MEDIA FREEDOM - The African Mirror

Jan

23

2024

Weaver Press is closing – how one small, brave Zimbabwean publisher made a difference

MEDIA FREEDOM

WITH the news that it is to halt operations, it’s a fitting time to take stock of Weaver Press in Zimbabwe. The publishing house started small in 1998 and remained small, co-managed by its two full-time employees, the husband and wife team of Murray McCartney and Irene Staunton. At the same time as Weaver Press was celebrating its 25th anniversary, McCartney revealed that it would effectively be closing. TINASHE MUSHAKAVANHU, Junior Research Fellow, University of Oxford For the couple, publishing was a labour of love. The company’s office in the backyard of their house in suburban Harare was a way…

Jan

03

2024

By The African Mirror

Tunisian journalist detained after criticising minister

MEDIA FREEDOM

TUNISIAN judicial authorities ordered that prominent journalist Zied El-Heni should be detained and tried on charges of defamation, days after he criticised the trade minister, his lawyer said. El-Heni will have his first court hearing on January 10 on the charge of "defaming others on social media," his lawyer Ayachi Hammami told reporters. Police first arrested him on Thursday after he made comments about the minister on local radio in an interview that was posted on Facebook, Tunisia's state news agency said. Tunisia's journalists union demanded his immediate release, calling his detention a "violation of legal provisions governing the trial…

Dec

31

2023

By The African Mirror

African journalists rally to defend Cheriff Sy amid disinformation threats

MEDIA FREEDOM

A disinformation campaign targeting veteran Burkina Faso journalist Cheriff Sy has sparked widespread alarm within the African journalism community. The campaign falsely accuses Sy and another individual of orchestrating an alleged coup attempt on December 22 in Burkina Faso, posing a significant threat to his safety and reputation. Editors and journalists across Africa have vehemently expressed their apprehensions, unanimously attesting to Sy's unwavering commitment to journalistic integrity and his impeccable reputation. Many have rallied to defend Sy, asserting their absolute conviction that he would never be involved in such actions. The gravity of the threat against Sy is heightened by…

Nov

29

2023

By The African Mirror

bird’s TenX: The Ten African countries at the top of the Press Freedom index

MEDIA FREEDOM

PRESS freedom has emerged as a crucial barometer of Africa's democratic progress. Across the continent, ten nations are scripting a new narrative of empowerment and transparency, where bold and free media is not just a dream but a burgeoning reality. This list was compiled with the help of the online data-gathering platform, Statista. Namibia Namibia's position as a leader in African press freedom is no accident. The country's media is offered a political and legislative environment that actively supports the free exercise of journalism. This commitment reflects Namibia's understanding of the crucial role of the press in a thriving democracy,…

Jul

09

2023

By LUCY GITHUGO, BIRD STORY AGENCY

State of the news: Kenya, Nigeria, South Africa push African countries high up the media trust ladder, TikTok advancing rapidly

MEDIA FREEDOM

ACCORDING to the recently released Reuters Institute Digital News Report 2023, Kenya has the second-highest level of trust in the news of all countries included in the global report. At 63%, Kenyans' trust in the news is remarkably high, surpassed only by Finland (at 69%). Kenyan commercial TV outlets are that country's most trusted news sources, alongside the Daily Nation newspaper and its associated website, according to the report. Portugal ranked third with a score of 58%, while Nigeria and South Africa tied for fourth place with 57% each, according to the twelfth edition of the report, published by the…

Jun

24

2023

By The African Mirror

UN rights chief urges Tunisian leader to stop curbing media freedoms

MEDIA FREEDOM

UNITED Nations human rights chief Volker Turk called on Tunisia to stop restricting media freedoms and said it was criminalizing independent journalism since President Kais Saied seized wide powers in 2021. Freedom of speech and media were key gains for Tunisians after the 2011 revolution that ousted autocratic President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali and triggered the Arab Spring protests. But activists and journalists say freedom of speech faces a serious threat under Saied's rule. "The crackdown earlier this year against judges, politicians, labour leaders, businesspeople and civil society actors has now spread to target independent journalists, who are increasingly…

Jun

08

2023

By ALOIS VINGA, BIRD STORY AGENCY

Behind the news: Meet the climate journalist training African media practitioners on climate reporting

MEDIA FREEDOM

AFTER graduating as a journalist in 2012, Tendai Guvamombe's desire to engage with climate-sensitive citizens led him to pursue environmental reporting. Unable to land a job in the media industry in Zimbabwe, he began working as a freelance journalist. "Only a strong passion for climate change kept me going. I didn't even mind that after putting so much effort into producing my pieces, several publishers I sent out my work to could not pay me. Occasionally, one or two would offer payment, but the amounts were small. Despite this, I continued to persevere," he said. In the process, Guvamombe discovered…

Jun

07

2023

By The African Mirror

‘Peter Pan’ Enahoro, Nigerian journalist and publisher, was not afraid to speak his mind

MEDIA FREEDOM

THERE are some people whose lives intersect with yours even if you never meet them in the flesh. One of these was Peter Osajele Aizegbeobor Enahoro, the Nigerian journalist who was also known by his pen name, Peter Pan. Enahoro died on 24 April 2023 in London, aged 88. He had worked in Nigeria from 1954 to 1967. As a journalist and journalism teacher, I have followed his career – one of professional excellence and achievements. He was a bold journalist who was not afraid to say what he thought was right. Author OLAYINKA OYEGBILE, Journalist and Communications scholar, Trinity…

May

11

2023

By The African Mirror

Media freedom and democracy: Africans in four countries weigh up thorny questions about state control

MEDIA FREEDOM

IN July 2022, BBC Africa Eye released a documentary on gang activity in northwestern Nigeria. The programme, The Bandit Warlords of Zamfara, examined the raids on villages, abductions and murders that have plagued swaths of the country. Notably, it included interviews with so-called bandits, who described their violent actions and laid out their grievances. Author JEFFREY CONROY-KRUTZ, Associate Professor of Political Science, Michigan State University The Nigerian government responded furiously to the documentary’s airing. The minister of information, Lai Mohamed, called it “a naked glorification of terrorism and banditry”. The National Broadcasting Commission, which regulates broadcasting, said it “undermines national…

May

02

2023

By The African Mirror

Al Jazeera journalist freed from pretrial detention in Egypt

MEDIA FREEDOM

AN Al Jazeera correspondent has been released from about four years' pretrial detention in Egypt, his wife said in a tweet. Egypt's Press Syndicate head Khaled Elbalshy confirmed to Reuters that the Qatar-based television network correspondent Hisham Abdel Aziz had returned home on Sunday evening. Last September, Egyptian authorities also released Al Jazeera journalist Ahmed Al Nagdy from detention as President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi made his first visit to Doha since the two countries restored relations. Sisi led the ouster of the Muslim Brotherhood's Mohamed Mursi in 2013, after which Egypt accused Al Jazeera of being a mouthpiece for the…