Peter Mackler Award

American Journalists Ling and Lee Get Twelve Years Hard Labor in North Korea

noreply@blogger.com (Katie Lee Hull) — Mon, 08 Jun 2009 13:14:00 +0000

American journalists Laura Ling and Euna Lee have been sentenced to twelve years in a North Korean labor camp, the Korean government has just announced. Ling and Lee were arrested in March while shooting footage of refugees on the border of China and North Korea. They were filming in China but allegedly crossed into North Korean territory when they were detained. The refugees Ling and Lee were covering had fled North Korea for China in search of food. According to KCNA, the country's official news agency, the two women have been convicted of “committing hostilities against the Korean nation and illegal entry” although they have not specified what these "hostilities"entailed.

A statement just released by Reporters Without Borders says "The sentences were clearly designed to scare journalists trying to do investigative reporting in the border area between China and North Korea, which is ranked as Asia’s worst country in the Reporters Without Borders press freedom index."

Many suggest that the two women--Lee, the mother of a four year old daughter, and Ling, who is said to have an ulcer and require medical attention--are merely being used as political pawns as relations between the U.S. and North Korea deteriorate. This sentence comes just one month after the U.S. pushed for UN sanctions against North Korea for testing nuclear weapons.

In two previous incidents in 1994 and 1996 when Americans have been held hostage in North Korea, it took a trip to Pyongyang by then congressman Bill Richardson to leverage the release of the prisoners.

The International Women's Media Foundation and Reporters Without Borders have launched a petition for the release of the two women. Click here to sign the petition.

Journalists Attempting to Cover Tiananmen Anniversary are Blocked

noreply@blogger.com (Katie Lee Hull) — Thu, 04 Jun 2009 17:21:00 +0000

Twenty years after the Chinese government rolled tanks into Tiananmen Square to stop government protests, little has changed in terms of censorship and government control. Here is a video of a CNN reporter attempting to report from the square. It seems in China, censorship can be as high tech as blocking popular websites or as low tech as umbrellas.

Twitterers in China : What the Censorship on the 20th Anniversary of Tiananmen is Really Achieving

noreply@blogger.com (Katie Lee Hull) — Wed, 03 Jun 2009 14:38:00 +0000

The web exploded yesterday with the news that in preparation for the 20th anniversary of the Tiananmen Square Massacre, the Chinese government blocked social networking sites including Twitter, Flickr, and Hotmail. Ironically it was the frustrated, angry, and sometimes joyously defiant “tweets” from many expats living in China that helped spread the news of the censorship.

“We call it being ‘harmonized’ here,” said one Twitter user , an America living in South China, where his teaching contract forbids him from political discourse and therefore wishes to remain anonymous. Many of the most tech-savvy are able to get around the ban using various proxy servers, connecting to a server in another country, and even using Twinkle, the i-Phone application for Twitter. Earliest reports suggested that the platform TweetDeck was being used as a workaround, but all who we spoke to said that service was intermittent or that it wasn’t working at all.

The South China professor says he sees an added curiosity in his students as a result of the censorship. "I have often said that the next internal revolution will come as a result of the myriad communication tools available like 3-G. That and a growing dissatisfaction with censorship will force change," he says. "At the very least the outages have caused students to ask far more questions than ever before."

Those discussing the issue on Twitter followed their posts with the hashtag #GFW for "great firewall" as a way to organize the conversation and so others could join in. But some worry that the tag is being used against rogue Tweeters as China discovers the tag and removes offending posts.

One active Twitter user, Robert Bono, a business analyst studying for his Masters at the University of International Business and Economics in Beijing, says that after years of staying silent, he has had enough of the blanket censorship.

“There is a generally accepted, but entirely publicly unspoken awareness that the media here presents a false picture of both internal and external affairs,” he says. “In terms of the average Chinese citizen, most here are aware of the events that took place twenty years ago in Tiananmen Square, but are too scared to discuss it publicly. It is Orwellian double-think on a massive scale.”

The government has taken numerous other measures to keep protests to a minimum, including scheduling exams for June 4th so students will be occupied in the classroom, and outright banning them from giving any interviews to the foreign press.

Bono says that this latest act of censorship has helped him decide to leave China for good, so he is "not particularly worried about any reprisals from the government" for speaking out on the issue.

When asked if he thinks the latest internet blockades will be able to successfully stop the flow of information or any commemorations relating to Tiananmen, one American living in China, who prefers to be known only by his Twitter name, WeirdChina, says that in the long term, it won't make a difference, but the problem in China is that many people don't even know they are being kept from information in the first place.

Junde Yu, a web entrepreneur from Singapore living in Guangzhou, created this now viral TwitPic of a crab catching the Twitter bird. The river crab is a symbol for censorship in China, and Yu says that although the governments main aim is to stop grassroots or student movements hoping to commemorate the massacre 20 years ago, there are few movements for them to worry about. No doubt the Chinese government took note of instances like the the revolt in Moldova latter dubbed the "Twitter Revolution" when preparing their censors for this anniversary.

Some have found a way to circumvent the seemingly all encompassing censorship. In remembrance of the of the unknown man made famous by the photo of him standing in the way of four military tanks, many say they will wear white shirts and blue pants in Beijing and other parts of China tomorrow.

Journalism and Iran

noreply@blogger.com (Camille J. Mackler) — Tue, 02 Jun 2009 18:23:00 +0000

In the last few years, Iran has become the poster-child for all that is antithetical to a free and fair press. Reporters Without Borders ranks Iran 166th out of 173 countries in it's 2008 Annual Worldwide Press Freedom Index. Only China, Vietnam, Cuba, Burma, Turkmenistan, North Korea, and Eritrea have more repressive policies towards the press. The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) has placed Iran on it's "Ten Worst Countries to be a Blogger" list and, as of 2008, counted five journalists imprisoned by Iran.

The recent coverage on the plight of Roxana Saberi, released from an Iranian prison on May 11, 2009 after spending 100 days behind bars, brought renewed attention to Iran's often repressive policies towards journalists. Azar Nafisi captivated readers, and propelled herself to the top of the New York Times Best Seller's List, with her memoir "Reading Lolita in Tehran". In her book, Afisi paints a poignant portait of women attempting to express themselves in a society which continuously represses their individuality.

Mohammad Hossein Fallahiyazadeh, Adnan Hassanpour, Mohammad Seddigh Kaboudvand, Massoud Kurdpour, and Mojtaba Lotfi currently remain imprisoned because of their reporting on issues that were deemed contrary to Iran's interests. Hassanpour was arrested for publishing a Kurdish-Persian weekly newspaper. Kaboudvand, Lotfi, and Fallahiyazadeh publicly denounced the Iranian government's harsh treatment of others. Kurdpour and Lotfi worked with other news outlets, including the BBC and Voice of America (VOA) and were thus charged with spreading propoganda against the regime and the spread of anti-state information respectively.

However, there are others who believe that reality is not as simple as the black-and-white picture painted by the majority of news outlets. Some argue that Iran's repressive policies are a manifestation of it's leaders' tight-rope walk between their extremist and more liberal sides.

Azadeh Moaveni recently wrote a column for Time.com in which she explains the requirements she has had to go through to be able to report in Iran. Moaveni acknowledges that "Iran's record of dealing with journalists is certainly stained." She also notes, with seeming regret, that she has had to give up many things in order to continue having access and her all-important press credentials. For example, after traveling to Iran to pursue a story she had promised an editor, she was told only after her arrival that she would not be allowed to write it. She has also been forced to give up travel to other regions she wishes to visit, such as Israel, in order to continue working in Iran. However, Moaveni also seems to indicate that the restrictions, while regrettable, are acceptable to someone who wants to paint a more complete picture of Iran and it's society today. She concludes by stating that " Of course a journalist who flouts the rules in Washington will risk access rather than imprisonment, but that's just one more benefit of living in a society with the luxury of nuance."

New Petition In Support of Release for US Journalists

noreply@blogger.com (Peter Mackler Award) — Mon, 01 Jun 2009 17:21:00 +0000

Supporters of Laura Ling and Euna Lee, the two U.S. reporters currently being detained by North Korea, have launched a new petition ahead of their trial, set to begin June 4. Please click here if you would like to sign the petition.

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Enlightening Profile on a Dentist Turned Writer and Government Critic

noreply@blogger.com (Katie Lee Hull) — Mon, 01 Jun 2009 14:35:00 +0000

Yesterday's Guardian UK featured a profile on Alaa al Aswany, a bestselling Arab novelist who is known in his home country of Egypt for speaking out against the repressive regime under President Mubarak. Aswany, who never fully left his day job of practicing dentistry, is currently promoting his new book, Friendly Fire, along with a recently revived title, The Isam Abd el-Ati Papers, which was banned from Egypt a decade ago. Due to the unfavorable commentary on the country that appears in the book, the state run General Egyptian Book Organisation told Aswany that Isam Abd el-Ati Papers would never be published unless he removed the offending chapters. His next two books were bestsellers for five years in the Arab world and are read in 27 different languages.

When he is not filling cavities or penning bestsellers, Aswany also writes newspaper columns voicing his views on Egypt's regime. He says he's convinced that Democracy is coming to Egypt and that the country will soon serve as a model for other Arab countries. "Now there are more and more protests in the street. Everyone is on strike. There is real pressure, you can feel it. You cannot deny it, even if you're from the government."

When asked if his fame has kept him from governmental backlash, he says, "I cannot compare what has happened to me with what has happened to some of my friends and comrades who have been tortured and beaten. What has happened to me - banning me from attending the premiere of The Yacoubian Building - is negligible in comparison. But, in any case, writing and fear are absolutely contradictory. Writing is an expression against fear."

You can read the whole article at the Guardian UK’s site here.

Government Backfire on Reporting in Yemen

noreply@blogger.com (Katie Lee Hull) — Sat, 30 May 2009 14:33:00 +0000

It is a well known fact that reporting from the front lines is a dangerous job, but in some countries, journalists put themselves in the line of fire just by going into the office. Earlier this month in Yemen, police opened fire on the offices of independent newspaper Al Ayyam for remaining active amidst government pressure to cease publication, and in an attempt to arrest the paper’s editor in chief. Amnesty International reports that two men were killed in the attack and one was injured. The daily paper has been reporting on the clashes in the south between the government and opposition groups.

In the past month, authorities have banned the printing of seven additional papers in an apparent attempt to stifle positive media coverage of the call for independence in the south. Al Ayyam reports that before the attack, its distribution trucks were repeatedly detained by authorities and its papers burned. Al-Ayyam editor Hisham Bashraheel told Reporters Without Borders that the seizures were “worthy of a totalitarian regime.”

Yesterday, Reporters Without Borders appealed once again to President Ali Abdullah Saleh and his information minister, Hassan Ahmed Al-Lawzi to condemn this comprehensive gagging of the press. But according to Yemen Times, an English-language publication, Al-Lawzi has denied any censorship of the press, saying that they went willingly, some because of printer problems.

The editors in chief of three of the other publications were arrested under suspicion of "undermining national unity" and later released. But what worries many is the special court recently set up to try press offenses. The government attests that the court is not politically motivated, just a solution for emergency press situations and to get all media related cases under one roof, but the timing and the lack of details about the new court have many worried it will be used to intimidate journalists.

Yemen was ranked 155th out of 173 countries in the 2008 Reporters Without Borders press freedom index. For more information visit http://www.rsf.org/article.php3?id_article=31456.

Censorship in Cuba: Leaps but not Bounds

noreply@blogger.com (Camille J. Mackler) — Thu, 28 May 2009 23:39:00 +0000

By Katie Lee Hull

While restrictions on travel to and from Cuba are slowly being lifted, strict regulations on media and information remain for Cuban citizens. Since taking over for his brother in February of 2008, Raul Castro has lifted bans that used to make it near impossible for Cubans to access information on the internet. Hotels are one of the few places on the island with access to internet, and up until recently, Cubans were banned from tourist hotels. But even now that the ban has been lifted, the government still manages to keep the internet out of reach by charging exorbitant prices that keep both personal computers and internet connection out of the price range of most Cubans.

But even with restrictions, many still manage get their voices heard. Yoani Sanchez is one such blogger whose site, Generation Y, is censored in Cuba. Named as one of Time magazines 100 most influential people, her blog makes its way around the island nation on everything from computer memory sticks to lose leaf paper.

Just being censored by her government no doubt helped catapult her to fame both in and out of her country, and at the same time, her international reputation is probably the one thing keeping her out of jail. Currently, 21 bloggers are in jail in Cuba, according to a report by the Committee to Protect Journalists.

She hasn't been allowed to leave Cuba to accept Spain’s prestigious Ortega and Gasset prize for digital journalism, which she won last year, or to attend the publication party held in Italy to honor her new book, Cuba Libre, which is comprised of a collection of her blogs. Sanchez writes on her blog that “If the situation continues, I will have to start telling my life in the improbable tense: ‘I could have been there except,’ ‘I would have presented the book if not for…’ or ‘I would manage to travel if I shut up.’ Today I’ve been to the launch of Cuba Libre, in the virtual way that only a blogger can. I spoke by phone with those present, answered some questions, and the connection failed before I could say ‘Goodbye.’”

Read more about Internet restrictions in Cuba here.

Petition For The Release of Two American Journalists

noreply@blogger.com (Peter Mackler Award) — Fri, 27 Mar 2009 13:24:00 +0000

Reporters Without Borders and the International Women's Media Forum have launched a petition asking for the unconditional and immediate release of two American women journalists currenty being held by North Korea.

You can click here to sign the petition.

2 U.S. Reporters Held by North Korea

noreply@blogger.com (Peter Mackler Award) — Thu, 26 Mar 2009 02:54:00 +0000

Days ahead of a suspected missile test launch by North Korea, the communist nation is being said to have detained two American women reporters who reportedly strayed into it's territory while attempting to gain footage of refugee camps along the North Korea - Chinese border. Laura Ling and Euna Lee both work for former Vice President Al Gore's San Francisco-based Currant TV. There are conflicting reports of where the arrest took place, with some claiming Ling and Lee were within North Korean territory, while others stated that the arrest took place when they were still in China. The Committee To Protect Journalists (CPJ) has issued a call for the women's release. Diplomatic efforts are said to be underway in an attempt to secure the release of Ling and Lee.

China Blocks YouTube

noreply@blogger.com (Peter Mackler Award) — Tue, 24 Mar 2009 23:28:00 +0000

Following accusations that Dalai Lama supporters fabricated a video showing Chinese military beating a Tibetan protester to death, China has now blocked all access to the popular video-sharing website You Tube. This action is not unusual for China, which has been named an enemy of the internet by press freedom organization Reporters Without Borders. However, it continues to show a disturbing trend by Beijing to censor and oppress by any means possible. The international community had hoped that the presence of the Olympic Games in China in 2008 would open a dialogue regarding fundamental liberties, including freedom of the press. However, the opposite effect was the case with China failing to follow through on promises to allow more access and transparency and, in some cases, ramping up its repressive efforts. As recently as last week, South Africa refused a visa to the Dalai Lama to attend a Peace Forum in order to stay on good terms with China, a major trading partner for the African nation.

March 12, 2009 - World Day Against Cyber Censorship

noreply@blogger.com (Peter Mackler Award) — Fri, 06 Mar 2009 22:35:00 +0000

March 12, 2009 is World Day Against Cyber Censorship.

Reporters Without Borders and Amnesty International have issued an open letter to the Chief Executive Officers of Yahoo!, Google, and Microsoft, Inc. urging them, for one day, to not censor any of their search engines or blog platforms in observance of World Day Against Cyber Censorship.

The internet has created an ideal space for idea-sharing and freedom of expression. However, many countries have restricted the ability of it's citizens and it's media to express themselves and freely obtain information. Major communications companies such as Yahoo!, Google, Microsoft, and Cisco have been heavily criticized for allowing these governments to restrict access to content on the internet for the sake of higher profits. Nontheless, internet restrictions and censorship continue to undermine the notion of freedom of the press worldwide.

Amnesty International has started the Irrepressible.Info Campaign to raise awareness of the growing restrictions on the internet by countries that do not guaranty or respect a free press. To find more, take the Pledge on Internet Freedom, and to learn how to republish censored material on your blog, click here.

March 8, 2009 - International Women's Day

noreply@blogger.com (Peter Mackler Award) — Fri, 06 Mar 2009 21:17:00 +0000

International Women's Day is March 8, 2009.

The last year has been phenomenal for women in the news. From Hillary Clinton to Courtney Hunt, women have been steadily gaining ground and proving that, no matter their background, they can compete on an equal playing field with men.But while women have rocketed as makers of the news, much still needs to be done to recognize those women who report it.

Women reporters such as Christiane Amanpour, Katie Couric, and Arianna Huffington have established credibility and earned respect in this often man-driven business. Sadly, however, they are the exception, not the rule. While half of all bloggers are women, and while more and more women are availing themeselves of new-media tools, they remain woefully un-represented amongst those who shape and control traditional media outlets.

Women who report the news in countries where freedom of the press is either not guarantied or not recognized face the same dangers and obstacles as their male counterpart, and in addition must frequently deal with discrimination and gender-based violence.

Take, for example, four women reporters who were recently attacked and stripped naked by a secret society in the West African country of Sierra Leone. The women were reporting on the cultural practice of Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) when they encountered their attackers, who wanted to ascertain that the women had been subjected to FGM themeselves. FGM, also called "female circumcision," is a dangerous tradition that is still widely practiced in West Africa, despite criticism from the international community and human rights organizations working within the region. FGM is viewed by most as a practice endagering women's health and attacking their dignity, but societies that continue to practice it believe that un-circumcised women are un-clean and unfaithful.

Last month, Roxana Saberi, an Iranian-American freelance reporter for National Public Radio (NPR) was detained by Iranian authorities after purchasing a bottle of wine. Iran has since confirmed the arrest but has refused to disclose where Ms. Saberi was being held and what charges are being levied against her. Ms. Saberi, who grew up in the United States, had been living in Iran for six years and was finishing her book on Iranian culture. Reporters Without Borders has issued a call for Ms. Saberi's release.

The family and friends of Anna Politkovskaya are still waiting for her murderer to be identified and brought to justice. Ms. Politkovskaya was a distinguished Russian journalist who extensively covered the conflicts in Chechnya as well as a prolific writer who published several books on Russia. Ms. Politkovskaya had endured threats on her life before, and had even been driven into hiding in 2001. She was murdered October 7, 2006. Though her killer did not mask his face or disactivate the security cameras, they have yet to be identified. Reporters Without Borders has asked for the creation of an international commission of enquiry so that the truth may be known about Ms. Politkovskaya's death.

The Peter Mackler Award salutes all women who have worked against even greater odds to report the news in countries with no free press.

Roxana Saberi

noreply@blogger.com (Peter Mackler Award) — Fri, 06 Mar 2009 21:02:00 +0000

On March 4, 2009, Reporters Without Borders (RSF) issued a call for the release of Iranian-American Reporter Roxana Saberi who was detained by Iranian authorities on an unknown date and whose whereabouts are currently unknown.

To find out more about Ms. Saberi and RSF's efforts to secure her release, please visit: http://tinyurl.com/bxfo5b

To sign the Facebook petition asking for the release of Ms. Saberi, please visit: http://tinyurl.com/b6yub7

noreply@blogger.com (Peter Mackler Award) — Mon, 02 Mar 2009 04:17:00 +0000

For the latest news on the Peter Mackler Award, you can now sign up for our newsletter directly from our website. Go to www.pmaward.org and enter your email in the box provide on the right. You can rest assured your privacy is important to us, we will never sell or distribute your contact information.

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--Camille Mackler

Project Manager

Welcome

noreply@blogger.com (Peter Mackler Award) — Fri, 13 Feb 2009 20:43:00 +0000

Welcome to the Peter Mackler Award blog!

Please check back here often to find news regarding the Peter Mackler Award as well as to learn about issues affecting freedom of the press worldwide.

The Peter Mackler Award was established in June, 2008 to honor the memory of Peter Mackler, a thirty-five year veteran of Agence France Press and other news organizations, who worked tirelessly to report the news fairly and accurately and to teach others to do the same. The Award will recognize young reporters who fight to report the news in countries where freedom of the press is not guarantied or not recognized.

To find out more about Peter Mackler and his legacy, please visit:

petermackler.blogspot.com

www.globalmediaforum.com

The award will be administered by the US branch of Reporters Without Borders, an organization dedicated to protecting the rights of journalists worldwide. To find out more about Reporters Without Borders and their work, please visit: