Authorities in Rwanda announced on Monday the arrest of two individuals in the murder of journalist Jean-Léonard Rugambage, who was shot late Thursday as he drove through the gate to his home in Kigali, according to news reports. The Committee to Protect Journalists expressed skepticism about the arrests and called on authorities to disclose details of their investigation.[more]

The SOS Suport Public Broadcasting Coalition has congratulated the SABC board for reversing the appointment of Phil Molefe as SABC news head, but reiterated its call for action to be taken against board chair Ben Ngubane and CEO Solly Mokoetle for corporate governance breaches, writes Michael Mbambo for journalism.co.za.[more]

On 17-18 June, over 25 experts and 150 stakeholders from key national reform agencies, the United Nations, and civil society organisations including ARTICLE 19 debated the values and limits of freedom of expression and regulations against harmful speech in Nairobi, Kenya.[more]

Access to Information is a big topic these days. It is for the World Bank, with its own ATI strategy kicking in this week, on July 1. It's a big topic elsewhere too: The Philippine Congress just killed a Freedom of Information Bill, the Parliament in Liberia is taking up it's review of a Freedom of Information Act after a two year hiatus, and the New York Times reports on the positive effects that India's Right to Information Law has on the poorest castes.[more]

The South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) has on 28 June 2010 issued an interim Request For Proposal (RTF) book calling for local programming proposals in specific television content genres. It said “this is part of the process towards normalising content commissioning and procurement procedures begun under the current SABC Board”.

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The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) today expressed deep concern over the arrest on Saturday, 26th June ,2010 of Hadis Mohemed Hadis, editor of the online paper Baadiyenews.com, an independent website published in Somaliland. Hadis is charged with “serious crimes”.[more]

Talk Radio 702, which started simply as 'Channel 702 - The Rainbow of Sound' at the height of apartheid era in June 1980, has grown and matured over the years to become a much bigger 'fearless' platform of news and debate, and is today, Monday, 28 June 2010, celebrating its 30th birthday. And the station is still in touch, in tune and independent - and ready to deliver when it matters the most.

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On 16 June 2010, the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting Services instructed Sky FM Radio to put in writing its commitment that it would desist from running statements that had the potential to incite the public to engage in acts that could threaten the peace and security of the nation and submit it to the Ministry in 48 hours failure to which its license would be revoked.[more]

Gweru based Nkabazwe Community Radio Initiative was on 24 June 2010 denied police clearance to hold a road show for the third time in a space of less than two months because it is not licensed to broadcast. [more]

Washington, DC — Through his undercover investigations, Anas Aremeyaw Anas has exposed human trafficking rings, corruption in Ghana's customs offices and child prostitution. U.S. President Barack Obama mentioned Anas and his work in a speech to Ghana's parliament last year. Most recently, Anas was in Washington, DC, to receive his 2010 Global Health Council Excellence in Journalism Award for his undercover work in exposing the mistreatment of mental health patients in Ghanaian hospitals. Saratu Abiola and Bunmi Oloruntoba caught up with the undercover reporter to talk about his passion, the importance of journalism and his hopes for Africa and his native country, Ghana. [more]

An unidentified gunman shot dead a journalist for a banned Rwandan newspaper on Thursday, according to media reports.[more]

It is well known that Africa faces many challenges in its quest for a better life for its citizens as spelled out by the UN’s Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). One of the biggest hurdles in Africa’s road to development, albeit not recognised by many, is the continent’s tarnished image that was a direct result of many factors; some are internal while others are external. [more]

The legal framework regulating hate speech in Kenya falls short of international human rights standards and raises serious concerns regarding the protection of the right to freedom of expression. [more]

The launch of the long-awaited constitutional outreach consultation exercise after months of bickering among the coalition parties was the highlight of the week in all the media.[more]

Reporters Without Borders is disturbed to learn that Alphonse Afakandro of Mandomba an’i Melaky, a radio station based in the west-coast town of Maintirano, is being prosecuted on charges of defamation, insult and dissemination of false information as a result of complaint by the local gendarmerie over a report about illegal sea-turtle fishing.[more]

The United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) has been poised for months to award a life sciences prize named after and funded by President Teodoro Obiang, the abusive ruler of Equatorial Guinea. On 15 June, UNESCO delayed awarding the controversial prize, but rights groups such as Human Rights Watch say that's not enough. Meanwhile, opposition to the prize has grown more vociferous - including statements from journalists worldwide who have been repressed by their own governments. [more]

The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) today condemned threats and violence against journalists during the world cup which is currently taking place. IFJ calls on the International Federation of Football Associations (FIFA) to ensure the safety of the journalists accredited to cover the tournament that is being held for the first time on the African continent. [more]

The Angolan government should drop politically motivated criminal charges against three prominent rights advocates who go on trial on June 23, 2010, in Cabinda, Angola's oil-rich province, Human Rights Watch said today. [more]

The Benin’s media regulatory body, the High Authority for Broadcasting and Communication (HAAC), on June 16, 2010 banned the media from publishing or broadcasting what it described as “premature” political campaign materials on the country’s 2011 General Elections.[more]

Minister of Information and Broadcasting Services Ronnie Shikapwasha has cautioned the Media Liaison Committee (MLC) to exercise sincerity when dealing with media issues.[more]

Gambian journalist Abdoulie John has received threats from unnamed callers over the past few weeks, he told IPI in a phone interview today. [more]

The Malawi Chapter of the Media Institute of Southern Africa (MISA) is appealing to the Ministry of Information and Civic Education to review its decision that prevents private radio and television stations from covering Very Very Important Persons (VVIP) functions live. [more]

A free media is a critical component in the creation and maintenance of a healthy and vibrant democracy. It plays a key monitoring, evaluation and watchdog role over both private and public institutions.[more]

The trial of Harare mayor Muchadeyi Masunda and eight councillors on allegations of criminally defaming businessman Philip Chiyangwa in which five journalists will appear as witnesses, was on 22 June 2010 moved to 23 September 2010 by Harare magistrate Olivia Mariga. [more]

Mavambo/Kusile/Dawn (MKD) party leader Simba Makoni has attacked the Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation (ZBC) for not airing an interview that was recorded in 2009 with Super Mandiwanzira under the state-controlled broadcaster’s Talking Business programme.[more]

The transitional government of Niger on June 3, 2010 issued a new media decree, that the country’s media and civil society groups say would restrict the flow of information and undermine the work of foreign media outlets and their journalists. [more]

The management of privately-owned North Star, a radio station in Tamale, capital of the Northern region of Ghana on June 9, 2010 suspended indefinitely members of the ruling National Democratic Congress (NDC) from participating in the station’s programmes.[more]

The 2010 Digital Citizen's Indaba (DCI), a project of the Highway Africa Conference, will be held on 7 July 2010 at Rhodes University in Grahamstown. This year's theme, 'Africa's Underdevelopment: Digital citizens talk back', plans to explore citizen media and the exploitation of natural resources, disasters, climate change and mega events.[more]

Reporters Without Borders is deeply disturbed by the conduct of the trial of four senior members of the opposition daily Rai Al Shaab – editor Ashraf Abdelaziz, deputy editor Abuzur Al Amin, political editor Altahir Ibrahim and news editor Ramadan Mahgoub – on charges of terrorism and spying.[more]

The Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Expression and Access to Information in Africa, Pansy Tlakula, has appealed to Zambia’s president to repeal a law used to convict and imprison Fred M’membe, the editor-in-chief of The Post.[more]

Journalists and Scientist will discuss at the 2010 Global Media Forum, "Covering Climate Change in West Africa" and find ways of collaborating to educate the people to appreciate the need to stem the looming danger.[more]

Reporters Without Borders is outraged by the death of Khaled Mohammed Said, a 28-year-old human rights activist who is widely alleged to have been beaten to death by police in Alexandria on 6 June, and calls for an independent and transparent enquiry.[more]

Angola’s independent press has played an important role in holding the country’s leadership to account, writes Sylvia Croese, but there are increasing fears that critical voices will be crowded out, after a group with suspected links to the government bought out three private newspapers. Angola’s media landscape is largely dominated by the state, which owns two national television stations, the national radio broadcaster, the daily national newspaper and the national press agency.[more]

For the better part of the last 20 years, Tedros Menghistu has been a refugee, forced to flee his Red Sea homeland of Eritrea not once, but twice—first as a young man displaced by war in the early 1990s, and then as a professional journalist escaping political censorship and military conscription a decade later.[more]

The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns the adoption by the Tunisian Chamber of Deputies on Tuesday of a bill that reinforces an existing arsenal of legislation used to silence critical journalists. President Ben Ali is expected to sign the bill after its anticipated approval by the Chamber of Councilors. The change is unconstitutional since it violates freedom of expression as guaranteed by Tunisian constitution, according to CPJ research.[more]

At least 85 journalists fled their home countries in the past year in the face of attacks, threats, and possible imprisonment. High exile rates are seen in Iran and in the East African nations of Somalia and Ethiopia.[more]

Reporters Without Borders is very concerned about growing threats to the safety of journalists in Burundi in the run-up to the 28 June presidential election. Several incidents directly affecting Burundian journalists and media have been reported in the past few weeks.[more]

Lewis Medjo, editor of the weekly La Détente Libre, who was released from prison on 26 May 2010, has talked to Reporters Without Borders about his hopes of getting back to work.[more]

The crime of ‘democricide’ is being committed in Ethiopia both by Prime Minister Meles Zenawi and a hoard of accessories who cheat the Ethiopian people out of fair elections, free press and aid, writes Alemayehu G. Mariam. Those complicit in this crime include the political bureaucracy that pumps out shining reports on ‘development’ and the donors themselves, who continue to prop up regimes like Zenawi’s and stifle democracy in the name of stability.[more]

Although there was a significant increase in the media’s coverage of the constitutional reform programme compared to last week as the nation awaited the launch of the Constitutional Parliamentary Select Committee’s outreach exercise (by 58% in terms of the number of stories), the quality of the coverage still raised more questions than answers. [more]

A station manager who was held for 32 days in Matadi's central prison, in Bas Congo province, southwestern Democratic Republic of Congo, was released on 12 June 2010, two days after being acquitted by a Matadi court on charges of "threatening state security", reports JED. [more]

Immediately after his newspaper was suspended for criticising President Paul Kagame, a defiant Rwandan editor launched an online news website that was just as critical of the government. In the lead up to presidential elections in August, the site was recently blocked, report the Media Institute, the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) and Reporters Without Borders (RSF). [more]

On Friday evening, after receiving an unexpected royal pardon, Driss Chahtan, the editor of the independent weekly Al-Michaal, was released from Oukacha Prison in Casablanca. However, his release is one of the few positive developments amid many alarming cases of worsening press conditions in Morocco.[more]

Irina Bokova, UNESCO’s director-general, delivered a firm message on Tuesday to representatives from UNESCO’s 58-member executive board assembled at the organization’s Paris headquarters: Bestowing the Obiang International Prize for Research in the Life Sciences, named for and financed by one of the most repressive leaders in Arica, would do grave damage to the organization.[more]

Dissapointingly, the SABC continues its corruption freefall under President Jacob Zuma and Communications Minister Siphiwe Nyanda. After a R1,5bn bail-out, more than R3m has already been spent on soccer tickets and almost R1m on a “documentary” about Zuma. One can only guess that this “doccie” will be given saturation airtime in the run-up to next year’s municipal elections. Millions more have been corruptly spent or wasted on hiring unnecessary 2010 studio space outside Auckland Park.[more]

On 14 June 2010, the main privately-owned radio station in the central city of Agadez, Sahara FM, was back on the air for the first time since it was shut down in 2008. It was able to resume broadcasting after obtaining a permit from the National Institute for Communication (ONC), the media's new regulatory authority.[more]

Last week in steamy, rain-soaked Monrovia, anticipation for the World Cup aside, I could already sense the buzz building around presidential elections scheduled for October of 2011. In the coming contest—only the second presidential election since the end of the civil war—Liberians will decide whether to reelect Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, Africa’s first female head of state, for a second term. Just as the daily downpours fill the potholes that mar almost every road in Liberia, giving the illusion of a smooth passable surface, Liberia’s airwaves and newspapers will soon be filled with the political propaganda of the candidates.[more]

Malawian journalists risk arrest for disclosing the name, address or school of a child involved in any proceedings in the Child Justice Court.A new bill on Child Care, Protection and Justice expected to be tabled in Parliament in three weeks time proposes that journalists who identify a child involved in proceedings of the Child Justice Court will be jailed for six months or in default pay up to K20, 000 (US$ 133), while media houses that publish the details risks a K100, 000 (US$666) fine.[more]

The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns a suspended prison sentence handed to a journalist this week over an article raising questions about the unsolved murder of a government official. [more]

Plain-clothed policemen in Senegal on the night of 5 June 2010 stormed the printing house of "Le Populaire", a Dakar-based independent daily newspaper, and halted work on the next issue of the newspaper. [more]

Reporters Without Borders regrets the Cameroonian government’s foot-dragging in the investigation into journalist “Bibi” Ngota Ngota’s death in Yaoundé’s Kodengui prison on 22 April. See previous release.[more]

ARTICLE 19 and the Cairo Institute of Human Rights Studies (CIHRS) submitted a joint oral statement at the UN Human Rights Council’s 14th session welcoming the annual report of he Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Opinion and Expression, Mr Frank La Rue.[more]

Media, Diversity and Change: Taking Stock

Date: 13-15 October 2010, Johannesburg, South Africa[more]

Who is asking the hard questions? When Zimbabwe started down the path of creating a new constitution, the nation might have hoped for a momentous discussion of this sacred contract between the government and the governed.

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On 7 June 2010, former State House Press Aide Richard Sakala called for a media conference for the media to come up with a code of ethics which could be submitted to Parliament to be enacted into law.[more]

ARTICLE 19 submitted an oral statement at the Panel Discussion on Journalists in Armed Conflict at the UN Human Rights Council’s 14th session.[more]

The Federation of African Journalists (FAJ) called on the United Nations Human Rights Council (UN HRC) to take practical, pragmatic and international urgent action to protect journalists armed conflict areas. [more]

The publishers of US-based www.thegambiaecho.com newspaper on June 4, 2010 filed a complaint to the US Government regarding the blocking of its IP address by the Gambian authorities , which makes it impossible for its readers within the country to access the news site. [more]

Rockson Asmah, a senior photographer of the state-owned Daily Graphic newspaper was on June 3, 2010 assaulted at the premises of the Accra District Juvenile Court by a 39 year-old business woman, Celestine Owusu.[more]

Musa Saidykhan, a former editor-in-chief of the banned Banjul-based The Independent newspaper on June 3, 2010 told the ECOWAS Community Court that his assailants, who tortured him, were members of President Yahya Jammeh’s security guards.[more]

The editor of the Sudanese daily Ajras al-Huriya yesterday decided to suspend publication of the newspaper for one week in protest against the imposition of official censorship.[more]

Reporters Without Borders notes the National Assembly’s decision on 2 June to reject a print media bill that had been presented by the government. The bill was to have replaced Decree No. 5, which the president issued on 20 February 2008, the day after the launch of a rebel offensive on the capital, N’Djamena.[more]

On January 8, while Angola was hosting the African Cup of Nations, the country made worldwide headlines after a deadly attack on the Togolese national soccer team, which left a coach and a journalist dead. With international attention turning to the story, a shroud of state censorship and self-censorship by the Angolan media obscured the factual circumstances of the attack and its aftermath. [more]

The government of the Democratic Republic of Congo should urgently open a credible and transparent investigation with United Nations assistance into the death of the prominent human rights defender, Floribert Chebeya Bahizire, Human Rights Watch said today.[more]

Jon Snow (C4), Peter Horrocks (BBC), Douglas Alexander MP, Danny Finkelstein (Times), and Janine Gibson (Guardian) are all Networked Journalists. They will be among the dozens of great speakers at the free Polis/BBC Value of Networked Journalism conference on Friday June 11th at the LSE. I launch my report on on the state of Networked Journalism there – it includes case studies at the BBC, Guardian, Sky, Times, Telegraph, Trinity Mirror, hyperlocal and Mumsnet.[more]

The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) today called on Sudanese authorities to release up to a dozen journalists who have been held for over two weeks in two separate incidents in the North and South of the country.[more]

Reporters Without Borders is concerned about the Mauritian government’s discriminatory behaviour towards La Sentinelle, the country’s leading media group.[more]

As the Telecommunications Fellow at the Shuttleworth Foundation, Steve Song is passionate about exploring ways of driving down the cost of communications infrastructure in Africa, and the positive impact it would have on entrepreneurship on the continent.[more]

The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on Zambian President Rupiah Bwezani Banda and his administration to halt the ongoing harassment of the nation’s leading independent newspaper The Post and its award-winning editor Fred M’membe.[more]

Three managing editors of privately-owned newspapers in Lome, the capital of Togo will on June 9, 2010 reappear before a Magistrate Court over criminal charges relating to “false publication” and “criminal defamation”.[more]

La Fédération Internationale des Journalistes (FIJ) et ARTCLE 19 ont appelé aujourd’hui à un rétablissement de la liberté d’expression, suite aux violations répétées de la liberté de la presse, notamment la fermeture de Radio Fahazavana et l’arrestation de 10 journalistes et techniciens de cette même chaîne depuis le 20 mai dernier. [more]

Conspiracy theories targeting Zimbabwe’s perceived Western detractors intensified in the government media this week in the wake of a visit by the Kimberley Process Certification Scheme monitor Abbey Chikane and renewed international criticism of President Mugabe.

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Last week's Ethiopian presidential election result was no surprise, with Prime Minister Meles Zenawi's governing party winning nearly every seat.[more]

Independent newspapers are making a comeback in Zimbabwe after being silenced for close to seven years.[more]

Political violence has intensified in Burundi with members of political groups settling scores just as a series of elections have begun to take place in the country, says Human Rights Watch in its latest report.[more]

On 3 June 2010, The Post newspapers and its editor in chief, Fred M’membe were found guilty of one count of contempt of court, a charge arising from an opinion article authored by United States of America-based Zambian Law Professor,  Muna Ndulo and published by the newspaper on  27 August 2009. However, presiding Magistrate Simausamba  reserved sentence to 4 June 2010.

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Reporters Without Borders is disturbed to learn that 10 Radio Fahazavana employees, including six journalists, were placed in pre-trial detention in a prison in the capital on 27 May on charges of threatening state security and inciting revolt [more]

Some musicians in Cote d’Ivoire are unhappy with the country’s national television station, Radio Television Ivoirienne (RTI) saying that the station has refused to broadcast their music.[more]

Journalists are having to get used to working in an "attention economy", where the proliferation of new media platforms has created an increasingly bitter struggle for smaller and smaller slices of audiences' attention. Having spent around eight months working in the office of the Reuters editor for ethics, innovation and standards, Wits and Columbia graduate Jackie Bischof considers the place of ethics in the brave new world of journalism.[more]

A Canadian band had a line in a song, "all touch, and all touch and no contact" which echoes the way that organizations try to reach people with information about development and governance.[more]

Barring any further adjournments, Musa Saidykhan, a Gambian journalist and his medical doctor will on June 2, 2010 physically give evidence to the ECOWAS Community Court hearing his complaint of “torture” at the hands of Gambian state security agents, while in illegal detention in 2006.[more]

The traditional leader of Bakgatla tribe Kgosi-Kgolo Kgafela has sued several media houses accusing them of contempt of court in the same legal suit in which he seeks the court to punish the Family of God (FOG) and the Evangelical Fellowship of Botswana (EFB).

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The Human Rights Court in Accra, capital of Ghana will on June 16, 2010 commence hearing of a suit filed by a pro-opposition pressure group, Alliance for Accountable Governance (AFAG), asking it to restrain the Ghanaian authorities from installing an Intelligence Signal Management System (ISMS), a monitoring device, that they alleged will stifle  the right to free expression. [more]

Concern is mounting for eight radio journalists and technicians detained in Madagascar last week.