Themes

Media Issues

Media Industry

Press Freedom

Working Conditions

Development Issues

Aid

Environment and Health

Gender

Human Rights

Millennium Dev't Goals

Politics

MEDIA ALERTS

Pakistan's Century Publications Ties Up with IHT
Pakistan's Century Publications Pvt Limited (CPPL), publisher of the country's leading Urdu-language newspaper 'Daily Express' distributed nationally from 11 cities, will publish an English-language newspaper focused on Pakistani news and business in cooperation with the International Herald Tribune.
Pakistan Journalists Demand Protection, Benefits
The Pakistan Federal Union of Journalists (PFUJ) has asked the government to make arrangements for the protection of media workers via a life insurance and a victim fund. It has also asked to provide job security, capacity building and an assurance of a conducive working environment for members of the media.
Asia Media Forum Condemns Threats to Bangladeshi Editor
Asia Media Forum (AMF) is deeply concerned that Nurul Kabir, editor of the Dhaka-based daily 'New Age', one of the most democratically oriented newspaper in South Asia, has received death thre

Sixth Mekong Book Off the Press

Whether it's a story about how rubber plantations are taking root at the China-Laos border, how Thai is having an impact on the Lao language, or the use of harmful fishing methods in Cambodia and Vietnam, all the features and photo essays in 'Changing Borders: Reportage from Our Mekong; follow the changes that have been taking place as countries in the Mekong Region deepen their cross-border links with one another.
'Asia Media Report 2009: Missing in the Media'

'Asia Media Report 2009: Missing in the Media', coordinated, produced and published by the Asia Media Forum with the assistance of Actionaid, focuses on how the media throughout Asia reports on marginalised people and communities in their respective societies, from the very poorest countries to the richest.
'Asia Media Report: A Crisis Within'

'Asia Media Report: A Crisis Within', a report on media trends in Asia, is produced and coordinated by IPS Asia-Pacific.

MEDIA: No Change of Heart in Sri Lanka

Posted: 2010-02-02

Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa does not seem inclined to be particularly magnanimous towards the media following his re-election by a handsome majority. If the watching world was looking for any positive signals in this regard what it got was the opposite, writes the editors at 'The Hoot' on Jan. 31.

Excerpts from the editorial:

On Jan. 30, an anti-government newspaper was shuttered and its editor arrested on allegations of publishing details of an ongoing investigation against a former Tamil rebel now in custody.

The 'Lanka' newspaper, published by the Marxist Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (The People's Liberation Front), was raided on Jan. 29 and its editor Chandana Sirimalwatte was arrested the following day for questioning by the Criminal Investigations Department (CID). The 'Sunday Leader' reported on Jan. 31 that the CID sealed the 'Lanka' office in Delkanda, Nugegoda after receiving a court order.

Investigative journalism and scoops are apparently not welcome yet in the re-elected president's second term. 'Lanka' had also published other anti-government articles in the lead-up to Sri Lanka's presidential elections on Jan. 26, which incumbent President Mahinda Rajapaksa won. This party newspaper had also backed former army chief turned opposition presidential candidate, General Fonseka.

Meanwhile, a reporter and cartoonist of a news website remain missing after six days. The journalist, Prageeth Eknaligoda, of Lanka e-news, has been missing since last Sunday, said family members.

... The persecution of the Sri Lankan media has been a long running international story, particularly after the killing in January last year of Lasantha Wickrematunge, the founding editor of the 'Sunday Leader'. Several journalists fled to seek asylum in the West, and an expatriate group called Journalists for Democracy has helped to keep western media attention focused on the vulnerability of journalists in Sri Lanka.

... The elections saw state-owned media both print and television, run news favouring the incumbent, and devote most of the coverage to him. When the state media runs propagandist programmes in that country it seems to be a real issue, because they are more watched than our state media are.

Visit 'The Hoot' for more.

User login

WHAT'S NEW

Disaster Coverage Guide Now Available Online
The International Center for Journalists has released its online guidebook designed to help journalists worldwide prepare for future disaster coverage. An excerpted version of the guide is available as an embedable interactive widget, as well as a PDF version, including an extended text and additional sections, can be downloaded in either English or Spanish from the ICFJ website.

'Newspapers Need to Experiment' — Google
It is widely recognized that the news industry is facing financial difficulties, but there is little agreement about the source of those difficulties or what can be done about them. The debate about the role of the web has been particularly heated: is it the source of the problem or the source of the solution?
Scandal Scoops up Readers in Changing Media Scene
By 'The Irrawaddy'

The door is opening ever wider on the private lives of Burmese celebrities, according to journalist's for the country's glossy magazines.
Man Tweets While Stuck in Burning Building
Kiran Jonnalagadda, a Twitter user from Bangalore, who was frustrated with the escalating fire crisis in the Carlton Towers in the city and the ineptitude of the firemen on Feb 23 began tweeting from where he was trapped.

Q&A: More Women Journalists Doesn’t Mean More Gender Awareness
Young Indian women are taking to journalism in droves, but Ammu Joseph, author of several authoritative books on women in media, believes that these numbers do not necessarily translate into gender awareness. IPS Asia-Pacific's Ranjit Devraj interviews Ammu Joseph, Indian journalist, author and media watcher.
RIGHTS: Sri Lanka’s Election Aftermath – Media Under Attack
Analysis by IPS Correspondents

COLOMBO, Feb 9, 2010 (IPS) - Sri Lankan journalists, for whom intimidation, threats, assault and killings seem to have become unavoidable professional hazards, are bracing themselves for a fresh confrontation with the government as curbs on reporting intensify.

Links

Publications

Using Our Stories

Feel free to republish or report the stories from this website, in the spirit of sharing information. Please credit to the publication that produced the information and the AMF site.

In strategic partnership with

Themes

MEDIA ALERTS

READING LOUNGE

MEDIA: No Change of Heart in Sri Lanka

User login

WHAT'S NEW

NEWSBREAKS

PERSPECTIVES

Resources

Using Our Stories