Criticising Africa on rights is neo-colonialist...

CJA E-letter from the Commonwealth Journalists Association www.commonwealthjournalists.com Headquarters: c/o Canadian Newspaper Association, 890 Yonge Street Suite 200, Toronto ON, Canada M4W 3P4 President: Hassan Shahriar (Bangladesh) shahriar@bangla.net Vice-presidents: Chris Cobb (Canada) cobsun@magma.ca Doyin Mahmoud (Africa) doyinmahmoud@yahoo.co.uk Martin Mulligan (Europe) emsquared2002@yahoo.ie Florence Yii (Asia and Pacific) info@intimes.com.my Executive director: Bryan Cantley bcantley@cna-acj.ca Newsletter editor: David Spark david.spark@o2.co.uk, who would like to hear from you. Views expressed in this newsletter are those of contributors, not the CJA The CJA thanks the Commonwealth Foundation for its financial support Issue No 29 October 2009 Page 2 Two journalists murdered; CJA presses Chogm on media freedom Page 3 ‘Democracy requires free media’ Page 4 Indian journalists accused of ignoring environment Page 5 Commonwealth talk-in in Delhi; Indian TV is 50 years old Page 6 Rural women’s paper wins award Page 7 South Asian media ‘unfair to women’; new CJA Sarawak chair Page 8 News from round the Commonwealth The CJA opens a window on the world The CJA’s new website, www.commonwealthjournalists.com, is now up and running, offering up-to-date Commonwealth news including news of journalism and media. Executive director Bryan Cantley writes: “This is a work in progress. It cannot be successful without the input of our executive committee and CJA members. The worst thing for a website is to be static. This is the CJA’s window on the world and needs to be current and relevant to everyone. If you have suggestions on how the website can be improved, please send them to cantleyb@commonwealthjournalists.com” Tamil writer’s 20-year sentence condemned The CJA has joined international media freedom organisations in condemning the 20 years’ hard labour imposed on popular Sri Lankan journalist J.S.Tissainayagam, a columnist for the Sunday Times. A Tamil, he was convicted of supporting terrorism and causing racial disunity. The disunity charge arose from Northeastern Monthly, a magazine critical of the government, which he briefly published in 2006. The court also decided that he had received money from the Tamil Tigers for his news website. But Reporters Sans Frontieres has established that the money came from a German aid project. Hassan Shahriar, president of the CJA, said he was shocked by the severity of the sentence. “We should all mourn the deprivation of a young man’s freedom over daring to exercise his right to freedom of expression and freedom of the press.” On August 31, Reporters Sans Frontieres and the Global Media Forum announced Tissainayagam as first winner of the Peter Mackler prize, for journalists of courage and professional integrity. Mackler was an editor at Agence France Presse. Two Commonwealth journalists murdered Two Commonwealth journalists were murdered in August-September. Siddique Bacha Khan, who worked for Aaj TV, was shot by unidentified gunmen in Mardan in Pakistan’s North-West Frontier Province where the government is fighting Taliban. Bayo Ohu, assistant news editor of a Nigerian daily, The Guardian, was shot as he got ready for church, by five men wearing long flowing robes and skullcaps. One shouted: ‘The fool is dead.’ Police suggested this was an armed robbery. But only a laptop and mobile phone were stolen. CJA pressing Chogm on media freedom The CJA will have four representatives at the Commonwealth Summit (Chogm) in Trinidad in November and will be pressing for the heads of government to advocate media freedom. Our four are president Hassan Shahriar, vice-president Chris Cobb, ex-president Murray Burt and UK chairman Rita Payne, In September a chink of light broke into the dark story of the persecution of journalists in some Commonwealth countries. Under international pressure, President Jammeh of The Gambia – ‘in the spirit of Ramadan’ – pardoned six journalists sent to prison for two years for criticising him. But he soon hit back again. Speaking to the UN General Assembly on September 21, he threatened to kill ‘saboteurs’ who co-operated with ‘so-called human rights defenders’. The Gambia Six were convicted for issuing a statement holding Jammeh’s government responsible for the murder of independent-minded Deyde Hydara in 2004. Hydara, editor of The Point, was shot by men travelling in a car without number plates, a characteristic of those used by government spooks. The Six included three officers of the Gambia Press Union and Pap Seini, Hydara’s successor at The Point. In his new book on Africa (Portobello Books 2008), Richard Dowden, director of the Royal Africa Society, notes that rising prosperity is giving Africans greater independence from their presidents. But he warns: “As western influence wanes in Africa, the whole democracy and human rights agenda backed by aid is being called into question.” In this context, President Jammeh told the UN General Assembly that western nations should not use the word dictator or criticise African states about human rights as that was neo-colonialist. The Gambia Six were victims of criminal and seditious libel laws which many people believe outdated but which some Commonweralth presidents find useful for stifling media criticism. President Museveni in Uganda has been using these laws liberally but they are being challenged in Uganda’s supreme court. Prominent independent Ugandan journalist Andrew Mwenda faces four such charges, covering sedition, incitement and promoting sectarianism. The most recent concerns a cartoon in Mwenda’s news magazine The Independent. It shows Museveni, after reappointing a controversial electoral commission, considering writing ghost-voters into the electoral roll. In the northern town of Gulu, a reporter for a leading independent paper, The Monitor, was charged with criminal libel in August. A Monitor photographer faces ‘criminal trespass’ charges for snapping an inspector-general outside a courthouse. A journalist and popular talk-show host, Kalundi Serumaga, faces six charges of sedition for remarks in a televised debate. Serumaga’s arrest was connected to a long-running struggle between Museveni and the Kabaka of Buganda, which exploded into violence in Kampala in September causing up to 21 deaths. Four radio stations were shut down. One has reopened. ‘Democracy requires free media’ This is an abridged article by CJA executive member Drito Alice, of Uganda Democracy and good governance cannot be proclaimed without a free press. A free press sustains healthy democracies by monitoring performance. The Commonwealth Journalists Association strongly believes that media should be free to perform their duties without state manipulation or corporate influence. Free and vibrant newspapers promote accountability and empower people to make informed decisions. At the same time, the media should not act like stray bullets, misinforming and inciting the public. Nor should they be hijacked by partisanship. Most of the time we see the state quick to pounce on the media when they make the slightest move to exercise their freedom. A gagged press indicates a failing state or an assault on democracy. Dictators masquerading as democratic leaders make the media landscape very challenging. According to the Freedom House Report 2009, only 17 per cent of the world’s population live in countries where there is press freedom. In Uganda, when one is about to believe there is media freedom, one realises there isn’t. Journalists are constantly targets for assault, harassment, arrest, detention, prosecution and imprisonment. According to one rights organisation, about 20 journalists face court charges, including defamation, sedition, uttering false documents, promoting sectarianism, inciting the public and being critical of the state. Four private FM radio stations were closed on September 10 and 11 by the Uganda Broadcasting Council, a government media-regulating body, following violence after the government stopped the King of Buganda visiting Kayunga district. The radios were accused of promoting sectarianism and lawlessness. Radio Sapientia later reopened after its management issued an apology and suspended some journalists. Over the past year or so, media houses have been raided by security men, switched off air for criticising the state, and set ablaze by thugs. Victimisation of journalists has been on the increase. A cabinet sub-committee was formed in 2008 to ‘tame’ the media. Coercion is reinforced by the rhetoric of soldier-turned-president Lieut-General Yoweri Kaguta Museveni. At a posh dinner he hosted in August in a five-star Kampala hotel he told radio investors and managers: “We did not shed blood for this kind of anarchy of radios. We will come out with something very serious.” In July he was reported as saying: “People are talking a lot of rubbish on these radios. They are very poisonous and this is unacceptable.” Under Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Uganda has an obligation to allow freedom of expression. Uganda has also ratified the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights, which provides for freedom of expression. The challenge for the media in Uganda is to take stock of what has gone wrong or right and demand freedom. This is in addition to cleansing media ‘sins’. The media fraternity need to identify their own best practices. Only when media freedom is top of the agenda in Commonwealth countries will free and pluralistic media prevail and the persecution of journalists end. Unfortunately many of us may not live to see it. Indian media accused of ignoring environment issues Top Delhi scribes spoke about the Commonwealth and the media in CJA India’s first panel discussion. S.Nihal Singh, presiding, wanted the media to concentrate on bread-and-butter issues. He regretted that sensationalist TV channels were compromising on objectivity. Malaysian High Commissioner Dato Sang Sung also wanted the media to focus on the day-to-day problems of ordinary people, not sensationalism. Tarun Basu, editor, Indo-Asian News Service, said very few people are aware of the Commonwealth’s relevance. The media have a role in creating awareness. Hari Jai Singh, editor, Power Politics, said the Commonwealth should emphasise the training of journalists. India has top class editors who can do training. The CJA can explore this. P.N.Vasanti, director, Centre for Media Studies, said that the media focus on politics, entertainment and sports. Most major papers and channels ignore environmental issues. Satish Jacob, formerly with BBC India, pointed to the changes taking place in the Himalayas. The CJA should focus on environment issues before the Commonwealth Games in India in 2010. There should be an effort to change the attitude of media planners to climate change. Sumit Chakraborty said agriculture was also neglected by the media. Documentary maker Suhas Borker said public broadcasting is the key to development but is neglected. Young journalist Ashirbad Raha noted that major newspapers ignored World Environment Day or resorted to once-a-year tokenism. Naina Ved thought the media looked for photo opportunities rather than espousing an issue. Summing up, the Governor of Sikkim, Balmiki Prasad Singh, called for effective rules for the media, and self-regulation. He wanted the media to make society more dynamic. “Democracy does not begin and end in periodic elections.” Speakers were thanked by Jayanta Roy Choudhury, CJA India’s secretary. Delhi great and good invited to Commonwealth talk-in CJA India has joined with the Royal Commonwealth Society to arrange a conversation, Commonwealth in 21st Century, in New Delhi on Tuesday October 27. Diplomats, academics, lawyers and environmentalists are among those invited. CJA president Hassan Shahriar will be there. Shyamal Dutta is also going from Bangladesh. The panellists, chaired by Sudhir T.Devare, director of the Indian Council of World Affairs, are High Commissioner A.T.Karim from Bangladesh, Acting UK High Commissioner Nigel Casey, journalist S.Nihal Singh and Dr Vibha Dhawan. The RCS director Dr Danny Sriskandarajah will also be attending. MAHENDRA VED 50 years on, Indian television finally comes of age AN old Ampex machine, now consigned to storage at Doordarshan, the state broadcaster, is the sole survivor of the equipment the Germans donated in 1959 to help India set up its first television studio. There was nothing political about it: the German technology was easily transferable, unlike the American version offered earlier. The advent of TV in India was late and slow compared to, say, Southeast Asia. Only Delhi had TV for the first 13 years. I first saw it in 1970. People of Mumbai and Kolkata waited till 1972. The real spurt came after TV went colour in 1982, in time for the Asian Games. Facing TV cameras live for the first time in 1977, I nervously waited to wet my parched throat as there was only one tumbler available. Much has changed since. Indian television has just turned 50. It has come of age, showcasing the social and economic transformation of a people from the Nehruvian era to the present day. The fast-growing middle class remains Doordarshan’s loyal audience, especially - thanks to its free satellite-TV service - in the rural areas where most people live, Inexplicably, there are no celebrations — not even long ministerial speeches at a glittering gala. Flashbacks about Doordarshan’s past are on numerous privately-run TV channels that have, over the years, weaned away its senior staffers and fed on soaps and tele-serials. Old programmes are being rerun or recalled with nostalgia. Doordarshan telecast serials based on the Hindu epics, Ramayana and Mahabharata. Made in the 1980s, they remain hugely popular to this day. Why, it also had the Bible as a serial, which even Hollywood and the Christian West have not attempted. To keep up with changing times, Doordarshan has retooled its programming, adding genres like musical contests to a line-up that is still dominated by high-minded, even if staid, cultural programming, in keeping with its mandate. In its footprint and its audience reach, it remains a counterweight to the private channels — over 300 of them. But the tragedy is that it remains lost for lack of proper direction. Since politicians will not give up their control and bureaucrats simply come and go, there seems no salvation for Doordarshan, says Dr N. Bhaskara Rao of the Centre for Media Studies. With private channels catering to the urban, even upper classes, there are virtually two Indias on TV. But that is democracy at work. Today, television is a huge industry and makes thousands of programmes, in a score of languages, in all the states of India. The small screen has produced numerous celebrities, some even attaining national fame and becoming lawmakers. Several small-screen actors have made it big in Bollywood. There is mushrooming growth of 24/7 news channels. It’s like opening a shop, since the investment is low for the clout it gives. A transponder on INSAT-4, the Indian satellite, is easy to obtain. Indian films, especially Bollywood’s flashy musicals and dramas, have grabbed plenty of attention in the West. But the lesser-known television business is more than twice as big, with an estimated US$3.4 billion in revenue in 2005, according to PricewaterhouseCoopers. TV is also starting to exert greater cultural influence. Family soaps are extremely popular with housewives as well as working women. Advertising spending on TV increased by 21 per cent annually, on average, from 1995 to 2005, when it reached US$1.6 billion, according to ZenithOptimedia, which tracks advertising globally. Such numbers are tempting to companies like News Corporation, Disney, Time Warner and Viacom, which are losing viewers and advertisers in their core Western markets. In addition to the domestic market, Indian TV is delivered via satellite and cable to the global South Asian diaspora. The current number of television households in India – 105 million - is about the same as in the United States, though for India that amounts to only about half of all households, compared with 98 per cent in the US. The Indian figure is nevertheless remarkable considering that 77 per cent of the population live on 20 rupees per day, and half are without electricity. The latest technology operates alongside the stark economic and social realities. Forty per cent of all TV sets in use are black-and-white. Since most homes with TV in India have just one set, watching brings together the entire family — even the neighbours mahendraved07@gmail.com Newspaper produced by rural women wins UN literacy award Your browser may not support display of this image. A newspaper produced entirely by women in rural India is among the four winners of this year's literacy prizes awarded by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization. It has won the King Sejong Literacy Prize, named after the king who created the Korean alphabet. The award includes $20,000. . Khabar Lahariya, a fortnightly distributed to more than 20,000 readers in 400 villages, is entirely created and marketed by newly literate low-caste women training as journalists in Uttar Pradesh, India’s most populous state. It was started by Nirantar, a centre for gender and education based in New Delhi and Uttar Pradesh. Its coverage includes politics, crime, social issues and entertainment. Publication began in May 2002 in Chitrakoot and a second edition was launched in the adjoining Banda district in October 2006. It is written in the local dialect India has 74,000 newspapers: Uttar Pradesh leads Your browser may not support display of this image. Bucking the global recession in the media, India, the world's most populous democracy, boasts 74,000 newspapers, Uttar Pradesh is the state with the most, 11,789, followed by Delhi with 10,066 and Maharashtra with 9,127. The government is trying to encourage more newspapers in the northeastern states, where it is also putting more money into broadcasting. South Asian media discriminate against women argues Pakistani TV journalist Samera Khokhar Women journalists in South Asia face discrimination because of their gender. Media have great potential to promote gender equality by portraying women and men in a balanced, non- stereotyped manner. But, until women can effectively participate in decision-making in communications and the mass media, they will continue to be misrepresented, marginalised and exploited. Our rights and freedoms can be acquired only through an organised struggle. Despite the influence of the Women"s Movement, women continue to be portrayed in stereotypical roles. Addressing South Asian Women in Media, Sheher Bano Khan said that the media hardly ever showed women working outside their homes. They were never depicted as venturing far by themselves or with other women. Rather, they were represented as dependent on men’s protection. They were found in advertisements for cleaning products, drugs, clothing and home appliances, whereas men advertised cars, travel, drinks, cigarettes, and banks. Males in the mass media have dominant, active and authoritative roles, while females are passive and subjugated News about women and their achievement in different walks of life should be highlighted. Media should try to portray women and men equally as experts and authorities and should give equal prominence to men’s and women’s achievement. The handicaps faced by women in the Pakistani media were discussed at a conference in Karachi in October. Caroline Jackson chairs CJA Sarawak Caroline Jackson now chairs CJA Sarawak, having taken over from Florence Yii in July. In a parting message, Florence said the branch had gone through tough moments but achieved its objective of fighting for the betterment of journalists in Sarawak. With the help of development agency AZAM, it had organised the eighth CJA international conference in Kuching last year. Caroline Jackson thanked Florence and the outgoing secretary Rosalind Yang for their work. New office bearers: vice chair Alice Wee; secretary Peter Sibon; assistant secretary Adeline Liong; treasurer Liu Chin Siu; assistant treasurer Aden Nagrace; committee Jack Wong, Bong Siak Boon, Rosalind Yang, Le Ngu Lim and William Chan. Florence Yii was co-opted as adviser. CJA Sri Lanka holds workshop for sub-editors Fifteen journalists attended a two-day workshop in August organised by the Sri Lankan branch of the CJA with the American Center (Colombo) and the Fulbright Commission. It was conducted by John Stifler from the University of Massachusetts. TV training in the Punjab Thirteen journalists attended a TV journalism seminar organised by the Rural Media Network Pakistan at Mubarakpur (Punjab) in August. Former information minister Senator Muhammad Ali Durrani presented them with TV training manuals in Urdu. News from round the Commonwealth BANGLADESH The Right to Information Act came into force in July. The International Press Institute, however, has criticised the breadth of information which will not be disclosed. CAMEROON Although he had done no filming, TV cameraman Freddy Nkoue was attacked by two policemen at Douala court house. He was there to cover a trial involving two politicians. THE GAMBIA West African justice ministers in October rejected a Gambian attempt to curb access to the court of Ecowas, the West African community. The court has before it an allegation that Musa Saidykhan, editor-in-chief of a banned Gambian paper, The Independent, was tortured during 22 days’ detention in 2006. He emerged from custody with scars on much of his body and his right hand broken in three places. INDIA Laxman Choudhury, a reporter for the daily Sambad, who had alleged police links with criminals, was arrested in Orissa on September 20 and held three weeks. He was accused of sedition because he had Maoist leaflets. These had been sent to him and other journalists in the post. A fellow journalist said: “The police wanted to teach him a lesson.” Police pretending to be reporters from a Singapore TV station arrested in September the leader of a West Bengal group called People’s Committee against Police Atrocities. Journalists protested in Chennai in October after B.Lenin, editor of the Tamil newspaper Dinamalar, was arrested and sentenced to 15 days without a hearing. The police acted on a complaint from an actors’ association. Dinamalar had reported that a film actress had been arrested on prostitution allegations. MALAWI Two Joy Radio presenters were cleared in September of broadcasting an election programme after the campaign period had ended. Joy, owned by ex-President Muluzi, had its licence revoked over the programme. But, also in September, the Supreme Court of Appeal awarded Joy about $100,000 for business lost when it was off air. MALAYSIA Staff of the Multimedia Commission grilled journalists from the independent website Malaysiakini for eight hours on September 8, over two videos related to the ‘cow’s head protest’. A mainly Muslim group dragged a cow’s head to a government office in a protest against relocation of a Hindu temple to their area. MALDIVE ISLANDS Despite the arrival of democracy and a new president, the Maldives is seeing some brushes between politicians and journalists. The chief executive of Dhi TV was summoned to the information department in July. The authorities were upset by live coverage of ex-President Gayoom at a police station. Opposition supporters were also upset. They assaulted a state TV reporter covering Gayoom’s visit. A few days earlier, ruling-party supporters assaulted Ahmed Zahir, editor of the daily Haveeru. MOZAMBIQUE Alfane Momade Antonio, who works for Nacala Community Radio, was badly beaten when he went to a Renamo (opposition) office on September 16 during the election campaign. NAMIBIA The Justice Minister, at a party rally in Northern Namibia in October, accused Gwen Lister, long-serving editor of The Namibian, of being a ‘a big snake in Namibia’. The minister complained that The Namibian reported only negative things like crime and baby-dumping and wrote bad things about founding president Sam Nujoma. (The Namibian played an important role in Namibia’s struggle for independence.) The Election Commission decided not to put election information in the widely-read Namibian. Since 2000, government agencies have been banned from advertising in it. The government in July sought to prevent media coverage of a controversial cull of sea seals. On July 17 two film-makers, a Briton and a South African, were fined $625 each for trespassing in a ‘prohibited’ area. NIGERIA The chief security man at Government House, Owerri, took off his shoe and beat Wale Oluokun of Radio Nigeria on September 16. Three others joined in. Oluokun, who had to be taken to hospital, had reported on a protest march by partially-sighted young people. He said this was his second beating by Government House security men. PAKISTAN Journalists are among Pakistanis on terrorists’ hit lists. Police in Sindh province have been ordered to ensure their safety there. Transmission of four TV channels was blocked during the Taliban attack on GHQ in Rawalpindi in October, although neither the army nor the broadcasting minister had asked for this. Geo TV said its coverage followed guidelines - objectors should have taken legal action, not arbitrarily stopped broadcasts. On October 16, the chairman of Pemra, the TV regulator, asked TV channels to avoid terrorism and gory scenes. Five senor executives appointed to Pakistan TV challenged in October Lahore court orders suspending their appointments. Other PTV employees had petitioned for the orders on the ground that the posts had not been advertised. The five in their challenge said that PTV had started hiring other people for the jobs, and many of the petitioners had applied for them. The Khyber Union of Journalists praised police in September for arresting kidnappers who held senior Peshawar journalist Javed Afridi for 25 days, demanding a big ransom. After being detained on reaching the United States, Rahman Bunairee of Voice of America was allowed in August to seek asylum there. His home in North West Frontier Province was blown up last month. Infuriated lawyers attacked journalists outside Lahore High Court in August and pelted TV vans with stones. SAMOA The Supreme Court in August dropped a criminal libel action against the Samoa Observer. SIERRA LEONE The Sierra Leone Association of Journalists is concerned at an Act passed in August which gives the president sole power to appoint the director-general of the state broadcasting corporation. The corporation will govern Sierra Leone Broadcasting and the United Nations Radio set up in the civil war. SINGAPORE Prime Minister Lee and his father, former prime minister Lee Kuan Yew, won another defamation action in the appeal court on October 7, this time against the Far Eastern Economic Review. The court upheld a summary judgment made by the high court without the case going to trial. It concerned an interview with an opposition politician. SRI LANKA Dileesha Abeysundera of the weekly Irudina complained of intimidation by an unidentified gang who banged on her gate around midnight on September 30. She had helped organise a meeting to oppose reactivation of the Press Councils Act which forces journalists to reveal sources and seek permission to criticise government ministries. Three journalists from Lanka Irida were detained under the Terrorism Act without charge in Southern Sri Lanka at the beginning of September. According to the state news agency, they had entered premises belonging to the President’s sister. SWAZILAND About 200 trainee prison officers attacked journalists from the Times of Swaziland and the Swazi Observer who were covering a celebration of the dismissal of terror charges against the president of a banned political party. The Media Institute of Southern Africa has criticised an information ministry proposal to set up a statutory media council rather than a system of media self-regulation. ZAMBIA The row over Post news editor Chansa Kabwela sending pictures of a woman giving birth in the street to ministers and officials took a new turn on August 31 when Post editor-in-chief Fred M’membe and a professor were cited for contempt of court. Prof Muna Ndulo had written an article calling the obscenity case against Kabwela a comedy of errors and criticising the handling of the case by President Banda and the police. A supporter of President Banda burst into Sky FM’s studios in Monze in August and smashed computers. He told listeners over the microphone he had acted because nothing had happened after a government spokesman said the station should be closed. President Banda promised in July to stop violence against journalists by his supporters. ZIMBABWE After a six-year battle, the Daily News has won – in principle – permission to resume publishing. In practice, it cannot get a licence until a new Zimbabwe Media Commission is set up. However, the media ministry has allowed a new state-owned paper, Harare Metro, to be launched. The Supreme Court on September 28 ended the case against former news-reader Jestine Mukoko, who was accused of sabotage and terrorism. She was abducted from her home in December 2008 and not produced in court for three weeks. The CJA’s executive committee Caroline Jackson South-East Asia Lance Polu Pacific Syed Belal Ahmed UK Newton Sibanda Southern Africa Alice Drito East Africa Mahendra Ved India Fauzia Shaheen Pakistan Farid Hossein Bangladesh Champika Liyanaarachchi Sri Lanka Co-opted members: Derek Ingram, Rita Payne, David Spark, UK; Pieter Wessels, Australia; Murray Burt, Canada Our thanks We once again thank our news sources including Canadian Journalists for Free Expression, the Centre for Independent Journalism (Malaysia), the Committee to Protect Journalists, the Freedom of Expression Institute (South Africa), the Free Media Movement (Sri Lanka), the Institute for War and Peace Reporting, the Inter American Press Association, the International Federation of Journalists, the International Freedom of Expression Exchange, International PEN, the International Press Institute, Journaliste en Danger (Africa), the Media, Entertainment and Arts Alliance (Australia), Media for Democracy in Nigeria, the Media Foundation for West Africa, the Media Institute (Kenya), the Media Institute of Southern Africa, Media Rights Agenda (West Africa), the Pacific Islands News Association, Pakistan Press Foundation, the Rural Media Network Pakistan, Reporters Sans Frontieres, the Southeast Asian Press Alliance and the World Association of Newspapers.

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