05 January 2009
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“We are victims of a vindictive justice”
 Why was the leading Moroccan Arabic-language daily Al Massae recently handed fines of almost 600 000 euros, jeopardizing its entire existence? Who was behind the attack on Rachid Nini, publisher of the newspaper, in the Rabat train station in February 2008? These are questions that Nini is trying to find answers to. In an interview with APN, he paints a bleak picture of the situation for Moroccan newspapers, caught between a vindictive justice system and threats by politicians. More
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17 December 2008
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The Disparate History of the Independent Press in Mauritania
 "There are some newspapers who try more or less to meet certain minimal professional standards. Though, four out of five of these new publications respect a few, or more frequently none of the journalistic rules. Depending on uncertain information, blackmail, corruption, defamation, and spreading rumours as sources of information, the press is very often written in a mediocre way," says Mauritanian journalist Lemine Ould M. Salem when commenting on the independent press and its challenges in an interview with the African Press Network.More
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11 December 2008
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New Arab Magazine Reclaims Bodily Expressions
 Breaking the taboo of rape in Egypt, foot fetishism, homosexuality in Lebanon, self-mutilation, cannibalism and the life of Syrian lingerie are among the subjects to be covered in the first issue of Jasad, a new quarterly magazine that wants to serve as a platform for bodily expressions, both erotic and non-erotic, for people throughout the Arab world. APN spoke to editor Joumana Haddad, who is also the editor of the culture section of the Lebanese An-Nahar daily and a poet.More
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09 December 2008
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"Bloggers enjoy a much greater freedom than journalists"
 Blogs cannot replace newspapers, but in the Arab world, where the state controls much of the press, their place as a forum for free debate is unequalled, according to Wadih Tueni, head of new technologies for the Lebanese daily An-Nahar. More
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06 December 2008
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The Tragic Decline of Tunisian Media
 "In the past, Tunisia made huge efforts to invest in journalism education. Unfortunately, the people who benefited from those efforts have been gradually prevented from serving their country according to the basic rules of journalism and ethics. Scores of skilled and honest journalists have been silenced and forced to leave their job or the country," says Kamel Labidi, one of the many Tunisian journalist who chose exile to preserve his freedom and to be able to denounce the abuses of the Tunisian regime. In an interview with the Arab Press Network, Labidi talks about the pressure he faced in Tunisia as well as the situation of journalists in the country today. More
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06 January 2009
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First Speakers Announced for World Newspaper Congress
Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has agreed to open the World Newspaper Congress, World Editors Forum and Info Services Expo 2009, the global summit meetings of the world's press, to be held in Hyderabad, India, from 22 to 25 March next. The events, organised by the World Association of Newspapers and hosted by the Indian Newspaper Society, are expected to draw 2,000 newspaper publishers, managing directors, CEO, chief editors and other senior newspaper executives at a time when the global financial crisis is putting additional pressure on advertising-dependent media. More
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05 January 2009
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"Shame on This Newspaper"
The publication of a quarter page advertisement in the Egyptian pro-government daily Rosa Al Yousef defaming Tunisian press freedom and human rights activist Sihem Bensedrine has created an outcry among Egyptian rights organisations. "Publishing this Tunisian advertisement is another backward step for this newspaper, which has previously included stories celebrating fictional human rights achievements in the country. Yesterday's article however crossed the line in attacking a woman who is struggling with her colleagues against the brutal suppression machine of Tunisia," the groups said in a statement. More
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04 January 2009
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Reporting the Gaza Attacks
While US media are playing down the Israeli attacks on Gaza, media elsewhere report in a far more balanced way, including in Israel where the highly respected Haaretz newspaper questions the ongoing attacks. Greg Mitchell, editor of Editor & Publisher, looks at the reporting in an opinion piece for The Huffington Post. More
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28 December 2008
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Petition in Support of Bush Shoe Thrower
The Doha Centre for Media Freedom has launched a petition in support of Muntazer Al-Zaidi, the Iraqi journalist who threw a shoe on President Bush in early December. The press freedom organisation calls for a fair trial for Al-Zaidi and that his physical safety is guaranteed. Reports claim that the journalist has been beaten up while in custody, with a broken arm and ribs as well as injuries to his eye and leg. More
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18 December 2008
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WAN Protests Against Jordan’s Expulsion of Free Press Advocate
The World Association of Newspapers has condemned the expulsion of Egyptian free press advocate Gamal Eid from Jordan, where he was to take part in organisational meetings for a training course for journalists. Mr Eid, Executive Director of the Arabic Network for Human Rights Information, was detained for six hours, prevented from entering Jordan, and deported to Egypt on 15 December. He arrived in Jordan from Beirut, Lebanon, after participating in WAN's Arab Free Press Forum. More
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16 December 2008
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Pakistan Editor Awarded Golden Pen of Freedom
Najaam Sethi, editor-in-chief of Friday Times and Daily Times in Pakistan, has been awarded the 2009 Golden Pen of Freedom, the annual press freedom prize of the World Association of Newspapers. Mr Sethi, whose newspapers advocate liberal and secular ideas in a country too-often torn by religious extremism, was honoured for his outstanding defence and promotion of press freedom under difficult circumstances and constant personal danger. More
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15 December 2008
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World’s Press Calls for Press Freedom in Arab World
The World Association of Newspapers has condemned the absence of press freedom in much of the Arab world and has called on governments in North Africa, the Middle East and the Persian Gulf to end their repressive policies and release all imprisoned journalists, bloggers and freedom of expression advocates. More
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14 December 2008
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Opportunities and Challenges Facing Arab Newspapers
Egypt has 81 million people, but newspaper circulation is only 1 million daily. "This is really shameful, we should go up to three or four million at least. This is a national security issue as Egypt is rife with rumors. It must go up," said newspaper publisher Hisham Kassem when talking at the 3rd Arab Free Press Forum that took place on 12 and 13 December in Beirut, Lebanon.
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14 December 2008
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Tunisia Held in a Stranglehold
"He was right next to me. I looked left, I looked right, and he vanished. It was like the magician David Copperfield. All that was left of him was his suitcase." Human rights lawyer Mohamed Abbou was standing next to Naziha Rjiba in the Tunis airport on Wednesday as they prepared to board a plane to Beirut for the 3rd Arab Free Press Forum. Suddenly, he was gone. Ms Rjiba, editor of the Kalima online magazine and vice president of the Observatory for Freedom of the Press, Publishing and Creation in Tunisia, spoke about the latest attack on press freedom in Tunisia at the conference, taking place on 12 and 13 December in Beirut, Lebanon.
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13 December 2008
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Can Free Papers Find a Market in the Arab World?
"Hundreds of citizens call us every day asking us to publish their problems for which they don't find space in other newspapers," said Ahmed Nachatti, editor-in-chief of the Assada Almassala free daily in Morocco, who spoke at the 3rd Arab Free Press Forum on 12 and 13 December in Beirut. "So, through a new product, we try to reach everyone -- in bus stations, cafes, the small lanes, everywhere." More
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12 December 2008
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Beating the Censors
When Tunisian bloggers suspected that the presidential jet was being frequently used for personal business by friends and family of the president, they used airport records to track its travels and compared it to official government records. Only one of ten trips proved to be official. Using Google maps, the bloggers illustrated their findings by "following" the plane in a video that was posted on YouTube and could be viewed within Tunisia. This and many other testimonies of how bloggers distribute information in the Arab world were shared at the 3rd Arab Free Press Forum, taking place on 12 and 13 December in Beirut, Lebanon. More
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