Competion chairman Colin Taimbari and victorious skipper of the 2008 Cool Graphics Tony Sipa with the Auld Mug of the Media Pool Competition. Pictures by WILLIAM WILLIANDOSunday, May 3, 2009
The quest for the Holy Grail begins!
Competion chairman Colin Taimbari and victorious skipper of the 2008 Cool Graphics Tony Sipa with the Auld Mug of the Media Pool Competition. Pictures by WILLIAM WILLIANDO
2 Fast you are!
Managing Director of 2 Fast Motors Bill Lin hands over keys for the vehicle (background) to Media Pool Competition Chairman Colin TaimbariUsed car dealer 2 Fast Motors has donated a K40, 000 vehicle to the Media Pool Competition.
This was revealed by deputy chairman Joe Kaiyo during the launch last Friday and will certainly offset the transport burden of managing the affairs of the competition.
23 teams confirmed for 2009 competition
Telikom PNG's Martha Rupa hands over the K10,000 sponsorship to Media Pool Competition chairman Colin Taimbari and his deputy Joe Kaiyo
National Broadcasting Commission's Joe Kaiyo (left), also the deputy chairman of the Media Pool competition, gives NBC's K10,000 offering to chairman Colin Taimbari. Pictures by WILLIAM WILLIANDOA total 23 teams have been confirmed for this year’s Media Pool Competition which starts in earnest next Saturday, May 9.
The teams were confirmed during the launching of the competition at the Lamana Hotel last Friday.
Telikom PNG, National Broadcasting Commission and National Gaming Control Board will chip in with K10, 000 each.
Telikom’s public relations officer Martha Rupa and NBC’s Joe Kaiyo presented their contributions to competition chairman Colin Taimbari last Friday.
City manager Leslie Alu chipped in with K5, 000 from National Capital District Commission.
Niugini Tablebirds has joined the part with chcken and flour, while Lamana will be the venue free of charge.
New teams are Parliament Tambaran, Kundu 2, Media Council, CPL, Post-Courier and 2 Fast Motors/Advance Signs.
Existing teams are NBC Wokabaut, Poi Nangu, Post-Courier Weekender, Post-Courier Nambawan, Sunday Chronicle 1, The National, Wantok, NCDC Sivarai, NCDC Yumi Lukautim Mosby, PNG FM, Nau FM, Spin Doctors, FM 100, News Makers, Business Times and Freelancers.
Press freedom declines in every region, says Freedom House
Israel, Italy and Hong Kong lose 'free' status
www.freedomhouse.org
WASHINGTON (Freedom House /Pacific Media Watch): Journalists faced an increasingly grim working environment in 2008, with global press freedom declining for a seventh straight year and deterioration occurring for the first time in every region, according to Freedom House's annual media study. The rollback was not confined to traditionally authoritarian states; with Israel, Italy and Hong Kong slipping from the study's Free category to Partly Free status.
"The journalism profession today is up against the ropes and fighting to stay alive, as pressures from governments, other powerful actors and the global economic crisis take an enormous toll," said Jennifer Windsor, Freedom House executive director.
"The press is democracy's first defence and its vulnerability has enormous implications for democracy if journalists are not able to carry out their traditional watchdog role."
Freedom House formally released its findings from Freedom of the Press 2009 on Friday, May 1 at 10 a.m. in Washington in front of the organisation's giant Map of Press Freedom at the Newseum: www.freedomhouse.org
The study indicates that there were twice as many losses as gains in 2008, with declines and stagnation in East Asia of particular concern. While parts of South Asia and Africa made progress, overall these gains were overshadowed by a campaign of intimidation targeting independent media, particularly in the former Soviet Union and the Middle East and North Africa.
There were some notable improvements. The Maldives made the study's largest jump, moving to the Partly Free category with the adoption of a new constitution protecting freedom of expression and the release of a prominent journalist from life imprisonment. Guyana regained its Free rating with fewer attacks on journalists and a government decision to lift a boycott on advertising in the main independent newspaper.
Out of the 195 countries and territories covered in the study, 70 (36 percent) are rated Free, 61 (31 percent) are rated Partly Free and 64 (33 percent) are rated Not Free. This represents a modest decline from the 2008 survey in which 72 countries and territories were Free, 59 Partly Free and 64 Not Free. The new survey found that only 17 percent of the world's population lives in countries that enjoy a Free press.
Key regional findings include:
- Asia Pacific: Cambodia dropped to Not Free status because of increased violence against journalists. Hong Kong slipped to Partly Free as Beijing exerted growing influence over media. China's media environment remained bleak. Media in Taiwan faced assault and growing government pressure. South Asia saw improvements in the Maldives, Bangladesh and Pakistan, while Sri Lanka and Afghanistan suffered setbacks.
- Central and Eastern Europe/Former Soviet Union: The region suffered the biggest drop in press freedom of any region, with journalists murdered in Bulgaria and Croatia and assaulted in Bosnia. Russia's score declined with the judiciary unwilling to protect journalists from attacks, as well as the frequent targeting of independent media by regulators.
- Middle East and North Africa: The region continues to have the world's lowest level of press freedom. Restrictions on journalists and official attempts to influence coverage during the Gaza conflict led to Israel's Partly Free status. The Israeli-Occupied Territories/Palestinian Authority saw declines with both Hamas and Fatah intimidating journalists. Iraq saw the security environment for journalists improve and new legal protections for media in the Kurdish areas.
- Sub-Saharan Africa: Press freedom suffered in Senegal with an increase in both legal and extralegal action taken against media. In Madagascar, media outlets critical of the government were targeted. Other declines were seen in Botswana, Chad, Congo (Brazzaville), Lesotho, Mauritania, South Africa and Tanzania. Comoros, Sierra Leone, Angola and Liberia improved.
- Americas: Guyana regained its Free rating, while Haiti and Uruguay saw significant improvement. However, Mexico's score dropped again because of increased violence, the government's unwillingness to make legal reforms, and pressure on media from local and state officials. Bolivia, Ecuador, Guatemala and Nicaragua registered major declines.
- Western Europe: The region continues to boast the world's highest level of press freedom. However, Italy slipped back into the Partly Free category with free speech limited by courts and libel laws, increased intimidation of journalists by organised crime and far-right groups, and concerns over the concentration of media ownership. Greece also suffered a significant decline.
www.freedomhouse.org
WASHINGTON (Freedom House /Pacific Media Watch): Journalists faced an increasingly grim working environment in 2008, with global press freedom declining for a seventh straight year and deterioration occurring for the first time in every region, according to Freedom House's annual media study. The rollback was not confined to traditionally authoritarian states; with Israel, Italy and Hong Kong slipping from the study's Free category to Partly Free status.
"The journalism profession today is up against the ropes and fighting to stay alive, as pressures from governments, other powerful actors and the global economic crisis take an enormous toll," said Jennifer Windsor, Freedom House executive director.
"The press is democracy's first defence and its vulnerability has enormous implications for democracy if journalists are not able to carry out their traditional watchdog role."
Freedom House formally released its findings from Freedom of the Press 2009 on Friday, May 1 at 10 a.m. in Washington in front of the organisation's giant Map of Press Freedom at the Newseum: www.freedomhouse.org
The study indicates that there were twice as many losses as gains in 2008, with declines and stagnation in East Asia of particular concern. While parts of South Asia and Africa made progress, overall these gains were overshadowed by a campaign of intimidation targeting independent media, particularly in the former Soviet Union and the Middle East and North Africa.
There were some notable improvements. The Maldives made the study's largest jump, moving to the Partly Free category with the adoption of a new constitution protecting freedom of expression and the release of a prominent journalist from life imprisonment. Guyana regained its Free rating with fewer attacks on journalists and a government decision to lift a boycott on advertising in the main independent newspaper.
Out of the 195 countries and territories covered in the study, 70 (36 percent) are rated Free, 61 (31 percent) are rated Partly Free and 64 (33 percent) are rated Not Free. This represents a modest decline from the 2008 survey in which 72 countries and territories were Free, 59 Partly Free and 64 Not Free. The new survey found that only 17 percent of the world's population lives in countries that enjoy a Free press.
Key regional findings include:
- Asia Pacific: Cambodia dropped to Not Free status because of increased violence against journalists. Hong Kong slipped to Partly Free as Beijing exerted growing influence over media. China's media environment remained bleak. Media in Taiwan faced assault and growing government pressure. South Asia saw improvements in the Maldives, Bangladesh and Pakistan, while Sri Lanka and Afghanistan suffered setbacks.
- Central and Eastern Europe/Former Soviet Union: The region suffered the biggest drop in press freedom of any region, with journalists murdered in Bulgaria and Croatia and assaulted in Bosnia. Russia's score declined with the judiciary unwilling to protect journalists from attacks, as well as the frequent targeting of independent media by regulators.
- Middle East and North Africa: The region continues to have the world's lowest level of press freedom. Restrictions on journalists and official attempts to influence coverage during the Gaza conflict led to Israel's Partly Free status. The Israeli-Occupied Territories/Palestinian Authority saw declines with both Hamas and Fatah intimidating journalists. Iraq saw the security environment for journalists improve and new legal protections for media in the Kurdish areas.
- Sub-Saharan Africa: Press freedom suffered in Senegal with an increase in both legal and extralegal action taken against media. In Madagascar, media outlets critical of the government were targeted. Other declines were seen in Botswana, Chad, Congo (Brazzaville), Lesotho, Mauritania, South Africa and Tanzania. Comoros, Sierra Leone, Angola and Liberia improved.
- Americas: Guyana regained its Free rating, while Haiti and Uruguay saw significant improvement. However, Mexico's score dropped again because of increased violence, the government's unwillingness to make legal reforms, and pressure on media from local and state officials. Bolivia, Ecuador, Guatemala and Nicaragua registered major declines.
- Western Europe: The region continues to boast the world's highest level of press freedom. However, Italy slipped back into the Partly Free category with free speech limited by courts and libel laws, increased intimidation of journalists by organised crime and far-right groups, and concerns over the concentration of media ownership. Greece also suffered a significant decline.
World Press Freedom Day 2009: Dialogue, mutual understanding and reconciliation
The way the media influences thought and action and its capacity to foster dialogue, understanding and reconciliation will be the focus of discussions at a UNESCO conference marking World Press Freedom Day 2009, to be held in
In his message for World Press Freedom Day 2009, the Director-General of UNESCO, Koïchiro Matsuura, stressed: “We must strengthen our efforts to build a media that is critical of inherited assumptions yet tolerant of alternative perspectives; a media that brings competing narratives into a shared story of interdependence; a media that responds to diversity through dialogue.”
Based on the premise that only a free media will innately contribute to the dialogue and understanding across divides, the two-day programme will be divided into four sessions, during which media professionals from around the world will discuss:
§ The capacity of the media for intercultural dialogue and mutual understanding;
§ The need to establish ethical and professional standards in order to build models of accountability as well as effective self regulation for journalists;
§ What specific place for media in promoting interreligious dialogue and mutual understanding?
§ Media and enhancing dialogue as a tool for empowering citizens.
The conference has been organised under the patronage of Her Highness Sheikha Mozah Bint Nasser Al Missned, consort of His Highness the Emir of Qatar Shiekh Hamad Bin Khalifa Al Thani.
H.E. Sheikh Hamad bin Thamer Al Thani, Chairman of the Board,
South-African journalist Allister Sparks, the author of several critically-acclaimed books on his country’s transition from apartheid including, most recently, Beyond the Miracle: Inside the New South Africa, will present the keynote speech.
During the conference, Mr Matsuura will present the 2009 World Press Freedom Prize, awarded posthumously to murdered Sri Lankan journalist Lasantha Wickrematunge. Mr Wickrematunge’s widow, Sonali Wickrematunge, will accept the prize, which is supported by the Ottaway and Cano foundations and JP/Politiken Newspaper LTD
World Press Freedom Day
Happy World Press Freedom Day,
Every year, May 3 is dedicated to World Press Freedom; to remember, celebrate and emphasise the importance of press freedom, which is crucial for the functioning of a healthy democratic and free society.
This year, World Press Freedom Day will be celebrated in
International guests including Ray Martin and Simon Dring will join PNG in celebrating its media freedom events, and so please invite as many stakeholders as possible through your contacts.
Please find attached some useful resources for Editorial, Adverts, Cartoons, and Photos on http://www.worldpressfreedomday.org/ from the World Association of Newspapers (WAN).
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