YVONNE EPPS WRITES— Since the beginning of Fall, I’ve been bemoaning the lack of press freedom in Vietnam, beating this dead horse and watching talented journalists battle the nooses around their necks. However, this sad story is taking a turn. It’s about time someone with a powerful voice said something about this…
Full Article VIETNAM: Popping the Silence Bubble
ARACELI PALAFOX WRITES- The death of Cambodian journalist Taing Try has once again placed Cambodia in an unflattering spotlight. Earlier this month, the 49-year-old journalist was killed while sitting in his car, after taking a bullet to the forehead. Try was found in a forest in the Kratie Province of…
Full Article CAMBODIA: Save the Journalists!LAUREN CHEN WRITES–Hong Kong’s media independence is in jeopardy, according to the annual 2014 World Press Freedom Index. Reporters Without Borders released its latest study, considered an objective reference tool measuring press freedom, and ranked 180 countries based on aspects such as levels of censorship, number of attacks on journalists,…
Full Article HONG KONG: Reporters Without Borders — Media Watchdog of the WorldYVONNE EPPS WRITES- Just when you thought things couldn’t get worse, they just did. Vietnam’s war on peaceful protest has reached guerrilla warfare of the monetary kind. Hey, Uy’s atrocities were unforgivable, so why not take the rest of the Internet down, right? Two decrees have been posed against social…
Full Article VIETNAM: Guerrilla Warefare on the InternetELIZABETH NAAI WRITES – Thai politicians are considering an amendment to the Computer Crimes Act that would essentially isolate the country in cyberspace. Already in the tight grasp of bill’s current form and lèse majesté, the proposed amendment would erode what little rights the media has in the nation. Thailand ranks…
Full Article THAILAND: Press, a Watchdog of the People?ELODIE INTROIA WRITES – On October 23, three Asian and Middle-Eastern women were recognized for their journalistic bravery. It is well known that being a reporter is one of the most dangerous professions. But for women, the risks are even greater. The women who were honored with the Courage in…
Full Article The ‘Big Guns’ of Journalism Show More Than Just CourageARACELI PALAFOX WRITES – Hashtags let Twitter users teleport between the realm of zombie apocalypses and the fury of angry political protests. All the dishes you can imagine are served at this vast digital buffet. These days, anything can become a trend on Twitter by simply inserting a hash tag before…
Full Article CAMBODIA: Moving Friction Along the Media and Government FaultRYAN LIPPERT WRITES – Bad bosses have made life miserable for employees since the dawn of time, but Chang Jae-ku is one boss who won’t tolerate complaints. Since June 15, approximately 180 correspondents have been kept from returning to their jobs at Hankook Ilbo, a South Korean newspaper. Their boss,…
Full Article SOUTH KOREA: Complaining About the Boss Gets Newspaper Staff Locked OutNICOLE SABA WRITES – A new media law has been drafted in Kuwait, severely restricting both freedom of the press and freedom of speech. This law will let the government regulate both traditional and social media, including, but not limited to: blogs, Facebook, Twitter, and any other online forums. Though…
Full Article KUWAIT: A Turn for the Worst?If you want something done right, you have to do it yourself. This is abundantly evident in the case of Reporters Without Borders (RWB), the media rights group, who has called for reform in Myanmar’s media. The Bangkok Post recently reported that this group has urged Myanmar to fulfill their…
Full Article MYANMAR: Retractable ReformOur favorite media watchdog – Reporters Without Borders –famously publishes an elite list on which few people would want to be included. It’s a list of “Enemies of the Internet:” Countries whose governments are uncomfortable with the information flows that come from this history-altering technology. What’s particularly interesting to Internet…
Full Article BAHRAIN: The Elite Ten List You Don’t Want to Be OnSpeaking of extremely dubious distinctions … Christopher Guarin, publisher of Tatak News Nationwide and presenter for radio station dxMD, was shot dead earlier this month in General Santos City, making him the first Asian journalist to be killed in 2012.
Full Article PHILIPPINES: Is Aquino Finally Taking Assassinations Seriously?“We request the immediate and unconditional release of de Nguyen Tien Trung. The accusations made against him are a total fabrication,” says the press freedom organization.
Full Article VIETNAM: ‘Reporters Without Borders’ Calling for Support of BloggerNearly two years after the Maguindanao massacre in which 32 journalists were murdered, the Catholic-run radio station dzVT in Luzon has been hit with an arson attack that destroyed 10 million pesos (about 230 thousand USD) worth of transmission equipment. The police believe the fire started in the dead of night and found…
Full Article PHILIPPINES: Radio Station Latest Target in Wave of Media Attacks as Government Falls Asleep