| Monday 21st July 2003 |
| BBC UNDER PRESSURE OVER SOURCE'S APPARENT SUICIDE |
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The BBC's enemies went on the attack today, after its admission that Dr David Kelly was the source of journalist Andrew Gilligan's report that accused Downing Street of "sexing up" a dossier on Iraqi weapons of mass destruction.
Amid calls for the resignation of BBC chairman Gavyn Davies following Dr Kelly's apparent suicide, the chairman of the Commons culture, media and sport select committee Gerald Kaufman said the corporation had a "great deal to answer for".
He called for the new communications regulator Ofcom to assume regulatory powers over the BBC's editorial content.
Meanwhile, as Gilligan insisted he had accurately reflected Dr Kelly's views, director of news Richard Sambrook said: "We continue to believe we were right to place Dr Kelly's views in the public domain. However, the BBC is profoundly sorry that his involvement as our source has ended so tragically."
An inquiry into the events leading up to Dr Kelly's death, led by Lord Hutton, is expected to focus on how his name was made public as Gilligan's likely source and on exactly what he told BBC journalists.
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| SKY NEWS REP0RTER RESIGNS OVER SUBMARINE REPORT |
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Sky News correspondent James Forlong has resigned, after admitting a report filed from a British submarine during the Iraq war gave the false impression it was engaged in action.
Head of Sky News Nick Pollard said: "Sky News' reputation for honest and trustworthy journalism is its most important asset and we have established that reputation very successfully over the past fourteen years. I believe that James has taken the only possible course in view of the events that have come to light."
Forlong, an experienced journalist, added: "It was, in ten years of unblemished service with the company, a single lapse of judgement which for me is a source of deep regret. There was never any conscious intent to deceive the viewers, though I accept that was the outcome.
"I accept the damage this has done to my integrity; something that has never before been called into question during a decade of working as a correspondent for Sky News in some of the most difficult and dangerous reporting environments in the world." Read more? News World recommends:
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| REPORTER'S WIFE KILLED BY REBELS |
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Separatist rebels in Indonesia have killed a journalist's wife, reportedly because he was unable to pay protection money.
Idrus Jeumpa, who works for a daily newspaper in the north Sumatran city of Medan, and his daughter were both injured when gunmen burst into their home late yesterday.
A military spokesman said the shooting could be intended to intimidate reporters. Rebels have been holding two local television journalists in the Aceh province since June 29 after accusing them of spying for the military.
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| US ARMY HOLDS IRANIAN TV CREW |
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The US army in Iraq has thrown an Iranian TV crew in jail.
The two reporters, an interpreter and a driver from Iran's Channel 2 were detained by US soldiers on July 1 as they filmed a documentary near the southern town of Diwaniyah.
They were immediately taken to a nearby army base and a week later soldiers collected the journalist's belongings from their hotel. A consul from the Iranian embassy however, tried to gain access to the four last week, but was told they had been moved to a prison at Baghdad international airport.
The US army told the consul it was "suspicious" of the journalists but did not give any details.
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| OZ ABC REJECTS MINISTER'S BIASED ACCUSATIONS |
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The Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) has rejected all but two of a senior minister's 68 accounts of the broadcaster's allegedly biased and anti-American coverage during the Iraqi conflict.
The ABC's complaints department conceded that one report in its current affairs programme should have been better expressed while another was sarcastic in tone and excessive.
But Communications Minister Richard Alston said he remained concerned that the ABC's coverage of the Iraq war did not meet standards of accuracy and impartiality and that its accountability was lacking.
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| PHOTOGRAPHER BADLY WOUNDED IN LIBERIA |
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A French photographer has been seriously wounded in Liberia, prompting pressure group Reporters Without Borders (RSF) to remind both sides in the conflict that journalists, as citizens, are protected under the Geneva Convention.
Freelancer Patrick Robert was shot in the chest and arm as he tried to photograph clashes between rebels and forces loyal to President Charles Taylor. He was given first aid at the US embassy and then transferred to Red Cross emergency services where one of his kidneys and part of his intestines were removed. He is still in intensive care.
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| RUSSIAN TV REPORTER SHOT DEAD IN MOSCOW |
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A Russian TV reporter has been shot dead in Moscow. Channel TVT journalist Alikhan Guliyev was shot twice by gunmen on the steps of his apartment building in the city on Friday evening.
Guliyev mainly reported on the northern Caucasus region and had once been held hostage by rebels in the breakaway republic of Chechnya.
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| JOURNALISTS SUFFER GOVERNMENT CRACKDOWN IN CUBA |
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Cuban journalists are suffering increasingly "dire" conditions following the Government's crackdown on the independent press.
Reporters and their families have endured harassment, humiliating prison conditions, and psychological pressures since widespread detentions of political dissidents and journalists began on March 18, according to a report commissioned by the Committee to Protect Journalists.
Following police raids on their homes, 28 journalists were arrested, convicted, and given prison sentences of up to 27 years.
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| REPORT PUBLISHED ON DEATH OF JOURNALIST IN IRAN |
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A government report detailing the circumstances surrounding the death of Canadian photojournalist Zahra Kazemi in Iran, confirms that she died from a blow to the head.
However, it does not specify whether the blow was deliberate, or who was to blame, and calls for a further investigation to take place involving all who were in contact with her in the hours leading up to her death.
Iranian police detained Kazemi, 54, in June as she tried to take pictures of a notorious prison in the capital Tehran and later died in police custody.
The report claims that her was skull fractured either "because a hard object hit her head or her head hit a hard object". It also said the blow occurred up to 36 hours before she was admitted to hospital.
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| Friday 18th July 2003 |
| IRAN ISSUES CONFLICTING STORES ON JOURNALIST'S DEATH |
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Iran's foreign minister Kamel Kharazzi has contradicted the country's vice president by saying that Canadian-Iranian photographer Zahra Kazemi could have died from a "fall or accident".
Earlier vice president Mohammad Ali Abtahi said the 54-year old photojournalist had died from a "brain haemorrhage resulting from beatings". Kazemi was detained in June by Iranian police as she tried to take pictures of a notorious prison in the capital Tehran.
A committee set up by Iranian President Mohammad Khatami is investigating the death but it is not clear whether an autopsy has been performed or whether Kazemi has been buried. "These conflicting statements only reinforce the need for an immediate, independent autopsy and investigation into Kazemi's death," said Committee to Protect Journalists executive director Ann Cooper. "We again urge Iranian authorities to begin such inquiries at once."
Meanwhile Iranian authorities have launched a crackdown on the media, arresting several journalists.
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| NEW CODE OF CONDUCT UNACCEPTABLE, NIGERIAN JOURNALISTS SAY |
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Nigeria has been accused of trying to "gag the Press" with a new code of conduct for journalists covering the country's parliament, the national assembly.
The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) has joined Nigerian journalists in opposing the guide which threatens "speculative journalism" with "appropriate punitive action" and warns that "leakage of official secret documents will attract disciplinary measures".
Lanre Arogundade, coordinator of Nigeria's International Press Centre, said that journalists already had a code of ethics by which to practice their profession.
"Any other code," he added, "especially one like this that seeks to impose censorship on journalists and gag the Press, is unacceptable."
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| US MEDIA ACCUSED OF IGNORING NON-COMBAT DEATHS IN IRAQ |
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The US media are misrepresenting the number of US casualties in Iraq by failing to report non-combat deaths, the Editor & Publisher web site said.
According to media reports, 33 US soldiers have died in Iraq since US president George Bush signalled that the conflict was over on May 2, and 148 since the invasion to topple Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein.
But these figures do no count the staggering number of non-violent deaths.
According to official military figures the number of US soldiers killed in any manner in Iraq since May 2 is 85, and over the entire campaign so far, 224. An analysis of the 85 deaths by E&P reveals that nearly as many US military personnel have died in vehicle accidents (17) as from gunshot wounds (19).
Ten have died after grenade attacks and seven from accidental explosions, another seven in helicopter crashes. Six were killed by what is described as "non-hostile" gunshots, and three have drowned.
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| BUSH PUBLISHES MAGAZINE IN THE MIDDLE EAST |
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The administration of US president George Bush is beefing up its propaganda arsenal with an Arabic language-magazine to be distributed in Middle East.
The monthly magazine Hi, published by the State Department, will feature a range of articles designed to put a positive spin on American life and show similarities between the two cultures.
All the articles are written by Arab-Americans and stringers in the Middle East.
"We're fighting a war of ideas as much as a war on terror," said Tucker Eskew, director of the White House's office of global communications. Eskew also plans to spend $62m developing an Arabic language television network. The magazine will go on sale this week in Lebanon, Jordan, the West Bank and Gaza, Israel, Algeria, Egypt, Cyprus and several Gulf states.
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| MURDOCH NEWS CHANNEL 'BREACHING OWNERSHIP LAWS' |
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The Indian government is threatening to shut down Rupert Murdoch's Star TV news channel Star News amid claims that the ownership structures do not comply with national regulations.
The Government says that Hong Kong-based Star TV is exceeding the limits of direct foreign investment and could close the channel if the dispute is not settled.
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| TODAY CORRESPONDANT ACCCUSED OF BACKTRACKING |
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BBC defence correspondent Andrew Gilligan has been interviewed a second time by the foreign affairs select committee investigating allegations that the Government's dossier on Iraq exaggerated its weapons threat.
Following the two-hour interview Gilligan was accused of backtracking on his earlier evidence, but the Today programme reporter hit back, saying he had not changed his story.
The BBC supported that, and said in a statement: "The committee was determined to find fault with Mr Gilligan's story but did not succeed". Gilligan has asked for a transcript of his evidence to be published to make clear what was actually said.
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| HUMAN RIGHTS ACTIVISTS BACK PESHAWAR JOURNALIST |
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Amnesty International has called for human rights activists to take urgent action against the Pakistani government for the conviction of a journalist under blasphemy laws.
Munawar Mohsin, a sub-editor in the Frontier Post, was sentenced to life imprisonment after being held responsible for a letter published in the newspaper in January 2001 which contained derogatory remarks against the Prophet Mohammed.
The human rights organisation believes Mohsin was the victim of an unfair trial and has called on the government to ensure his safety and hear his appeal as a matter of urgency. The letter triggered violent protest demonstrations across the country. Publication of newspaper was suspended for a few months following the incident.
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| Thursday 17th July 2003 |
| UNION CONDEMNS PAYOUT TO BBC EXECS |
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The UK's National Union of Journalists has blasted the BBC after it was revealed that the Corporation's executives received average bonus payments of 22% for 2002/3.
NUJ broadcast organiser Paul McLaughlin denounced the revelations as "a scandal" at a time when pay rises for journalists have been set at 3.6%. The Corporation's annual report did add that executive bonuses had fallen by 2.8% on the previous year.
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| JOURNALIST JAILED FOR FIVE YEARS IN CONGO |
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A reporter in the Congo who wrote an article entitled "Congo Mineral: workers are paid poorly and exploited" has been sentenced to five years in jail.
The article was based on a report from a public mining firm and the testimony of several unnamed miners.
Several workers at the mining firm have reportedly died from poisoning. Congo Mineral's response to the article was also published. Press freedom groups have called for a fair and impartial trial, stating that the charges were "a serious human rights violation."
The case is expected to come to court in November.
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| CAMPAIGNERS CALL FOR INDEPENDENT INQUIRY INTO JOURNALIST DEATH |
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Press freedom groups have called for an independent investigation into the killing of Canadian photojournalist Zahra Kazemi.
Although the Iranian government has admitted that she died from a brain hemorrhage as a result of being beaten by police, Canadian Journalists for Free Expression and Reporters Without Borders say her body must be exhumed and allowed to return to Canada for an independent autopsy.
Kazemi, 54, was arrested last month by guards at Evin prison in Tehran and died on Saturday while in custody.
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| SKY SUSPENDS JOURNALISTS OVER ALLEGEDLY FAKE REPORT |
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British satellite broadcaster Sky News has suspended two journalists after it was claimed they staged a report to make it look as though a submarine in the Persian Gulf fired a live cruise missile during the Iraqi conflict.
Veteran Sky newsman James Forlong and producer Lucy Chator were both suspended pending an investigation prompted by allegations made by a BBC documentary team.
Nick Pollard, head of Sky News, said: "We are fiercely proud of our reputation for accuracy and integrity in our reporting. This allegation has come as a complete surprise and will be fully investigated."
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| MINISTER RAISES ANTE WITH OZ ABC |
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Australian Communications Minister Richard Alston has demanded to know why he hasn't had a response from the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) on his claim that the public broadcaster was biased in its coverage of the Iraq war.
Alston has gone so far as to "tattle" on the ABC to the country's media watchdog, the Australian Broadcasting Authority.
While the ABC has said Alston would receive a detailed response on Monday, well before the 60-day deadline for answering complaints set down in the corporation's code of practice, the minister argued that on its web site the ABC said it would reply within four weeks.
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| NBC SENDS EMBEDS WITH PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATES |
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US broadcaster NBC will embed a single reporter/camera-operator with each of the nine Democratic presidential candidates ahead of next year's elections.
Starting this summer, the journalists will follow the candidates for the entire campaign period, using smaller cameras that will allow them a greater level of access.
"The key difference is we're going to be able to be with the candidates as much as we can for longer periods of time," said Mark Lukasiewicz, executive producer of the network's campaign coverage.
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| ACEH 'MOST RESTRICTIVE PLACE IN THE WORLD FOR PRESS' |
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Nearly two months after Indonesia launched a bloody crackdown on separatists in Aceh province, campaign group the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) says the military has turned it into one of the most restrictive places in the world for the Press.
Taking a page out of the playbook of the United States, Indonesia has sought to control and restrict the ability of the Press to report on the conflict, the CPJ says in a new report, Out of Sight.
Local reporters have been 'embedded' with combat units, and told it is their patriotic duty to support the military. Statements from the rebels have been banned as has collaboration with the foreign media.
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| NEWSPAPER SHUT DOWN FOR THREE MONTHS IN VIETNAM |
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A popular student newspaper in Vietnam has been closed down for three months while managers have been ordered to punish reporters responsible for what the government there deems "crude and misleading stories."
The Sinh Vien Vietnam - or Vietnam Students - has a circulation of about 30,000 and is one of the mouthpieces of the Communist Party's Youth Union.
It reportedly often published pictures of scantily clad models and promoted a liberal lifestyle. Campaign groups have condemned the temporary closure as the latest example of the government's restraint on free speech.
Media lobby group Reporters Without Borders has ranked Vietnam among the 10 worst countries in the world for Press freedom, and Human Rights Watch has voiced concern at the jailing of internet dissidents.
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| Wednesday 16th July 2003 |
| CANADIAN JOURNALIST DIED OF BEATINGS, IRAN SAYS |
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Canadian photojournalist Zahra Kazemi, detained while trying to take photos of a notorious jail in Iran, died due to beatings.
"According to a report by the health minister she has died of a brain haemorrhage resulting from beatings," Iranian vice-president Mohammad Ali Abtahi said.
Kazemi, 54, a Canadian of Iranian descent, was detained last month outside Evin prison in Tehran. She was later rushed to hospital and died on Friday of head injuries.
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| PRESS FREEDOM GROUPS HIGHLIGHT INCREASING DANGERS IN GUATEMALA |
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Human rights groups are calling attention to the increasing number of attacks and threats against journalists in Guatemala as the country prepares for presidential elections in November.
Journalists Against Corruption says there have been 18 attacks in the past seven months, half of them occurring in June and July, and an increasing number of attacks and threats against reporters.
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| BBC JOURNALISTS 'SHOULD BE BARRED FROM WRITING IN PAPERS' |
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Labour backbencher Gerald Kaufman has called for BBC journalists to be barred from writing columns for newspapers following the Iraq dossier row.
Kaufman - chairman of the culture select committee - said high profile broadcasters should make a choice between writing controversial articles and continuing to work for the BBC.
His comments follow the controversy surrounding Andrew Gilligan, the BBC journalist at the centre of the row between the Corporation and Downing Street, who wrote about the situation in the Mail on Sunday.
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| BANGLADESHI JOURNALISTS RECEIVE DEATH THREATS |
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Seven journalists working in Bangladesh have received death threats from an un-named group for hindering their activities.
The International Federation of Journalists has protested to the government of Bangladesh over the threats and called for a full investigation to be launched to ensure press freedom and the safety of all journalists.
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| JOURNALISTS BEGIN HUNGER STRIKE IN PROTEST OF ARREST |
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Three journalists have begun a hunger strike in protest of their arrests in Togo, west Africa.
Dimas Djikodo and Filip Evegno, the editor and publisher of a local newspaper, have been held by police for over a month following the re-election of President General Gnassingbe Eyadema.
The pair were arrested for attempting to send falsified photographs slandering the government to opposition political parties in Europe, according to Togo police. No details have been provided on the arrest and detention of the third journalist, Kpakpabia Colombo, the editor of another local paper.
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| SLOVAKIAN AUTHORITIES TAP INTO PHONES AT NEWSPAPER |
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An international media watchdog has blasted Slovakia's intelligence service for wiretapping the telephones at a leading newspaper.
The International Press Institute has written to Slovak President Rudolf Schuster, accusing him of violating laws on media freedom and human rights.
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| CUBA JAMS US BROADCASTS TO IRAN |
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Cuba has been accused of jamming US-based television networks broadcasting into Iran in what is thought to be the first case of third country interference in satellite transmissions.
"This has ominous implications for the future of international satellite broadcasting," said Kenneth Tomlinson, who oversees the Voice of America as chairman of the broadcasting board of governors.
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| NO LIVE BROADCASTS FROM NEW YORK'S COURT |
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Court TV has lost its appeal to broadcast live from courtrooms in New York.
The cable network had been trying to overturn a 1952 state law that prohibits cameras in the courtroom. Court TV had argued that as most people get their news from TV these days, the ban violates the constitutional right of the press to "publish" what goes on in the courts.
Supreme Court Justice Shirley Kornreich said if the channel wanted to change the law it should work through the legislature. "We're obviously disappointed with the result," said Court TV lawyer Jonathan Sherman. "We will quickly and vigorously appeal."
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| GERMAN REPORTER RELEASED FROM INDONESIAN JAIL |
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A journalist has been freed from jail in Indonesia after completing a 10-month sentence.
Seyam Reda, an Arab with a German passport, was jailed last September after he was found guilty of reporting on Indonesia's conflicts using a tourist visa.
The 43-year old was first arrested on suspicion of having links with Osama bin Laden's terror network al Qaeda, but this was proved to be untrue.
Indonesia is currently fighting separatists in its northwestern province of Aceh. Two foreign journalists have been detained for working on tourist visas while media watchdogs have condemned the country's strict Press restrictions.
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| Tuesday 15th July 2003 |
| VIEWERS EXPRESS FAITH IN BBC NEWS |
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UK television viewers trusted BBC News over all other media during the war in Iraq, according to an ICM poll for the Corporation.
During the first two weeks of the conflict 93% of the UK population used a BBC service to follow events. The Corporation's flagship channel, BBC One, was the most watched and trusted channel.
The poll was published in the BBC's annual report, which revealed the Corporation slipped into the red to the tune of £315m last year as it increased spending on programming.
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| NEW YORK TIMES APPOINTS NEW EDITOR |
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Scandal-hit New York Times appointed a new editor yesterday.
Columnist Bill Keller takes over from Howell Raines who resigned after it was revealed rogue reporter Jayson Blair had invented many of the stories published under his by-line.
The venerable newspaper has still to announce who will become its new managing editor.
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| CONMAN REPORTER CAUGHT BY POLICE AFTER SEVEN YEARS |
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A bogus journalist who allegedly spent seven years posing as a reporter in Hanoi has been arrested under Vietnam's stringent new anti-corruption crackdown.
Lai Ngoc Oanh, 56, reportedly told police he could not make enough money working on cars and confessed to the fraud, conducted to accept payoffs from people in return for favourable reviews.
He used a fake name to pose as a reporter for the Ho Chi Minh City-based weekly, Thoi Bao Kinh Te Saigon or the Saigon Economic Times.
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| IRAQI GROUPS WARN AGAINST FOREIGN INTERVENTION |
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Two previously unknown Iraqi groups have warned countries against sending troops to Iraq, as American troops continue to face daily attacks, according to Arab television channels.
The Iraq Liberation Army said that it strongly rejects, and will resist with weapons, any military intervention under the umbrella of the United Nations, the Security Council, NATO, or Islamic and Arab countries, in a statement shown on the Dubai-based al-Arabiya television.
Another Iraqi group - the Iraqi National Islamic Resistance: 1920 Revolution Brigades has warned against foreign intervention on Qatar-based al-Jazeera television.
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| ISRAEL CRITICISED FOR RESTRICTIONS ON PRESS FREEDOM |
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A press freedom group has warned Israel that its boycott of the BBC challenges free speech and sends a dangerous signal to a country where Press freedom is already under pressure.
The International Federation of Journalists has condemned Ariel Sharon's decision to "withdraw cooperation" with the BBC two weeks ago in protest of a documentary investigating Israel's weapons of mass destruction programmes.
Sharon has barred the BBC from his meeting with the British press during his visit to London this week.
Meanwhile, an Irish newspaper has called on Israel to release one of its journalists arrested at the weekend on charges of terrorism. Belfast reporter Sean O'Muireagain was detained by Israeli security forces in the West Bank, allegedly after a tip-off from British intelligence that he intended to teach Palestinians how to make bombs.
O'Muireagain's employer, the Irish-language Lá daily newspaper, said it was a case of mistaken identity and that the 40-year old had no ties to paramilitaries or republicans in Northern Ireland.
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| VOA REPORTER SENT TO MILITARY CAMP IN ERITREA |
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A reporter for the US government-backed Voice of America (VoA) radio network has been detained in his home country of Eritrea and deported to a military training camp.
Eritrea said Akhlilu Solomon had been taken from his home on July 8th to fulfil his national service requirements. But diplomats said Solomon had already completed his tour of duty and in addition, had doctors records to show he was medically unfit for service.
Solomon is one of only two local journalists working for the independent media in Eritrea, where campaign group Reporters without Borders (RSF) says the Press freedom situation is the most serious in all of sub-Saharan Africa.
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| SPANISH REPORTERS BEATEN AFTER PEACE MARCH |
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Four Spanish journalists were beaten and their camera equipment destroyed after they tried to promote peace at a Palestinian refugee camp in Lebanon where violence between refugees has been on the rise.
The four reportedly entered the Ain al-Hilweh camp wearing peace T-shirts and waving a peace banner. Eyewitness said they were stopped by supporters of a Palestinian faction known as Esbat al-Nour, beaten severely and their clothes and banner shredded.
The reporters escaped by taxi after the assault, the eyewitnesses said.
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