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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... |
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Political support key for media in Myanmar
Over the past two years, the euphoria surrounding the rebirth of independent media in Myanmar has given way to increasing concern in light of high profile setbacks, including the arrest and harsh sentencing of prominent journalists and the passage of controversial new media laws. It is unclear if th... |
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ONA 2014: The Legal Panel
The Online News Association’s annual conference has grown in substance and topic each year, but one steadfast subject remains on the agenda: media law. While several aspects of this discussion did highlight issues specific to the United States, the overarching theme was that the rapid growth of di... |
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Africa Summit 2014: Recommendations for the Medi...
Yesterday, we offered a behind-the-scenes look at what representatives of the media sector in Africa saw as the greatest challenges facing the region’s media development. Today, that group met in Washington to make recommendations on how to combat these challenges. The panel’s spokespers... |
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Africa Summit 2014: Challenges to the Media Sect...
In the midst of the US-Africa Summit taking place for the government leaders in Washington, DC this week, civil society and media groups met at the National Endowment for Democracy to create a specific set of recommendations and goals for the region’s development. While broad facets of civil... |
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Russia’s Citizen Journalists
Citizen journalists played a key role in discovering evidence related to the recent Malaysia Airlines plane crash in Ukraine. Sleuths posted images of what was purported to be a missile launcher near the crash site, and fellow netizens tracked down corroborating images and information. Similar insta... |
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Uruguay’s Media Reform Success Story
On the eve of his appointment as the new Special Rapporteur for Freedom of Expression of The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, Uruguayan lawyer, journalist and director of CAinfo, Edison Lanza, visited CIMA to discuss the success of Uruguay’s media reform efforts in a region plagued by li... |
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Myopia and Misallocation in Media Development
Guest post by Richard Winfield of the International Senior Lawyers Project Two years ago, my friends at CIMA revealed that of all federal foreign aid dollars, only 4/10s of one percent is aimed at assisting the development of free and independent media. The CIMA study reported that only $222 million... |
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Treading Softly: Soft Censorship in Russia
Only a few brave souls will continue to produce objective, high-quality news when they have many incentives not to do so. Independent news sources in Russia face increasingly higher risks of litigation, verbal attacks by government news sources, or shutdown. Journalists must practice self-censorship... |
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The Last Frontier: Regulating Independent Media ...
Russian dissidents have used the Internet to organize protests and to speak out against corrupt officials and unjust practices. Putin has termed the Internet a “CIA project” and recognizes the power it gives to his opponents. The Kremlin is taking calculated steps to decrease the reach of indepe... |