Bloggers have increasingly become the target of governments and groups wanting to silence dissenting voices. In Ethiopia, six independent journalists were arrested in April 2014. In 2013, the Chinese government launched a campaign against “cybercrime”, leading to the detentions of many bloggers for charges including “rumour-mongering”. In Iran, journalist Siamak Ghaderi is still in prison for interviews and articles he published on his blog, including reports on the street protests during the 2009 elections.
Press freedom under fire
by Maria Jan, Yarno Ritzen
Al Jazeera
http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/interactive/2015/05/press-freedom-fire-150503125508507.html
Press freedom is declining on all fronts with record numbers of journalists imprisoned, attacked or killed while reporting.
Organisations Reporters Without Borders and Commitee to Protect Journalists, among others, have been documenting the ongoing deterioration of press freedom around the globe.
On World Press Freedom Day, which stands upon the principles of media freedom and safety of journalists, we remember those who gave their lives in the field, those imprisoned and those that are under attack just because of their job.
More than half of the journalists imprisoned globally use the same medium – what is it?
Online.
120 of the 221 journalists known to have been held in captivity in 2014 were online journalists. The number of print journalists in captivity was 83, TV 14, film/documentary 2 and radio 15.