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Media Rights
Monitor September/October 2007 Vol I0 No. 1 |
FOCUS
Multi-Party Sponsorship
of the FOI Bill in the Senate Raises Hope of Quick Passage
Twenty-five Senators cutting across all the political parties in the
Senate are jointly sponsoring the Freedom of Information Bill in a
renewed effort to get it pass into law.
Full Story...
Writing,
Battered and Dying in the Line of Duty yet without pay
Nigerian journalists and media workers are spending times, energy,
efforts and even lives to enrich the bank accounts of their employers
who very often pay peanuts for salary, frequently choosing to delay or
even withhold their entitlements.
Full story...
INTERVIEW:
“Nigerian Media are
doing perfectly well but the greed of media owners won’t let them pay”
- Vice Chair, Lagos Council of the NUJ
NIGERIA
NPAN Calls on Government to
waive VAT on newspaper business, expedite passage of the FOI Bill
The Newspaper Proprietors' Association of Nigeria (NPAN) has called on
the Federal Government to exempt newspapers
and magazines from payment of value Added Tax (VAT) and duties on
newsprint as newspapers are globally regarded as educational materials
Full story...
Workers of the Broadcasting Corporation of Oyo State (BCOS) located in
Ibadan the Oyo State capital in South-west Nigeria, have petitioned Mr.
Mike Okiro, the Acting Inspector General of Police (AIGP) demanding
investigations into the violent attacks on its members on May 23, 2007
Full story...
African Waves Network Set to
Beam Africa Positively to a Global Audience
Efforts to beam quality information about Africa through uplink
satellite multi-channel services to a global audience received a boost
with the test transmission of the African Waves Networks (AWN).
Full story...
Media Chief Calls for
Review of Nigeria’s Media Laws
Dr. Tonnie Iredia, the Director-General of
the Nigerian Television Authority (NTA), has called for an overhaul of
all relevant Nigerian laws that affect
the operation of the media and practice of journalism in Nigeria
Full story...
The Sun
Newspaper Challenges the Constitutionality of its Forfeiture
The Sun Publishing Limited, publishers of The Sun newspapers titles is
in court contesting the forfeiture of its assets and accounts to the
federal Government following the interim order of forfeiture granted the
Economic and financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) by a Federal High Court
in Abuja.
Full story...
Journalists Elected,
Appointed Policy makers
As the nation’s democratic experience grows gradually and begins to be
consolidated, the rough edges not withstanding, more journalists have
been elected and some appointed into policy making positions in the
present political dispensation in Nigeria.
Full story...
AFRICA
Africa
Freedom of Information Centre Launched, Coordinator Appointed
A network of Freedom of Information advocates in Africa announced on
September 28, 2007, the launch of a regional Centre in Lagos to
galvanize the campaign for the adoption of access to information laws on
the continent. Mr. Babatunde Oluajo was thereafter appointed its
Coordinator.
Full Story...
President Robert
Mugabe of Zimbabwe in August signed the Interception of Communications
Bill into law In the Southern African nation, thus further restricting
political freedoms, economic independence and human rights, including
the right to freedom of expression and media freedom.
Full story...
In a bid to improve the circulation of press releases relating to Africa
among journalists, Panafrican Press Association (APPA) recently launched
a database named “APPA-SOURCE- The African News Source”. It is the first
ever data-base of press releases available to journalists writing on
African issues.
Full story...
WORLD
Journalist Wins Fight to
Protect Source in the United Kingdom
A freelance journalist's marathon legal battle to protect a confidential
source has finally ended in victory, reports the International
Federation of Journalists (IFJ).
Full Story...
AWARDS & FELLOWSHIPS
Individual journalists or teams of journalists all over the world have
the opportunity to apply for the International Consortium of
Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) awards that seek to recognize, reward,
and foster excellence in cross-borders investigative journalism
Full story...
IWPR Establishes
Sahar Journalists' Assistance Fund
The
Institute of War and Peace Reporting (IWPR) has established a new fund,
in honour of Sahar al-Haideri, to support exiled or disabled journalists
around the world to participate in its training and reporting programmes.
Full story...
WASH Media Awards
on Water Supply and Sanitation
The
Water Supply and Sanitation Collaborative Council (WSSCC) and the
Stockholm International Water Institute (SIWI) are co-sponsoring the
second edition of the WASH Media Award competition, to be held between
July 2007 and April 2008.
Full story...
Foundation Calls
for Nominations for Martin Ennals Human Rights Awards
The Martin Ennals Foundation is inviting individuals or organisations
working in the field of human rights to submit nominations for the 2008
Martin Ennals Award for Human Rights Defenders.
Full story...
ATTACKS
Journalist beaten
by police and Prison guards while covering prison riot
On September 11, Mr.
Tope Abiola, the deputy editor of the privately-owned Nigeria Tribune
daily newspaper was beaten unconscious by a combined team of Policemen
and officials of Agodi Prison in Ibadan, the Oyo State capital in
South-west Nigeria while trying to cover the aftermath of a riot by
inmates.
Full story...
An Upper Sharia Court in Kaduna, capital of Kaduna State in North-east
Nigeria on October 3 issued an injunction, preventing anyone from
"selling or in any way circulating" the manuscript of a play titled “The
Phantom Crescent” written by Shehu
Sanni.
Full story...
Nigeria’s
Intelligence Police Raid ‘Fresh Facts’ Office
The
offices of ‘Fresh Facts’, a weekly newspaper based in Abuja, Nigeria’s
Federal Capital Territory were raided on October 24 by men suspected to
be officers of the State Security Service (SSS), Nigeria’s intelligence
Police.
Full story...
The media came under siege in Maiduguri, the Borno State Capital in
North-western Nigeria as men of the State Security Service (SSS),
Nigeria’s intelligence Police on October 15 raided the offices of
different independent media houses.
Full story...
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