In Election Year, Nigeria’s Press Feeling the Pressure

(Reuters/ Akintunde Akinleye)

A schoolgirl walks past campaign posters for Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan in Lagos. Journalists covering the election campaign say they are being attacked.

“Nobody is safe. Not the voter, not the journalist, not anybody!” The fears of Femi Adesina, president of the Nigerian Guild of Editors, is echoed by stakeholders and observers of Nigeria’s general election. Amid the tension in the run up to presidential and federal parliamentary elections on March 28, and governor and state parliamentary elections on April 11, journalists can be easy targets.

See the full story here: http://www.cpj.org/blog/2015/03/in-election-year-nigerias-press-feeling-the-pressu.php

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Islamic State Execute Local Journalist in Iraq’s Mosul

Islamic State militants are pictured in a video posted online (AFP)

#IslamicState

Local media reported that Ala Mazn Abdullah was sentenced to death for aiding journalists to escape to the Kurdistan Region.

Read the full article here: http://www.middleeasteye.net/news/islamic-state-execute-journalist-iraqs-mosul-445836834

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Paul Craig Roberts on Real Journalism vs. the Mainstream Media

Foreign Policy Journal

In the US, journalists lie for the government because they are patriotic, and their readers and listeners believe the lies because they are patriotic.

Last week in Mexico at the annual awards conference of the Club De Periodistas De Mexico I was given the International Award For Excellence In Journalism.  In my speech I emphasized that Truth is the country of real journalists. Unlike presstitutes, the loyalty of real journalists is to Truth, not to a government or corporate advertiser.

His speech is published in English and Spanish here. And you can read more about his article here: http://www.foreignpolicyjournal.com/2015/03/16/paul-craig-roberts-on-real-journalism-vs-the-mainstream-media/

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Mandarin Fluency Aids Reporters Working in China

 Photo: China Daily

It seems that speaking Mandarin is becoming more important for foreign reporters working in China, especially those attending a news conference with Premier Li Keqiang on Sunday.

See more at: http://news.asiaone.com/news/asia/mandarin-fluency-aids-reporters-working-china#sthash.XKbRnzI5.dpuf

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German Reporters With Foreign Roots Fight Racism in Theater

 (AP Photo/Oliver Krato)

In this Saturday, March 7, 2015 photo Deniz Yucel of German newspaper ‘taz’ wears a mask during the ‘Hate Poetry’ show in the Theaterlabor in Bielefeld, Germany. A troupe of German journalists with immigrant backgrounds have put together the traveling show “Hate Poetry” addressing cliches and racist prejudices by reading out the hate mail they’ve received from their readers.

The journalists, none of them professional actors, confront prejudice head-on in the show. But they also use irony, poking fun at the stereotypes by appearing on stage dressed like migrant workers from the 1960s or disguised as radical Islamists wearing caftans and face masks.

Read more about it here: http://abcnews.go.com/Entertainment/wireStory/german-immigrant-journalists-fight-racism-unusual-show-29687630

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Journalists Detained, Beaten in Democratic Republic of Congo

On Sunday, police detained about 30 individuals at a pro-democracy gathering in the capital, Kinshasa, according to news reports. Four foreign journalists, working for Agence France-Presse, the BBC, and the Belgian broadcaster RTBF, were briefly detained.

Read more about this development here: http://www.cpj.org/2015/03/journalists-detained-beaten-in-democrat.php

For more data and analysis on the DRC, visit CPJ’s DRC page here.

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