An Islamic court in Nigeria has permanently banned a rights group from holding an internet debate about amputation as a form of punishment. This follows a temporary order made last week by a court in northern Nigeria preventing Facebook and Twitter being used to discuss the issue. [more]

Sierra Leone has become a place of torment for journalists practicing their profession.

Recently 10 journalists were manhandled and beaten during the opposition Sierra Leone People’s Party’s (SLPP) delegate’s conference. At the conference, the delegates had a disagreement during their debate to amend the party’s constitution. "Some members began to walk out of the hall, we (journalists) wanted to capture this moment and do interviews, but we were surprised when youths and senior party members fell on us. [more]

News is the Number One business of the newspaper, and indeed, the media in general. 'News' is new information, delivered regularly and timeously; that is, as close to the occurrence of the event as possible. [more]

Three journalists attached to the Red Pepper Publications were last week charged with publication of false stories about the Kasubi fire.[more]

Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai says he will ask South Africa's President Jacob Zuma to call upon the Southern African Development Community (SADC) to break Zimbabwe's politcal deadlock "once and for all". "We cannot allow our nation to be trapped indefinitely by the failed policies of the past, while countries around us prioritise people's rights, economic development and the rule of law," he said in his latest Newsletter.

[more]

Court has asked the police officer investigating the case in which two Daily Monitor editors are accused of forging President Museveni’s letter to speed up investigations and have the case heard. [more]

Central Broadcasting Services (CBS) radio will remain closed until the station apologises to the government, President Museveni’s press secretary has said.[more]

The Uganda Cabinet is currently reviewing proposed amendments to the Press and Journalist Act 2001, the law that governs media practice. Like all citizens and well-meaning people in government, every Ugandan journalist wants to work in a media industry that is responsible, respected and alive to the public’s right to know. [more]

Zimbabwean artist Owen Maseko has sought bail after being arrested under public order and security laws. Mr Maseko was staging an exhibition in Bulawayo about the 1980s Matabeleland massacres carried out by troops loyal to President Robert Mugabe. [more]

The African Union and the European Union hosted a joint meeting in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia from 23 - 25 March 2010 under the theme Media and Development. The meeting brought together fifty participants involved with media in Africa and Europe.[more]

Parliament Friday approved the nomination of former minister of information and broadcasting, Prof. Septimus Kaikai as the first chairman board of trustees of the Sierra Leone broadcasting corporation, SLBC. He will hold the position for a renewable three-year term.[more]

The stage appears tension-soaked over who has final say on the nation’s 2.3GHz spectrum allocation, as the Federal Ministry of Information and Communications appears battle ready against any authority that may want to challenge its position. [more]

MDC-T councillors implicated in illegally evicting Glen Norah families from houses they have been occupying since 1972 yesterday hurled insults at Herald and ZBC reporters covering a passout parade of 89 metropolitan police.The councillors unsuccessfully tried to eject the reporters from the function for exposing their corrupt activities.[more]

Last week I promised to look at the question of the freedom of the media, one of the twin whipping rods frequently used to flog the less powerful countries. This is a contentious subject of which there is little agreement apart from the fact that both the media and freedom are necessary. It is viewed differently depending on who is looking at it.[more]

ZBCTV 2, a sister television station to ZBCTV hit the screens last week for its trial run with a variety of programmes that are set to capture the imagination of Zimbabwean viewers. Some lucky viewers tuned in and got the feel of the new station last Friday and enjoyed watching WWE, a prime time viewing wrestling show that is popular among the young and old.[more]

Press Association of Zambia vice-president Amos Chanda has said the media in the country is on the verge of making history when it launches the new Zambia Media Council (ZAMEC) that will unite all journalists in May this year. And Zambia Union of Journalists (ZUJ) general secretary Bob Sianjalika has urged the Government to hasten the tabling of the Freedom of Information Bill (FOI) in Parliament.[more]

A free press and the free flow of information are essential to Rwanda’s vision of a country of empowered citizens, in a dynamic knowledge economy.[more]

Ban 'phone-ins' if...

Ace Ankomah, a legal practitioner, has staunchly called for an end to phone-in programmes on radio stations until the stations have been able to acquire delay broadcast equipment to regulate the comments made by callers."If you can't buy it, stop the phone-in programmes," he stressed.[more]

Media, Information and Publicity Minister Webster Shamu has called for media freedom in Africa so that journalists can discharge their duties without fear of victimisation by authorities. Addressing delegates at a dinner hosted by his ministry for the Federation of African Journalists in Harare on Sunday, Minister Shamu said journalists should not be arrested for being critical of governments.[more]

The government is finalising the amendment of legislation governing the telecommunications regulator in order to resolve the tension between the organisation’s council and its management. Tension has long existed between the Independent Communications Authority of SA’s (Icasa’s) councilors and its management, headed by CE Karabo Motlana, because of a lack of clarity about their different roles and responsibilities. [more]

The Department of Communications, recently criticised for stalling the process that will see TV broadcasting in SA transfer from an analogue signal to digital, will hold a meeting next month to finalise the software technology included in the new TV decoders used to receive the digital signal. [more]

When former president Benjamin Mkapa opened his mouth in Nairobi at the Nation’s 50th anniversary, I knew instantly that he had put his foot in it again.By saying that during his tenure as head of state he favoured interviews with foreign journalists rather than Tanzanian ones because the latter were ignorant, he was delivering himself to the cutlasses of the Tanzanian media tribe who enjoy nothing more than bashing Mkapa.[more]

The troubled Namibian Broadcasting Corporation (NBC) had accumulated losses of N$170,6 million and a showed a deficit of N$38 million for the financial year which ended in March 2008, while penalties for not paying income tax deducted from employees to the Receiver of Revenue run into millions.

[more]

Johannesburg — SA's first bilingual "m-novel" - a novel written for publication via cellphones - was so successful that sequels would be released this year, the Shuttleworth Foundation, which published the novel, said last week.[more]

With the government proposing new measures to further restrict freedom of the media in its Press and Journalists (amendment) Bill 2010 now before Cabinet, Sunday Monitor’s Risdel Kasasira spoke to Makerere University political science don, Prof. Aaron Mukwaya. Read on:- [more]

When countries are hit by crises, governments tend to demand support from the media. But patriotism should not prevent the media from criticising a government's handling of civic issues, warns Mosekwa Tshikosi .[more]

Zimbabwe, whose main daily newspaper is state owned and biggest private papers are weeklies, should speed up registration of newspapers to boost democratic reforms, a senior cabinet minister said on Saturday.[more]

Last week, Nation Media Group (NMG) celebrated its 50th anniversary. To celebrate the long walk, NMG organised the first Pan- Africa Media Conference themed ‘Media and the Africa promise; reflecting on the past, present and prospects for the future’. Information Minister, Kabakumba Masiko attended the event and spoke to Isaac Imaka on the sidelines of the conference. Excerpts:-

[more]

Does a journalist’s confidentiality agreement with sources cover footage of an apparent killing?That is one question raised in an article in the April 5 edition of The New Yorker, where the writer Jeffrey Goldberg reports that ABC showed footage of an alleged killing in Zambia in the 1990s — and did not inform Zambian authorities about the shooting. [more]

The ZANU PF controlled Herald newspaper attempted Monday to force division within the MDC while also counteracting any possible change of position on sanctions by Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai. In a speculative article, plastered on the Monday’s front-page, the paper alleges that MDC-T president Morgan Tsvangirai has succumbed to pressure from elements within his party and will now backtrack on calling for the lifting of economic sanctions on Zimbabwe.[more]

The sub-regional media watchdog, Media Foundation for West Africa (MFWA), on Friday said a reporter of the state-owned New Liberia newsp a per, was assaulted by state security officials deployed at the Samuel K. Doe Sports Stadium in Monrovia Liberian capital.

[more]

The media has instigated his rise will it bring him down? ANC Youth League President Julius Malema has utterly dominated the news of South Africa's media in the most remarkable manner in the past month - and it's good for the media business.[more]

The Nation Media Group’s 50th birthday bash, which was celebrated during the Pan Africa Media Conference this month, was undoubtedly one of the most high profile media events I have attended in recent months. [more]

The advent of digital television in South Africa may be delayed by a legal bid to stop Icasa from allowing the SABC, M-Net and e.tv to broadcast more channels. [more]

The Director of Information and Broadcasting Services, Mogomotsi Kaboeamodimo continues to insist that his department is not biased in farvour of President Ian Khama and the ruling Botswana Democratic Party central committee in the current conflict between the barata-phathi faction and the president.[more]

For the nearly 50 million people of South Africa, the 2010 World Cup represents an opportunity to show the world its progress through sports. But for a new nonprofit organization, soccer's biggest stage also offers an opportunity to publicize young women who tend to go unheard.[more]

The ever recurring Jos blood bath has created its byproducts in provocative statements like the one by the Libyan Leader Muammar Gaddafi, who either due to ignorance or just for mischief has suggested that Nigeria be divided into two. [more]

A media hub was opened by the United States in Johannesburg, South Africa, so that the US government message is visible, active and effective in advocating US policies, priorities, and actions with African audiences. [more]

A mud-slinging campaign by the ANC Youth League against some South African journalists is set to continue with a threat to name at least one newspaper staff member it claims has been bribed.[more]

President Robert Mugabe is this week expected to meet local and foreign journalists at the end of a two-day congress by African journalists in Harare this weekend.[more]

Three journalists of The Red Pepper were arrested by the Police over an alleged seditious story concerning the Kasubi tombs fire. [more]

After 25 years of TV broadcast, inhabitants say very few programmes are fascinating to watch. 25five years down the lane, Cameroonians are still to be trapped in front of their local television channels by the quality and type of programmes screened. Talking randomly to some households in Yaounde, it was realised that people hardly watch national television stations as they say not only are the programmes less interesting but lack quality.[more]

A Daily Monitor correspondent based in Bugiri was early this week arrested for allegedly covering a case at court. [more]

There is justified concern at the recent appeal court ruling that the Citizen defamed Robert McBride by calling him a murderer, writes Raymond Louw in Business Day. The court reasoned that the effect of his having been granted amnesty for the Magoo's Bar bombing expunged the conviction to such an extent that it for all purposes ceased to exist. But this effectively turns truth into falsehood. [more]

Is the media too hard on politicians? I am paraphrasing Gauteng Premier Nomvula Mokonyane in reply to lifestyle audits by the fourth estate. Let’s unpack it. [more]

Cabinet is currently reviewing the proposed amendments to the Press and Journalist Act 2001, which is the law that governs media practice. Like all citizens and well-meaning people in Government, every Ugandan journalist wants to work in a media industry that is responsible, respected and alert to the public’s right to know. [more]

In this final of a two-part series, Nation Media Group director Gerard Wilkinson looks at why media firms should transform: The group’s publications, with their unparalleled countrywide availability, served the still young democracy as a conduit between the people and the powers that be, probing actions, exposing mistakes and presenting alternatives.[more]

South African bloggers have waded into the spat between the African National Congress Youth League (ANCYL) and the media.

[more]

Court has ordered the government to pay Shs30 million to two WBS TV journalists who were beaten by trainee constables.[more]

Leading international media organizations, in a letter to President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, have expressed concerns over the use of ‘draconian libel laws to stifle freedom of expression and of the press in the country, while urging the President “to halt” corruption in the judiciary.” [more]

Zenith Bank has been sponsoring a CNN programme called ‘Inside Africa’ for many months now and the sordid depiction of the continent by that news network is now proverbial and nothing to write home about. It is common business knowledge that ability to attract investors depends partly or mostly on appropriate image laundering strategies that can assure investors about good returns for their investment. [more]

In an unprecedented move a few dozen bloggers lead by Sipho Hlongwane have posted a message condemning Floyd Shivambu’s alleged intimidation of journalists.[more]

Ethiopia's government has tightened media control, stifled opposition and civil society in recent years, and ramped up restrictions ahead of May elections, a rights group said Wednesday.[more]

As Rwanda heads for presidential elections in November, human rights groups are focusing increasing attention on the record of President Paul Kagame, the Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF) leader who grew up in exile in Uganda, then led the military assault which brought to an end the 1994 genocide.[more]

Sudanese government “repression” of its opponents and the media is threatening the chances of next month’s elections being free and fair, Human Rights Watch warned on Sunday.[more]

I watched activities marking 50 years of the Nation Media Group in Nairobi. In terms of encapsulating the life of Kenya, the commemorative supplement was a tour de force. And by any standard, the list of guests and participants at the conference was impressive.[more]

Activities to commemorate 25 years of TV in Cameroon were launched yesterday by the Minister of Communication. “He who pays the piper dictates the tune”. But in the case of the Cameroon Radio and Television Corporation (CRTV), there are many tunes to be dictated, because the preoccupations and audiences are varied. [more]

Development issues are often viewed as dull and boring with a little propensity to spark readers' interest and push up sales for the media in the country.[more]

Gloria Ofori Boadu, member, Governing Council of the National African Peer Review Mechanism, has called on the media to be circumspect when reporting on issues concerning women in public office.[more]

Experiences in many democratic countries show that the media have a very big role to play towards promoting free and fair elections. [more]

Media scholars have told African leaders to clean up their act, spruce up their image and develop guts to handle large global assignments if they want positive coverage, writes Dennis Itumbi for journalism.co.za. [more]

Former Mozambican President Joachim Chissano says vernacular media don't have to be divisive, they can be used to unite a nation, writes Dennis Itumbi for journalism.co.za. [more]

Zimbabwe's strict security and media laws criticised by opponents as undemocratic will be relaxed by the end of the year, an official document showed on Monday.[more]

Garba Mohammed is the National President of Nigerian Union of Journalists (NUJ), in this interview with SNR CORRESPONDENT, Emma Maduabuchi, he reels out measures the union is putting in place for the enhancement of the practice of journalism in the country. Excerpts:[more]

The Kenya market has once again proved a hard nut to crack for South African businesses as another company closed shop on Monday[more]

Armed policemen numbering about five at the weekend invaded the office of Parliament International, an Abuja based magazine and arrested the publisher, Mr Gowon Usman Egbunu at 6 pm. [more]

New York, US - At least five journalists were wounded while covering violent clashes between security personnel and protesters outside the capital, Kampala, on Wednesday, according to the media watchdog Committee for the Protection of Journalists (CPJ).[more]

The media watchdog, Committee for the Protection of Journalists (CPJ), on Saturday expressed concern about freedom of the media in Ethiopia and urged Prime Minister Meles Zanawi to lead media reforms in the country.[more]

At the ongoing Pan African Media conference in Nairobi, Kenya, which is being held as part of celebrations to mark Nation Media Group’s 50th anniversary, the eminent persons’ roundtable of Rwandan President Paul Kagame, Kenyan Prime Minister Raila Odinga, former Tanzanian President Benjamin Mkapa and Nobel laureate Prof. Wangari Maathai gives an insight in what the leaders think about a range of issues. Below are excerpts of the exchanges. [more]

One frontline Government Ministry has reached its decision and a sound one. It will no longer advertise in this paper because 'yall talk too much about corruption." Another is more sophisticated. After accumulating advertisement bills amounting to thousands of dollars, it adopts a caveat when it comes to payment. And this is almost after a year of debt accumulation.[more]

On the sidelines of the just-concluded Pan Africa Media Conference, Daily Nation reporter Samwel Kumba engaged the former Tanzanian president Benjamin Mkapa in an interview on a variety of issues. Below are the excerpts:[more]

The cabinet is discussing the Press and Journalist (Amendment) Bill 2010 which proposes to empower the Media Council to control the licensing of newspapers and to close ‘errant’ media houses. [more]

The Zimbabwe Media Commission held its inaugural meeting on Thursday and promised to urgently implement programmes to develop the country's media landscape.[more]

The final part of our serialisation of author GERRY LOUGHRAN’S book on the Nation, explores conflicts between the paper’s editors and politicians over favourable coverage.[more]

The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) has urged government to provide security to journalists covering demonstrations in the country.[more]

In the third part of our serialisation of a new book on the Nation, author Gerry Loughran examines the hurdles placed in the path of newspapers in an attempt to muzzle them without success.

Freedom of speech is a right to be fought for, not a blessing to be wished for —Former UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan.[more]

This second part of the serialisation of a new book on the Nation shows that even though inequalities in colonial times predisposed Kenyan society to bribery, the situation became worse after independence. The first president did not despise graft, and the vice did not end with the attainment of some political equality.[more]

US-funded broadcaster Voice of America’s local Amharic language service in Ethiopia will be blocked because it is destabilising the country, Prime Minister Meles Zenawi said, a move quickly condemned by Washington.[more]

Countries whose leaders have refused to relinquish power have the worst press freedom. Such leaders had created a difficult environment for journalists, thus stifling the free flow of information, the International Press Institute (IPI) director, Mr David Dadge, told the Pan Africa Media Conference on Friday.[more]

President Jacob Zuma has been urged to rein in the ANC's Youth League and bring his bodyguards to book.[more]

A key focus of the Pan African Media conference has been new media forms and how they are likely to shape the future.[more]

One of the cornerstones of any healthy democracy is a press that is free, robust and independent. This does not only mean rights to media freedom should be legally codified. It also means we must develop and nurture a public space that is conducive to a flourishing and free press. [more]

Mr. Paavo Vayrynen, the Finnish Minister of Foreign Trade and Development, has implored the international media to always portray Nigeria's positive possibilities and achievements in their reports.[more]

The chairman of the Zimbabwe Media Commission, Godfrey Majonga, on Friday pledged that his new board will move with speed to license new independent newspapers, television and radio stations.

This follows the board’s inaugural meeting in Harare on Thursday and on Friday, the board held a meeting with Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai, his deputy Thokozani Khupe, Information minister Webster Shamu and permanent secretary in the ministry George Charamba.[more]

The Congress of South African Trade Unions is the latest organisation to issue a statement following the dispute between ANCYL Floyd Shivambu and a group of journalists - and the congress wants answers.[more]

In this week's review of the African blogosphere, Jeune Afrique and New African are under fire for publishing fawning and inaccurate articles about Presidents Ali Bongo of Gabon and Faure Gnassingbé of Togo, while there is also a look at International Women's Day on the continent and thoughts on the recently-launched iHub and ICT University.[more]

The history of Nation and that of Kenya is closely intertwined. In this first instalment of the newly-published book, BIRTH OF A NATION: The Story of a Newspaper in Kenya, the author discloses for the first time how Mzee Kenyatta’s bid to control the media house was politely but firmly rejected.[more]

A robust debate on the role of journalists in fuelling or preventing conflicts dominated the last day of the Pan Africa Media Conference in Nairobi on Friday.[more]

Africa has the lowest number of internet users in the world, a problem that has prevented its inhabitants from enjoying the benefits of digital media.[more]

Africa’s economic future and the challenge of uniting people and nations drew eminent politicians and scholars into a historic public debate in Nairobi on Thursday.[more]

Nation Media Group on Thursday evening feted some of the continent’s courageous and dedicated journalists over the years.[more]

The South African National Editors' Forum said on Thursday it was concerned by complaints by political reporters about attempts by the ANC Youth League to intimidate and blackmail the media.[more]

Media Institute of Southern Africa (MISA) Zambia chairperson Henry Kabwe has called for massive investment in the media in order to improve working conditions for media practitioners.[more]

President Kagame today participated in an Eminent Persons discussion at the Pan-Africa Media Conference in Nairobi organised by the Nation Media Group to celebrate their 50th anniversary. [more]

The spotlight turned on the practice of journalism in Africa and its role in the evolution of a just and fair society, as the inaugural Pan African Media Conference got underway on Thursday. [more]

African Media has been challenged to improve and tighten its analytical skills as a way of contributing to development journalism, writes Dennis Itumbi for journalism.co.za.[more]

The ANC Youth League will never withdraw from its programme to expose millionaire journalists who do not pay tax, says its present Julius Malema in a response to a letter of complaint from political correspondents that accuses the league of attempted intimidation. The league had released a dossier with private information on a reporter at City Press. [more]

Nineteen political correspondents have written a letter of complaint against the ANC Youth League's Floyd Shivambu for alleged intimidation, byt threatening to release private information about them. Read the full letter: [more]

The Vice President of the Ghana Journalists Association, Mr Affail Monney has said that all is not well with the media profession. According to him, the last few weeks has seen the media set on fire by confessions of unethical behaviour made by a member of the Association and allegations of corruption made against some journalists.[more]

When the going gets tough, who you gonna re-call? Your spin doctor, of course. Because the problem can’t possibly be you; it must be the way people see you.[more]

The Cabinet is discussing the Press and Journalist Amendment Bill 2010 which proposes to empower the Media Council to control the licensing of newspapers and close ‘errant’ media houses. [more]

A new study, just released by the Youth Research Unit (YRU) of the Bureau of Market Research (BMR) at the University of South Africa (Unisa), in collaboration with the Film and Publication Board (FPB) and Vodacom, provided worthwhile and interesting insights into the role of media, especially new media, in the lives of high-school learners in South Africa.[more]

Few journalists or consumers of news content, today, can fathom the origins of the term spiking a story—the decision by an editor not to publish a story.[more]

Even competent agencies have been ripped off – it's the nature of humanitarian crisis.

Bob Geldof rages against the "thoroughly discredited BBC World Service programme that claimed that nigh on the entire humanitarian relief effort by all aid agencies during the Ethiopian famine was diverted to arms" (My rage at this calumny, 10 March).[more]

Somalia's hardline militant group of Al-Shabaab forced a local radio station which operates in southern Somali town of Bardhere to close its operations after arresting two of its reporters and the brief detention of the station director.[more]

The pace towards a united Africa came under focus on Thursday at a forum addressed by President Paul Kagame of Rwanda and Kenyan Prime Minister Raila Odinga. At the same forum, former Tanzania President Benjamin Mkapa revealed that during his time in office, he was known to prefer interviews with foreign rather than local journalists.[more]

Being a government minister in today’s Africa is probingly a menacing reality; a reality not of a Hollywood style, but one of fact of living. In Hollywood it’s good to be yourself, but it’s even better to be someone else. [more]

The Aga Khan on Thursday pledged to uphold free media. Speaking at the Pan Africa Media Conference in Nairobi, the founder of the Nation Media Group gave a firm commitment to remain focused on independent news coverage.[more]

It was "disturbing" that two journalists were prevented by police from leaving the scene after photographing President Jacob Zuma's Johannesburg home, so soon after another photographer was forced to delete pictures of the president's convoy, the Mail & Guardian said on Thursday. [more]

As much as one would like to stick to the role of a professional practitioner of journalism who makes a living rather than a killing from the job, the alarming turn of events pertaining to the Presidency of Nigeria and the unabashedly sinister sleight-of-hand being displayed by the Nigerian media presents a challenge all responsible Nigerian journalists neglect at their own and indeed the nation’s peril. [more]

Hurling abuse at media is not dealing with concerns: Those of us who willy-nilly hurl abuse at the South African media, accusing it of being anti-government or to put it bluntly, being anti- ANC, have surely learnt a thing or two from the international media.[more]

Ugandan media have denounced a proposed law that will allow the state to shut down newspapers and jail journalists for articles said to undermine national security as an attempt to purge critical voices ahead of elections next year.[more]

The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) and UC Berkeley Samuelson Clinic has documents that outline the use of social media by government agencies in investigations from the Internal Revenue Service and Department of Justice Criminal Division. These documents are being released through a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) case the organizations had filed jointly.[more]

ANC Youth League president Julius Malema’s lawyer, Tumi Mokoena, told The Times today that he will appeal the ruling by the Equality Court that Malema was guilty of hate speech and harassment.[more]

The Islamic administrations of Balad-Hawo and Bardere towns in Gedo regions have detained the two Local FM radio reporters of Horn Afrik and Shabelle based in the Somali capital Mogadishu, witnesses and officials said on Wednesday.[more]

South African journalists — at least some of them — can hold their heads up high and stop flagellating themselves. Something has revived in at least some of our media — the fighting spirit that is essential to keeping our country’s leaders on their toes.[more]

Groups of professional journalists around Africa have criticised Uganda’s draft press law, saying it would make it even harder to practice independent journalism. [more]

Yotam Feldman, the Israeli journalist who was arrested in Egypt while trying to infiltrate the border into Israel together with Africa migrants, was questioned by the Egyptian military prosecutor's office, and may be tried by the country's military tribunal, an El-Arish security official told the AFP.[more]

A Chief Economist of World Bank's Africa Region, on Monday said the passage of the Right to Information (RTI) Bill together with media support could help curb "quiet corruption" in the country. [more]

Newsroom and journalists in Rwanda's capital, Kigali are on tenterhooks after President Paul Kagame made new accusations of their supposed involvement in a bomb attack in Rwanda, writes Dennis Itumbi for journalism.co.za. [more]

A day after the media and human rights activists denounced the proposed Press and Journalists (Amendment) Bill, 2010, as an attempt by the to suppress the freedom of the press; MPs have said they will reject the Bill when it comes to Parliament.[more]

A South Sudan-based media rights watchdog says journalists there are facing increasing intimidation and harassment before landmark national elections scheduled to begin on April 11th.[more]

A South African court has found the president of the ruling African National Congress (ANC) party's Youth League, Julius Malema, guilty of hate speech for comments he made concerning a woman who accused President Jacob Zuma of rape. Malema was ordered to make an unconditional public apology within two weeks and give 50,000 rand to a centre for abused women.[more]

President Jacob Zuma should be grateful to Stephen Robinson. The British columnist's now infamous diatribe against him as a "sex-obsessed bigot" and a "vile buffoon" served to remind him that the tone of some media commentary in the outside world can be less than civilised.[more]

UNIONS are calling for meetings with SABC management to discuss the fate of SABC International staff whose operations are to be dramatically scaled down from next month. This will leave only a small group to set up the broadcaster’s new 24-hour domestic news channel. [more]

It was a case of giving a voice without having a voice. That is how working journalists in South Africa were described in the past, but that is about to change as the Professional Journalists' Association (ProJourn) is officially launched.[more]

The Press and Journalist Bill, 2010, which the information ministry is proposing, has been called unconstitutional. [more]

Despite being the latest target of attacks and ridicule by Zanu PF, exiled media outlets have become the reliable sources of news after the closure of vibrant independent newspapers by the previous Robert Mugabe government, a media survey by the Zimbabwe All Media Products Survey (ZAMPS) has revealed.[more]

The chairman of the International Union for African Journalists (UIJA), Lanciné Camara, Friday in Paris, France, urged Niger's ruling Supreme Council for Restoration of Democracy (CSRD) to guarantee full liberty for the press during the nation's transition period.[more]

The ANC’s youth wing is employing bullying tactics to intimidate journalists into not exposing the business dealings of its president, Julius Malema, according to a report in City Press.[more]

Swaziland has launched a Communications Commission Draft Bill 2009 to regulate the broadcasting sector in the southern African country, the Media Institute of Southern Africa (MISA) reported Saturday.

[more]

Undeterred by the government's refusal to reg ister the Media Complaints Commission (MCC) as their self-regulatory framework, the media in Swaziland have resolved to appeal to the country's Information Minister for intervention, the Media Institute of Southern Africa (MISA) said.[more]

Currently a debate is raging, both in Namibia and South Africa, regarding the plans of DStv to implement a channel showing pornographic movies. Indeed, reports had it that the debate within DStv itself was not so much whether to show porn or not, but the precise nature of the material (so-called ‘soft’ or ‘hard’ porn content) and the times it could most safely be broadcast.[more]

Parliament on Wednesday night passed the Zambia National Broadcasting Corporation (ZNBC) Amendment Bill to the second reading after a heated debate between the Government and opposition members of Parliament (MPs).[more]

With the countdown to April 2, 2010, when the exalted position of the Executive Vice Chairman (EVC) of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) will be officially declared vacant, interest as to who occupies the position have risen to its peak.[more]

Onuoha Ukeh, editor of ‘Saturday Sun,’ takes a holistic view of the Nigerian media industry and concludes, in this interview with Reporter, Ifeoma Meze, that passion and ability to write remain the fundamentals for any journalist that aspires to excel in the profession. Excerpts: [more]

The media fraternity and human rights activists have rejected the proposed Press and Journalists (Amendment) Bill, 2010, in which the State plots to muzzle the freedom of the press.[more]

The Press and Journalists (Amendment) Bill, 2010, which is now before Cabinet, should worry any person interested in democracy and freedom in Uganda. [more]

The Press and Journalists (Amendment) Bill, 2010, which is now before Cabinet, has raised concern among journalists. While we respect the right of the Government to amend laws, we are dismayed at the letter and spirit of this Bill. [more]

Spending three hours with President Robert Mugabe will always be an eye-opener because very few people have had an opportunity to get inside the mind of a man considered to be one of Africa’s worst dictators. It was at the rare meeting with editors from all media houses in the country that Mugabe revealed that he had once assured a hesitant Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai at one of their meetings during the arduous negotiations that led to the formation of the unity government a year ago that “I also eat what you eat.”[more]

Radio Zimbabwe presenter Godfrey Gweje has been suspended from the station for making “politically subversive” statements. The presenter is said to have made negative comments about the paltry civil servants allowances which did not go down well with authorities at the station.[more]

Mityana: The Forum for Democratic Change has announced that it has bought two existing radio stations following a government decision to deny the party a licence to set up its own. The decision to buy the radio stations was taken by FDC National Executive Committee, the highest decision-making organ of the party.[more]

Advertising Standard Panel (ASP) of the Advertising Practitioners Council of Nigeria (APCON) has threatened to sanction print media organizations who fail to abide by the agency's code of practice by publishing unregistered adverts in their various organizations.[more]

This week, Nairobi hosts a Pan-African media jamboree which will bring together heavyweights from different professions.[more]

Why it is that African countries have to go through the painful and expensive exercise of convincing the so-called first world that South Africa, in particular, is ready and capable of hosting the Fifa World Cup?[more]

At long last! We are glad the Herald now knows the media have a duty to promote unity among Zimbabweans and not foster hatred by carrying falsehoods and propaganda that poisons the mind. “We agree with the president that the media can play a key role in promoting national unity, reconciliation and healing and ought to respond positively to that call,” the Herald said in an editorial on Monday.[more]

An East African Perspective: Recent attacks against one another in the local media have caused me to wonder what we in the media are up to when we start accusing one another of all sorts of sins and labelling one another propagandist, pro-government or anti-reformists in our society. [more]

Television audience measurement firm AGB Nielsen said it was not ideal for state- owned entities to handle technology related to broadcasting, because their structures were not equipped to keep up with global trends, writes Chantelle Benjamin in Business Day.[more]

In Govt published Herald: The recent call for media objectivity and promotion of unity by President Mugabe has obviously been embraced positively by many, and we need to look at the current state of the media in Zimbabwe if we are going to make an informed follow up to the President's call.[more]

The telecoms and broadcasting regulator has issued a discussion document aimed at implementing a regulatory framework for internet protocol television (IPTV).[more]

Media freedom is not only a fundamental right but also a basic necessity for a multi-party democracy to thrive and blossom. President Robert Mugabe was dead right last Thursday when he told editors from various stables of the need for an open media if the inalienable right to a free press is to be upheld.[more]

A parliamentary commission hopes to reconcile tensions between the government and the media with specific recommendations, commission co-ordinator Jamal Eddine Naji said Tuesday March 9th at a press conference in Rabat. [more]

Minister of Information and Communications Professor Dora Akunyili has blamed the high rate of death amongst journalists on stress that they undergo Mondays through Sundays and insufficient salaries. [more]

Average citizens are using the Internet and mobile phones to fight violence, and the movement is set to grow. That was the message of a two-day London summit in which social media activists from around the world met to explore ways the Internet and mobile technology tools can be used to combat violent extremism.[more]

Cameroon today has over two hundred political parties that are all in quest of political space. Yet, as the years go by, the political landscape in the country grows duller and uninspiring with little field demonstration of what the political leaders are up to. Scores of illuminating political leaders emerge during electoral period and quickly go into oblivion soon after elections.[more]

The FIFA World Cup in South Africa has been at the receiving end of hostile publicity from the Western media, but the media in Africa can dilute such negatives by jealously guarding the tournament through objective reporting.[more]

This past week hasn't been great for the reputation of the aid world. Media reports have alleged misuse of aid in Somalia, Ethiopia, Afghanistan and El Salvador on a fairly grand scale. [more]

Global media and communications research company InterMedia Tuesday launched 'AudienceScapes' (http://www.audiencescapes.org), a multi-platform communication resource intended to support and improve international development efforts and outcomes.[more]

Google CEO Eric Schmidt revealed the Middle East and North Africa region is the company's fastest growing region in the world, in terms of the number of users and revenue generated.[more]

On March 19 and 20, the Nation Media Group and the Africa Media Initiative will hold easily the most high profile African media conference ever witnessed on this fair continent (http://panafricamedia2010kenya.com). [more]

The government owned media outlet, ORINFOR, has been called upon to establish the needs of the audience it serves by conducting an audience survey.[more]

Patriotic Front (PF) president Micheal Sata has sued the Times of Zambia for libel. Mr Sata has also applied for an interim injunction to restrain the newspaper and its servants or agents from publishing any defamatory words concerning him.[more]

The Department of Communications’ long-awaited policy on the national radio frequency spectrum would be presented to the Cabinet today after it was approved in draft form by a Cabinet committee last week, director-general Mamodupi Mohlala said yesterday.[more]

The employees of the closed Central Broadcasting Services (CBS) radio station have argued that the station was only used to mobilise people to attend the function of the Kabaka of Buganda in Kayunga, but not to cause violence. [more]

Malawi government is reported to have stopped advertising in one of the country's private media house Nation Publications Limited. Media reports in the southern African nation say that the Malawi government has ordered all its departments and other partners to stop advertising in the newspaper.[more]

If, like me, you listen to the Beeb (that’s slang for the BBC if you didn’t know) every night, these are some of the headlines you expect to hear as soon as you switch on the radio: “Three Marines dead in Iraq”…. “Israel is building more settlements in the West Bank… “The US Health Care Bill is being filibustered”…“Somali pirates highjack an Italian registered freight ship”.[more]

On the occasion of the celebration of the 15th International Women's Day, observed worldwide Monday, the Union of media workers in Benin (SYNAPROMEB) seized the occasion to pay tribute to Beninese female media workers for their contributions to the revival of the press in their country.[more]

The International Women Media Foundation (IWMF) has paid tribute to the media for highlighting success stories of women in agriculture since the introduction of the training programme last year.[more]

New broadband users across the Middle East and North Africa expected to add nearly $600m to market revenue base.[more]

President Yahya Jammeh says he will kill human rights workers in Gambia. He now holds a Nigerian on 'false information' charges[more]

The newly-elected president general of the Democratic Party, Mr Norbert Mao, used his two-day tour of Masaka to turn his guns on Mr Museveni and his thorny relation with Buganda.[more]

Harare — For well over three hours last Thursday, President Mugabe spoke to editors of local media houses about the progress the inclusive Government has made in its first year.[more]

I hope I never become one of those “former editors” who complain all the time about how poor journalism is “today” and, by implication, how good it was when they were around. I’m proud to be a hack. I’m proud of all the hacks in the country. Almost everything we know about the rot in SA is because of journalists and opposition politicians. It doesn’t matter whether you’re in print or on radio, TV or the internet — journalism makes this country a better place.[more]

SABC board member Clare O'Neil has been appointed by its fellow board members - at the recommendation of CEO Solly Mokoetle - to provide expanded oversight of the corporation's sales and marketing activities.[more]

The Zambia Union of Journalists (ZUJ) has urged women in the country to persevere and break barriers people might put to inhibit their professional progression.[more]

The decision to appoint SABC board member Clare O’Neil to oversee the broadcaster’s troubled sales and marketing division has been met with opposition from experts in the media sector and unions.[more]

Malawi's The Nation Publications group has published a two-page statement claiming to have evidence of a government directive withdrawing all official advertising from the company's titles, writes Sam Makaka for journalism.co.za.[more]

South African officials would not say on Tuesday whether ransom money was paid in order to free captured SuperSport sound engineer Nick Greyling from his Nigerian captors. [more]

The most visible face of digital media in Africa today is the mobile phone. And a range of infrastructural developments are emerging to ensure a widespread rise of broadband mobile communications.

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Luanda – The Angolan minister of Social Communication, Carolina Cerqueira, Monday in Luanda, encouraged the women journalists to improve the sector, by helping identify the problems and eliminate stereotypes.[more]

Lagos — Veteran journalist, Dr. Isa Momoh, is currently a lecturer at Lagos Business School and a Director at the Public Relation Unit of Kwara State University. In this interview with EMMA MADUABUCHI, Senior Correspondent, he lists the importance of Financial Analysis for every media practitioner, as well as the responsibility of the industry to the journalist, the publisher and the general public.[more]

Parliamentary reporters for the government owned Daily News have been instructed not to cover outspoken Selebi-Phikwe West Member of Parliament (MP), Gil Saleshando and his son, Dumelang, The Monitor has been reliably informed. [more]

A move by the Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (Icasa) to regulate the highly lucrative business of sports broadcasting rights came closer to policy last week as the deadline for submission on Icasa's "preliminary findings and conclusions" closed on Friday.[more]

In an open rebuke to Media, Information and Publicity secretary George Charamba who has been frustrating the licensing of new players in the newspaper publishing sector, President Robert Mugabe has told the Zimbabwe Media Commission (ZMC) to get on with its mandate of opening up the media space. [more]

South Africa's ‘excessive' media ownership and control at the hands of a very few players continues to be the main topic of discussion in political, media, civil society and academic circles, with some calling for an urgent intervention to regulate what they see as a ‘selfish' and ‘slow-transforming' industry.[more]

An edition of the BBC World Service programme Assignment, alleging that money intended for famine relief in Ethiopia in the mid-1980s was used to buy weapons, has prompted an angry response from aid campaigners.

Andrew Whitehead, Editor, News and Current Affairs at the BBC World Service, explains how the story came about.[more]

The press is vital in pushing for socio-economic and political development. It can serve, to an extent as an alternative to what we normally would refer to ‘representative government’ even as submitted by William T. Stead in his concept on ‘Government by Journalism’, notwithstanding Walter Lippman’s counter argument that the press can not serve as an alternative to institutions.[more]

Being a columnist in South Africa is like being a sweetie thief in kindergarten. There is such a smorgasbord of venality, stupidity and greed on display week after week to choose from[more]

Radio phone-ins and the press across South Africa were dominated last week by British newspapers' assault on President Jacob Zuma during his visit to London and on criticism of World Cup preparations.[more]

The Angolan minister of Social Communication, Carolina Cerqueira, visited on Thursday the premises of “Edições Novembro” publishing house, to introduce herself to the employees and learn about the working conditions in that public media organ.[more]

In Govt published Herald: It had been 10 years since the President played host to such a large number of local journalists. The date was March 4 2010 and the setting was his official Zimbabwe House residence.[more]

President Robert Mugabe on Thursday did what he should have done a long time ago: holding a no-holds barred meeting with editors at Zimbabwe House. The roundtable meeting was refreshing and should be a constant feature on the presidential calendar.[more]

The media in Zambia has stepped up preparations for the forthcoming World Press Freedom Day celebrations scheduled for May 3 with a call for unity among stakeholders.[more]

Freetown — Madam Chairman and Commissioners of the Independent Media Commission, Minister of Information and Communication representing His Excellency the President, other Ministers of Government, Chief Executive Officer and other staff of Zain, which I should add is the oldest surviving mobile phone company in Sierra Leone, Members of the Diplomatic and Consular Corps, fellow journalists especially entrants for this year's awards, distinguished ladies and gentlemen, good evening.[more]

Johannesburg - Some British media had by Thursday toned down their controversial coverage of President Jacob Zuma's first UK state visit, but instead turned on him for breaches of protocol and royal etiquette.[more]

Zanzibar now has its first community radio, to foster civic education, democracy and promote reconciliation, thanks to the United Nations, writes Dennis Itumbi for journalism.co.za.[more]

The Chief Justice of the Gambia was invited by the Young Journalists Association to preside over the opening of their training programme on media laws. The chief Justice did accept the engagement. It is important to share with the readers what he said to the Journalists.[more]

The Press Association of Zambia (PAZA) has proposed that the public interest disclosure Bill (protection of whistle blowers) should include protection of media practitioners because they are key figures in the fight against corruption.[more]

Harare – Zimbabwean civic society on Wednesday appealed for protection from President Robert Mugabe and Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai’s unity government in the wake of rising threats and harassment of human rights activists by state security agents.[more]

Harare — Econet Wireless Zimbabwe has extended the free "call me back" service to its Buddie subscribers, the latest customer-focused innovation to come from the country's largest cellular operator.[more]

Freetown — For the first time in the 38-year history of SLAJ, the association this week started a comprehensive training needs assessment of journalists in the country. The first phase of the programme kicked-off yesterday at the conference hall of SLAJ headquarters in Freetown and continues today March 3.[more]

The Nigerian broadcasting market is one of the toughest in Africa where there is plenty of competition for tough markets. The pioneer of private broadcasting in Nigeria is Galaxy CEO Steve Ojo who runs a company that encompasses studios and a Nollywood producer and distributor. Russell Southwood spoke to Steve Ojo at DISCOP 3 in Dakar last week.[more]

The Press Association of Zambia (PAZA) has proposed that the public interest disclosure Bill (protection of whistle blowers) should include protection of media practitioners because they are key figures in the fight against corruption.[more]

Owerri — Peace has finally returned to Imo State Council of Nigerian Union of Journalists, NUJ, following the unconditional acceptance of the peace moves by one of the principal actors and State Correspondent of Business Day, Mr. Christian Nwokocha.[more]

The SABC is to enter into mediation with 1800 employees and pensioners today in a bid to avoid a lengthy court case over its decision to stop paying its portion of medical aid contributions.[more]

The Lagos State Council of Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) plans to establish a microfinance bank to guarantee a secured future for both serving and retired journalists. [more]

Maputo — The Mozambican government is studying the best options for digital broadcasting which must be adopted by 2015.[more]

South Africa television is being held back by the power of the incumbents to prevent change. A couple of years ago we were looking at the possibility of new pay-TV broadcasters challenging MultiChoice’s monopoly. There was a flurry of applications, a few were granted, and the market looked like it was opening up. In particular, there was the promise of cheaper options to MultiChoice’s costly one-size-fits-all model.[more]

The Independent Communications Authority of SA, Icasa, is not helping to open up the pay-TV market, writes Anton Harber in Business Day. MultiChoice has proved able and willing to throw considerable resources into defending the territory it controls against new entrants. [more]

The Lagos State Council of Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) plans to establish a microfinance bank to guarantee a secured future for both serving and retired journalists. [more]

The Broadcasting Complaints Commission of South Africa (BCCSA) has dismissed public complaints about a risqué Cape Town-based reality documentary series, citing the broadcaster's right to freedom of expression.[more]

Three journalists working for African pay tv sports channel SuperSport were abducted by gunmen on Monday near Owerri, in eastern Nigeria, although one escaped yesterday.[more]

Bloemfontein - The Citizen is considering a possible appeal to the Constitutional Court against a Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA) decision in favour of Robert McBride, the newspaper said on Tuesday.[more]

The government-controlled New Vision newspaper has accused the now closed Buganda CBS radio of promoting genocide, and likened it to the notorious Radio TV Milles Collines that participated in the Rwanda genocide.[more]

Human Rights Writers’ Association of Nigeria, HURIWA, has tasked the Inspector General of Police Mr. Ogbonna Onovo and the Police Service Commission to ensure that all the Owerri-based operatives of the Nigeria Police who interloped into the Federal Capital Territory and abducted the Abuja-based journalist, Mr. Maximus Uba to Imo State are prosecuted, for breaching the fundamental human rights of freedom from arbitrary arrest and abduction enshrined in chapter four of the 1999 constitution.[more]

Radio France, Radio France International (RFI), RTL and the newspaper La Croix informed on wednesday that the togolese government refused to provide visas to the journalist, who were chosen to cover the election in the west african country.[more]

Lesotho has established a universal access fund to expand broadcasting and telecommunications services, writes Mzimkhulu Sithetho for journalism.co.za.[more]

My people, I am very confused. Is Africa a country? Here is what respected New York Times columnist, Thomas Friedman wrote in one of his columns: “Walking through the Olympic Village the other day, here’s what struck me most:

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A South African sports journalist and two Nigerian colleagues have been kidnapped in Nigeria's restive oil-producing Niger Delta region, South African media reported on Tuesday.[more]

The Buganda Kingdom is now running two weekly newspapers, in a move that media observers say is a replacement for the Central Broadcasting Services (CBS) radio station shut down in September last year, writes Dennis Itumbi for journalism.co.za. [more]

Some four years ago, the information communication technology (ICT) policy was launched with the hope of making ICT accessible to a broader community, even in the rural areas. [more]

Following its closure precipitated by the 2009 September riots, inciting the masses into committing genocide besides abusing the President of Uganda are some of the accusations labelled at CBS- the radio run by the Buganda Kingdom in Mengo. [more]

Bloemfontein - The Citizen is considering a possible appeal to the Constitutional Court against a Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA) decision in favour of Robert McBride, the newspaper said on Tuesday.[more]

I was rather hoping Robert McBride would go and crawl under a rock somewhere. Upon hearing he was tipped for a top job in the Northern Cape I idly wondered if he might disappear down Kimberley’s great hole.[more]

MEDIA Owners in Rwanda are disputing the results of an audience survey that has placed state radio as the biggest in terms of listenership, writes Dennis Itumbi for journalism.co.za.

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AT LEAST three senior staff of the South African Broadcasting Corporation’s (SABC’s) commercial enterprises division are expected to be suspended in the next two weeks, after the division’s head, Gab Mampone, was suspended last week.[more]

Human Rights Writers’ Association of Nigeria, HURIWA, has tasked the Inspector General of Police Mr. Ogbonna Onovo and the Police Service Commission to ensure that all the Owerri-based operatives of the Nigeria Police who interloped into the Federal Capital Territory and abducted the Abuja-based journalist, Mr. Maximus Uba to Imo State are prosecuted, for breaching the fundamental human rights of freedom from arbitrary arrest and abduction enshrined in chapter four of the 1999 constitution.[more]

The media blitz in the Western and American press against Nigeria which is an age – long practice assumed a frightening dimension recently following the unfortunate December 25, 2009 incident in which a Nigerian child adopted by the West attempted to blow up a plane in the United States. [more]

BULAWAYO — The Zimbabwe Union of Journalists plunged deeper into a crisis yesterday when another election, described as a “sham” by journalists was held in Bulawayo yesterday. Dumisani Sibanda was re-elected president of ZUJ, almost three months after his initial victory was set aside.

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The Media Council of Tanzania (MCT), has started working on modalities on media monitoring before the forthcoming General Election in October. [more]

NAMIBIA’S Constitution defines us as a democratic society which should be practising tolerance and non-discrimination and subscribing to the principles of press freedom, but increasingly the actions of various political parties and their leaders are exhibiting the contrary.[more]

British ambassador to Malawi asked government media to desist from lacing negative government issues with 'kid gloves'. Commissioner Fergus Cochrane-Dyet was speaking when the local media watchdog, the Media Council of Malawi (MCM), sensitized stakeholders on its new set of Accreditation Policy and Procedures and Press Card Scheme in the capital Lilongwe.[more]

Mobile phone-based money transfer and banking solutions have been recognised as the avenue to take banking services to people outside the formal financial industry.[more]