Entries for June 2006

Journalist Gordana Igric hopes to use journalism to help unite the Balkans, a region recovering from ethnic and sectarian war. Igric escaped from Belgrade during the Kosovo conflict in 1999 when the Serbian capital was under bombardment from NATO forces. Now, she frequently returns to the area to help manage the Balkans Investigative Reporting Network. Read the Women’s eNews article.

Frezer Negash, a correspondent for the U.S.-based Ethiopian Review website, was freed from custody March 10. No formal charges were filed, but Negash had been detained in Addis Ababa since Jan. 27. The case is still under investigation. The Ethiopian government launched a crackdown on the press last November following protests over the disputed May elections, resulting in the detainment of Negash and many other journalists. Read the CPJ alert.

Offices of La Región, a daily newspaper in Los Teques, Venezuela, were attacked with explosives March 8. No one was injured in the attack, though threatening pamphlets were left for La Región's editor and several other journalists. Read the CPJ alert.

Rosa Elvia Campos, a journalist for Co Latino newspaper in El Salvador, was assaulted March 9. Campos was wounded with a blunt object by a supporter of the Frente Democrático Revolucionario (Revolutionary Democratic Front) political party. She was seeking comments from city mayor Carlos Menéndez. Read the IFEX alert.

Eight journalists were recently selected to receive Alfred Friendly Press Fellowships in health reporting. The journalists -- from Cameroon, Czech Republic, Kenya, Malaysia, Nepal, Nigeria, Pakistan and Vietnam -- will be in the U.S. for six months to train at news organizations. The fellowships were created in 1983 by Alfred Friendly, a Pulitzer Prize winning reporter and former managing editor of The Washington Post. Visit the AFPF website.

Bhawana Prasain, a journalist for the monthly Majdur Aawaj, was released last week after being held since February 9. Prasain had been held illegally after taking part in a protest against King Gyanendra’s regime. Read the RSF report.

Article 19, a freedom of expression watchdog, has released studies of press freedom in Southeast Asia. Reports about media conditions in Cambodia, East Timor, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore and Thailand are available on the organization's website. Read the Article 19 reports.

On the third anniversary of the start of the war in Iraq, Reporters Without Borders paid tribute to the journalists and media assistants who have died there. Large photos of the three journalists currently held hostage in Iraq - Jill Carroll, Reem Zeid and Marwan Khazaal - were displayed during a ceremony in Paris. Read the RSF article.

Television journalist Marilú Gambini of Peru received a telephone death threat March 28 while covering a conference in Chimbote. Gambini, a reporter for TV Channel 31's "Confidencial" program, covers drug trafficking issues. She said she got a call from a woman who told Gambini she had only one week to live. Gambini was also harassed twice last year related to her work as a journalist. Read the IFEX alert.

Courses on HIV/AIDS will be required for students in their first year of study at the University of Nairobi in Kenya, announced vice chancellor George Magoha. The university's journalism school will offer short courses on HIV/AIDS and communication. Read the KBC story.

Two former winners of IWMF's Courage in Journalism Award were recently recognized by Georgetown University's Institute for the Study of Diplomacy. Anne Garrels, a 2003 Courage recipient and a foreign correspondent at National Public Radio, won the 2006 Edward Weintal Prize for International Reporting. In addition, CNN Chief International Correspondent Christiane Amanpour, a 1994 Courage winner, received a Lifetime Achievement Award for her career contributions to international reporting. Read the news release from Georgetown.

At least nine journalists were detained in Belarus on March 24 during a police crackdown following the country's presidential election. According to the Belarusian Association of Journalists, 17 Belarusian journalists have been jailed as a result of the election. In addition, six international journalists are being detained. Read the CPJ alert.

Anna Politkovskaya, a 2002 recipient of IWMF's Courage in Journalism Award, wrote an opinion piece for the April 1 edition of The Washington Post. In the piece, Politkovskaya, of Russia, writes about torture and "Islamic terrorism." She is a correspondent for the Moscow-based paper Novaya Gazeta. Read Politkovskaya’s piece in The Washington Post.

In a commentary for Women's ENews, Marlene Sanders examines the history of women's invovlement in nightly news programs and speculates about the impact of Katie Couric's move to CBS. Couric was a co-chair of IWMF's Courage in Journalism Awards in New York in 1998. Read the Women's eNews story. Read a transcript from the April 5 NewsHour with Jim Lehrer.

Venezuelan photographer Jorge Aguirre was shot and killed April 5 after approaching an anti-crime demonstration. Aguirre, 60, was a photographer for the newspaper chain Cadena Capriles, which publishes El Mundo and Ultimas Noticias. Read the CPJ alert.