Turmoil in Turkey: Raids on Media Outlets
The media in Turkey has had a difficult year. Following last December’s corruption scandal human rights and press freedom groups from around the world have condemned the Turkish governments’ actions against the media. In March, Twitter and YouTube were shuttered following a leaked recording ... |
Soft Censorship in Argentina
In Argentina, there are plenty of news outlets that freely criticize and question the government, which many would argue is a sign of a healthy media environment. According to Freedom House’s 2014 figures for Freedom of the Press, however, Argentina only ranks as “partly free.” T... |
Draconian Secrecy Law Threatens Japan’s Media ...
Thousands of people took to the streets in Japan’s major cities last week to protest against a controversial new secrecy law that took effect on December 10th, one year after its passage in the Diet. The law, formally called the Act on the Protection of Specially Designated Secrets (SDS), has be... |
Youth in Media Development
Whether ‘youth’ is defined in more concrete terms according to age, or more fluidly according to life stage, the voices of this demographic are often overlooked in conversations about the global digital divide and media literacy. While youth are some of the most vulnerable and marginalized peo... |
UN Secretary General Calls for Media in Post-201...
The campaign for media and access to information’s inclusion in the post-2015 Sustainable Development Goals gained a new advocate last week in UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon, who reaffirmed their importance in a synthesis report for the SDGs. The report, noting the evolving information needs of ... |
Linguistic Diversity in Online Media
When we think of the digital divide, we usually think of the ‘haves’ and ‘have-nots.’ However, this is just one component of the problem. Closing the digital divide also requires us to think about the content of the Internet. According to a July 2014 article from the Internet Society, ... |
Freedom on the Net Declines for Fourth Straight ...
Global internet freedom is in its fourth straight year of decline, according to the annual Freedom on the Net index released by Freedom House. The 2014 index, released early yesterday morning, looks at three levels of internet use: obstacles to access, limits on content, and violations of user right... |