On May 3rd, the News/Media Alliance joined 46 other organizations in a letter calling for the City of Asheville and Buncombe County Officials to drop all charges against two journalists arising from their arrest in December 2021. The journalists, Matilda Bliss and Veronica Coit, were arrested and subsequently convicted in a bench trial for trespassing while they were recording police conducting a homeless encampment sweep at a public park. The letter, sent on World Press Freedom Day, explains that “[t]he sole basis for Bliss and Coit’s prosecution appears to be that the park closed at 10p.m. A government interested in transparency should not want to set a precedent that journalists cannot cover newsworthy events, in plain sight and on public land, at night. The news does not keep regular business hours and citizens are entitled to know what police are doing at any hour.” The journalists have appealed to a jury trial.

The Alliance condemns pointless prosecutions of journalists for simply doing their jobs, the effect of which will only serve to chill the reporting of matters of public concern. The letter, led by the Freedom of the Press Foundation, has a wide array of signers from press and civil liberties organizations including Reporters without Borders, the National Press Club and the Committee to Protect Journalists. Read more.

The post News/Media Alliance Joins Over 45 Organizations Calling for Charges to be Dropped Against Two North Carolina Journalists appeared first on News/Media Alliance.

On May 18, the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) reported that the Russian legislature is considering a law that would allow Russian law enforcement to revoke the registration and accreditation of media outlets, with no judicial order. CPJ urged the Russian legislature to “withdraw a draft law that would facilitate the arbitrary shutdown of media outlets and increase the number of journalists prosecuted for sharing information.” This law comes after a March enactment by President Vladimir Putin that created prison terms for spreading “fake” information about Russian military operations. Russia continues to shut down any independent press.

The post Russia Introduces Legislation to Shut Down Independent Press appeared first on News/Media Alliance.

Guest: Carlos Martinez de la Serna, Program Director, Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ)

“For journalists outside of Ukraine, regardless of where they are from, they still play a critical role because the world needs to pay attention to that, and they’re explaining that to their audiences in way that is easier for them to understand the nuances and the problems of the conflict. They’re bearing witness, and we need as many witnesses as possible for something like this. For today, and for the record, for generations to come.”
– Carlos Martinez de la Serna, Committee to Protect Journalists

Typically, News Take is where we talk about the latest innovation and get into the weeds about trends taking place in the news media industry. But in this episode, we turned to a more serious topic, which is how journalists are covering the war Russia is waging against the Ukraine.

Since Russia’s first attacks on Ukraine in late February, dozens of journalists have been injured or killed while reporting on the war. Journalists are literally risking their lives to bring the latest news and information about the war to people around the world. So while we could talk about the latest news products, the dire situation in the Ukraine is really the biggest thing happening in the world right now, and what we do as news publishers literally impacts what people know and how people perceive the war, so we felt it needed and deserved our attention here.

On this special edition of News Take, News Media Alliance President & CEO David Chavern talks with Carlos Martinez de la Serna, Program Director, Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), who shares details about the situation on the ground in the Ukraine, including the environment for journalists; the threats to press freedom in the Ukraine and Russia (as well as around the world); the role of journalists from other countries reporting on the war; how journalists are navigating and combating misinformation and propaganda about the war; how they are staying safe; and what we can do to help.

This episode was recorded on April 21, 2022.

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Speaker bio

Carlos Martinez de la Serna has been with CPJ since 2018. Prior to CPJ, he worked as a reporter and digital journalist in the U.S., Spain, and Japan, covering issues including current affairs, biomedical research, and North Korea’s nuclear program. He is a founding member of the mapping startup Carto, co-founder of the nonprofit organization porCausa, and a former director of digital innovation at Univision News. Martinez de la Serna is a research fellow at the Tow Center for Digital Journalism at Columbia University and a former John S. Knight fellow at Stanford University.

Watch the next episode: Tapping Into the Potential of Blockchain for News Publishers 

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The post News Take Episode 105: Protecting Journalists Reporting on Russia’s War in Ukraine appeared first on News/Media Alliance.

That’s because around the world, journalists put themselves in danger every day to deliver the news and inform the public. Some of those reporters work in deadly war zones, while others are under attack from tyrannical leaders and under political pressure to keep quiet about the truth they see. Yet, every single day, journalists around the world go to work to report the news and tell the people in their communities what they need to know. Tragically, many journalists never make it home to see the impact their work has had.
On May 3, we mark World Press Freedom Day, and we honor all those journalists who put their comfort and safety and sometimes freedom aside to keep us informed.

In 2017, according to Reporters Without Borders, 326 journalists were imprisoned around the world for doing their work. Sixty-five journalists were killed in the line of duty last year, and another 54 were held hostage by non-state actors (like terror groups). Yet, 2017 was the least deadly year for journalists in the past 14 years, and deaths were down 18 percent from 2016.

While 2017 showed a downward trend, 2018 is not looking promising. So far, this year, 29 journalists have been killed in connection with their work, and 317 journalists remain imprisoned around the globe. In the United States this year, two journalists have been arrested, eight have been attacked, nine have been subpoenaed, and there were two equipment seizures, according to the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker.

Below, we’ve rounded up some of the reporting on 2018’s press freedom violations to date. It is our hope that by continuing to highlight these attacks on the media, we’ll be able to shine a light on the importance of quality journalism and the value reporters bring to their communities. We can only hope that, as more people learn of the dedication and commitment of the journalists they rely on for the news, more of those people will demand better treatment of reporters by those who seek to silence the media. The media works for everyone, but they can only keep doing their important work with the support of their communities.

Legal harassment

C-VILLE Weekly reporter subpoenaed as witness for Unite the Right organizer
New Hampshire prosecutor demands newspaper turn over unpublished interview
Democratic National Committee sues WikiLeaks over leaked emails
California Highway Patrol seizes journalist’s press pass
President Trump threatens to loosen libel laws used against press
President Trump tries to stop the release of Michael Wolff’s book, Fire and Fury

Physically harassed or attacked

“Help Me” Howard and PIX11 photographer attacked by bat-wielding subject
ABC News reporter punched by stranger while filming segment
Former White House aide Seb Gorka shoves reporter at CPAC
NJ reporters chased on highway by angered interview subject

Killed

10 journalists among dead after suicide bombing in Kabul, Afghanistan
Syrian journalist killed by shrapnel en route to local hospital for a story
Palestinian photojournalist died after being shot while on assignment in Gaza
Slovak journalist murdered while working on story about Italian mafia group in Slovakia
Brazilian journalist murdered at home after receiving numerous threats on his life

Arrested or imprisoned

Journalist for Spanish-language media arrested during ICE protest, threatened with deportation
NY Daily News reporter arrested for talking on cellphone in state capitol

Prior restraint

Police union tried to block BuzzFeed’s release of secret NYPD disciplinary records

The post Honoring Our Colleagues on World Press Freedom Day appeared first on News/Media Alliance.