New book compares what journalists in Kenya and Rwanda have to say about doing their jobs BOOK REVIEW | KAREN MCINTYRE | A majority of the world’s population has experienced a decline in press freedom in recent years, according to a UN report. In east Africa, the results are mixed and …
Read More »Internet shutdowns, new laws threaten freedom of expression in Uganda
Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | Journalism in Uganda is being undermined by new laws which have in fact closed the right to freedom of expression. As Uganda joins the rest of the world to mark World Press Freedom Day, there is concern that the attack on freedom of expression is …
Read More »Media practitioners demand practical solutions to improve press freedom
Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | Media practitioners are seeking practical solutions to improve press freedom in Uganda in the face of growing hostility against their work. They argue that little or even no effort has been made to ensure that recommendations from the reports are put into action. The issue …
Read More »What threatens press freedom today?
The lack of transparency about how algorithms sort people into groups and prioritise messages COMMENT | JAN-WERNER MUELLER | Donald Trump’s presidency was bookended by the White House pushing “alternative facts” about the size of the crowd at Trump’s inauguration at the US Capitol and his violent supporters scrawling “Murder …
Read More »EU, US embassy concerned over growing abuse of journalists
Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | The European Union -EU Delegation to Uganda has expressed concern about situations of arrest and assault of journalists implicating security personnel that rarely progress to prosecution. Nicolaj Petersen, the Danish Ambassador to Uganda aired the EU’s concern while delivering a speech at the Uganda Editors’ …
Read More »Abuse of journalists
How it hurts Uganda’s ranking in the world | THE INDEPENDENT | Uganda has a bad underlying environment for journalists and taken together with the many acts of violence and abuses against journalists, has a very bad press freedom ranking compared to other countries. That is what the latest Press …
Read More »Coronavirus pandemic ‘amplifies press freedom threats’
Paris, France | AFP | The coronavirus pandemic is exacerbating threats to press freedom around the world, with authoritarian states including China and Iran suppressing details of the outbreak, activists said on Tuesday. Paris-based Reporters Without Borders (RSF) said in its annual press freedom rankings that the pandemic was “highlighting and …
Read More »MPs task gov’t to respect media freedom
Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | Opposition Members of Parliament have tasked the government to respect press freedom and call to order the Uganda Communications Commission (UCC) over directives requiring media houses to suspend staff. In a plenary session on Thursday chaired by Deputy Speaker Jacob Oulanyah, Kira Municipality MP Ibrahim …
Read More »ACME, Amnesty International condemn UCC ‘s directive to media houses
Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | Amnesty International has described a directive from Uganda Communication Commission (UCC) to suspend staff of several media houses as blatant attack on press freedom. “This order from Uganda’s communications commission represents a blatant attack on press freedom and a lamentable tendency towards state censorship,” she …
Read More »Journalists ‘suffocating’ in Magufuli’s Tanzania
In Uganda, Police top list of perpetrators of attacks on journalists for fourth year Dar es Salaam, Tanzania | AFP | Press freedom in Tanzania is being squeezed under President John Magufuli, leaving journalists fearful. France-based watchdog Reporters Without Borders (known by its French acronym, RSF) ranked Tanzania 83rd out …
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