict the public’s right to know what is happening in Gaza.”