July 31, 2023
Southern Africa: Civil Society Space in Southern Africa Shrinking As Government Repression Rises
Freedom of expression is under threat as governments in Southern Africa have enacted laws restricting civil society organizations, says global rights advocacy organisation,… Read more »
May 30, 2023
Africa: Urgency for a Global Fund for Media & Journalism
There have been an array of proposals to sustain journalism around the world- from tax incentives and subsidies to the idea of allocating 1% of governments' GDP to a drastically… Read more »
May 12, 2023
Africa: USAID Offers Protection to Journalists & NGOs Facing Defamation Lawsuits
The world's news media -- both under authoritarian regimes and democratic governments- continue to come under relentless attacks and political harassment. Read more »
April 30, 2023
Africa: Media Freedom Is Vital but Have We Passed Peak Press?
Peak oil was first up, followed by peak gas, gold and others, as if the world was draining natural resources like toilet roll panic buying in a lockdown supermarket. But should we… Read more »
May 03, 2023
Africa: Drone Journalism Holds Great Potential to Improve Safety of Journalists in Africa's Volatile Situations
In a departure from the past, where journalists in Kenya have freely covered anti-government protests unharmed, a series of events that unfolded in March 2023 have heightened fears… Read more »
May 01, 2023
Africa: A Proposal for a UN Freedom of Information Act Never Got Off the Ground
The United Nations has consistently been a vociferous advocate of freedom of the press - and, most importantly, the right of journalists to report without fear of reprisals. Read more »
May 02, 2023
South Africa: Safeguarding the Future of Independent Media and Our Democracies
There's a now familiar groan every time the lights go out in South Africa. Due to a critical shortage of electricity, the national power utility institutes a daily regimen of… Read more »
May 01, 2023
Africa: UN Plan of Action On Safety of Journalists
Freedom of the press is the cornerstone of democratic society. Without a debate of ideas, without verified facts, without diversity of perspectives, democracy is a shadow of… Read more »
April 11, 2023
Africa: Crisis? What Crisis? Western Media Failing to Convey the Urgency of the Climate Emergency
If an alien landed on Planet Earth today and started watching television and reading the newspapers, it would probably not realize that humanity and the natural world face an… Read more »
March 28, 2023
Zimbabwe: Press Freedom On Trial in Zimbabwe Ahead of Elections
With only a few months to go before national elections in Zimbabwe, press freedom advocates are raising concerns about stringent reporting conditions set by the government. Read more »
February 17, 2023
Africa: 'Hate Speech Loads the Gun, Misinformation Pulls the Trigger' - and It Is Profitable
In this world of wars, massive weapons production, sales and use; of sharpening inequalities and deadly climate emergencies, hate speech and its inhumane impact, is being amplified… Read more »
February 10, 2023
Eswatini: eSwatini - Democracy a Matter of Life and Death
Thulani Maseko knew speaking out in Eswatini was a risky business. An activist and well-known human rights lawyer, he'd previously spent 14 months in jail for criticising the… Read more »
February 01, 2023
Africa: Who Are Humanitarian Journalists?
In a new book, entitled Humanitarian Journalists: Covering Crises from a Boundary Zone, we document the unique reporting practices of a small but influential group of journalists… Read more »
January 31, 2023
Africa: No More Impunity for Journalists' Murders, Says Committee to Protect Journalists
The new year brought bad news for press freedom on the African continent with the brutal murder of one journalist and the suspicious death of another. Read more »
January 25, 2023
Africa: 'Disconnected Citizens Are Kept Away From Opportunities'
In 2022, Saudi Arabia "quietly" sentenced Salma al-Shehab to 34 years in prison over her Twitter activity, marking the longest Saudi sentence ever for a peaceful activist. Fast… Read more »
January 16, 2023
Africa: African Journalists: More Training & Resources will Boost Climate Change Coverage
At the end of a five-minute newscast from a makeshift studio in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt, the venue of COP27, Cotonou-based journalist Ghyslaine Florida Zossoungbo was able to… Read more »
October 10, 2022
Africa: UN Censures 42 Nations for Retaliating Against Human Rights Activists & Journalists
The United Nations has singled out 42 countries (out of 193 member states) for condemnation - virtually blacklisting them- for retaliating against human rights activists and… Read more »
August 10, 2022
Zimbabwe: Zimbabwe Makes First Journalist Arrests Under Cybersecurity Law
Zimbabwe's press freedom credentials suffered further criticism with the arrest of two journalists from a privately-owned newspaper charged with transmitting "false data messages." Read more »
July 13, 2022
Africa: News Fatigue, Anti-Vax and Wars
Nothing is so firmly believed as what is least known. - Michel de Montaigne Read more »
May 09, 2022
Zimbabwe: Press Freedom - One Step Forward, Three Steps Backward
For international journalist Jeffery Moyo, doing his job could land him in prison if Zimbabwe authorities have their way. Read more »
April 10, 2008
Ethiopia: 'The Death Sentence Was Used As a Tool of Intimidation'
Journalism in Ethiopia has become an increasingly hazardous trade over recent years. A clampdown on the media in the wake of disputed elections in 2005 continues to resonate in the… Read more »