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NEWS ABOUT: freedom of press

What I Did to Deserve 13 Years and 74 Lashes

Mazair Bahari explains the sentence handed down in absentia

(Newser) - Newsweek reporter Maziar Bahari learned this week that, without telling him or his lawyers, an Iranian court had sentenced him to 13 years in prison and 74 lashes. Bahari won't serve that sentence—he was released from Iranian jail in October, after 118 days of interrogation and torture, and... More »

Obama Shows Dictators How to Dodge a Free Press

President's attitude like 'Soviet-era Moscow'

(Newser) - Foreign reporters arriving for President Obama's nuclear summit must have been sorely disappointed if they expected a glimpse of the "vaunted American" freedom of press, Dana Milbank writes in the Washington Post . What they found—a heavily militarized capitol and a president who shut the press out of almost... More »

Record 70 Journalists Killed in 2009

Number jailed increases as well, with Iran and China leading pack

(Newser) - A record number of journalists were killed last year, and even more were arrested or imprisoned, according to the New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists. In a report released today, the group names 70 journalists killed specifically for their reporting, a number exacerbated by the massacre of 29 journalists in... More »

Chinese Complainers Kidnapped

People routinely held in 'black jails,' journalists beaten

(Newser) - Chinese citizens en route to Beijing to lodge complaints with China's central government are routinely nabbed by thugs and tossed into makeshift "black jails" where they are illegally detained for days or months, deprived of food and water, beaten and threatened—then sent back home without filing their complaints.... More »

AP Made Right Decision to Run Marine's Photo

We need to see the war

(Newser) - The AP made the correct call in running a photo of a mortally wounded Marine, writes David Harsanyi in the Denver Post. “If I could recall a wanton penchant of the press to run photos of dead Marines, my reaction might have been very different,” he writes. But... More »

Hey, Media: US Jails Journos, Too

'First duty' of press is to hold own gov't accountable

(Newser) - The American media are celebrating Iran’s release of journalist Roxana Saberi in a case the press doggedly pursued. But today’s back-patting is hypocritical, writes Glenn Greenwald in Salon: the US media have all but ignored foreign journalists imprisoned by our own government, often with little reason. Case in... More »

Press Freedom Declines Worldwide

New report sees losses in all regions for first time ever

(Newser) - Press freedom declined worldwide last year for the seventh year in a row, and for the first time suffered losses in all regions, according to a new report by Freedom House. Slipping from “free” to “partially free” were Israel, Italy and Hong Kong, while Cambodia fell to “... More »

In Case Pen Is No Mightier, Russian Journos Want Guns

Novaya Gazeta 's work has earned it a grim legacy of dead reporters

(Newser) - The murders of lawyer Stanislav Markelov and reporter Anastasia Baburova last week are only the latest to strike the Novaya Gazeta newspaper, and show just how costly freedom of the press still is in Russia, Der Spiegel reports. Investigative reporters are likely to make so many enemies—from members of... More »

Journos Already Chafed Over WH Access

'Rookie mistake' keeps press from second oath-taking

(Newser) - Day 4, and already the White House and the press are squabbling? Press Secretary Robert Gibbs’ maiden briefing included outbursts from reporters angry over what they saw as opaque behavior, Politico reports. The top complaint: Only four reporters, and no non-White House cameras, were allowed at President Obama’s retaking... More »

Shoe-Thrower Is Instant Hit on Arab Street

Demonstrators want journalist who took aim at Bush set free

(Newser) - Thousands marched across Iraq today to demand the release of Muntazer al-Zaidi, the little-known Shiite journalist who threw his shoes at President Bush yesterday. Though Bush spent last night making shoe puns—I have my assailant’s “sole,” he quipped—Iraq’s government was less amused, charging al-Zaidi... More »

Russian TV Rubs Out Putin Foes

Rumored 'stop list' keeps pesky gov't opponents off the airwaves

(Newser) - Russian TV stations have just the solution for pesky opposition commentary—they simply keep it off the airways, even digitally erasing one anti-Putin analyst, the New York Times reports. Putin’s opponents are included in what some call a “stop list” of figures banned from television coverage. It’s... More »

Bin Laden Threatens Europe

He says cartoons of Muhammad part of crusade against Islam

(Newser) - Osama bin Laden threatened Europe today with "severe" retaliation over the publication of cartoons of the prophet Muhammad, the AP reports. The audio recording of bin Laden surfaced on the fifth anniversary of the Iraq war, though he made no mention of it, and a day before the Muslim... More »

Armenia Attacks Protesters

Country declares emergency rule, kills 1 as rallies rage for 2nd week

(Newser) - Armenian cops fired on a crowd of protesters today and killed at least one as the country declared emergency rule, Reuters reports. Protests have raged daily since a Feb. 19 presidential election that opponents say was rigged for ex-premier Serzh Sarksyan. Police are holding opposition hopeful Levon Ter-Petrosian under house... More »

Russia Arrests 10 for Murder of Journalist

Chechen crime group, government officers implicated

(Newser) - Ten men were arrested today in the murder of Russian investigative journalist Anna Politkovskaya last October, the Guardian reports. A Chechen organized-crime boss led the group responsible for the slaying, Russian authorities say. Those arrested are said to include current and former officials in the interior ministry and the security... More »

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