Ten years ago I joined the staff of the Committee to Protect Journalists to launch the Journalist Assistance program, an initiative, as CPJ board member Gene Roberts describes, developed to establish a standing direct response mechanism for journalists facing threats and attacks. When I left the position in 2009, many people asked me what case…
In 2007, my colleague Karen Phillips suggested we do something to mark World Refugee Day. Initially planning to publish a brief statement, I set about reviewing our data for background, checking in with older journalist cases about their current situation and looking broadly for trends to highlight. As the number of cases began counting into…
New York, April 26, 2011–The Community to Protect Journalists condemned Thursday’s arson attack on Haitian community radio station Tèt Ansanm Karis and called on local authorities to bring the perpetrators to justice. The blaze destroyed the station’s offices and all equipment and left the northeastern city of Carice without a local radio station.
In Latin America, A Return of Censorship By Carlos Lauría As the preeminent political family in the northeastern state of Maranhão for more than 40 years, the Sarneys are used to getting their way in Brazilian civic life. So when the leading national daily O Estado de S. Paulo published allegations in June 2009 that linked José…
Top Developments • Journalists persevere after quake, working from tents and homes. • Dozens of reporters jobless. Print media sustain heavy losses. Key Statistic 95: Percent of radio stations knocked off the air by the January earthquake. Most had returned by late year. Reflecting the devastation across all of Haitian society, the news media suffered…
Former dictator Jean Claude “Baby Doc” Duvalier is facing some blowback after breezing into Haiti last Sunday following a 25-year absence. On Wednesday, prominent Haitian journalist and former UN spokesperson Michele Montas joined three others in filing criminal complaints against the former dictator who returned to the country Sunday, just days after the anniversary of…
One year after the devastating January 12, 2010, earthquake that killed more than 200,000 people and crippled Haiti’s media infrastructure, the country’s media have made significant strides toward recovery even as they face enormous ongoing challenges.