MEDIA FREEDOM - The African Mirror

May

2024

Science journalism in South Africa: social media is helping connect with new readers

SCIENCE journalism is about taking complex academic research and turning it into easy-to-read content that is still accurate. Aside from informing readers through evidence-based journalism, it aims to make the wider public curious about scientific research. This article is an example of science journalism. As a media professor, I conducted a study on how social media sites like X (formerly known as Twitter) can help science communication reach new audiences in South Africa. This article is a version of that study written in a way that people other than just academics can understand. In my study I analysed the X…

May

2024

By The African Mirror

Two Tunisian journalists jailed pending trial, bolstering fears for free speech

MEDIA FREEDOM

A Tunisian judge ordered the imprisonment of two prominent journalists pending trial, their families and lawyers said, reinforcing fears of a widespread campaign aimed at silencing dissent and curbing free speech. IFM radio journalists Mourad Zghidi and Borhen Bsaiss were detained on Saturday over political comments made on the radio, their lawyers said. Public Prosecution spokesman Mohamed Zaitouna said the two are suspected of publishing news that includes personal data and false news aimed at defamation. They will be kept in prison until their trial, expected at the end of this month. The detentions raise the number of jailed journalists…

May

2024

By The African Mirror

Nigerian journalist detained over a week under cybercrime law, employer says

MEDIA FREEDOM

A Nigerian investigative journalist has spent more than a week in police detention without being brought to court for allegedly violating the country's cybercrime laws, his employer said, in a case that has sparked criticism from media rights groups. Under Nigerian law, suspects must be brought to court within 48 hours after arrest or be released. Nigeria's Foundation for Investigative Journalism (FIJ) said its reporter, Daniel Ojukwu, went missing on May 1, but it was only informed two days later that he had been detained by police under the cybercrime law. FIJ said Ojukwu's arrest was related to a November…

May

2024

By PRINOLA GOVENDEN

South Africa’s media have done good work with 30 years of freedom but need more diversity

MEDIA FREEDOM

IN 1992, two years before the end of apartheid, Nelson Mandela bemoaned the state of South Africa’s print media. He said the media’s domination by middle-class males from the minority white population posed the biggest threat to freedom of expression in the country. The same year, the African National Congress under his leadership adopted a media charter calling for all citizens to be empowered with the necessary information and contesting views to make informed choices. “An ignorant society cannot be democratic,” it declared. We asked Prinola Govenden, a media and communications senior lecturer at the University of Johannesburg, what became…

Apr

2024

By The African Mirror

Tunisian court imprisons journalist for insulting public official, his lawyer says

MEDIA FREEDOM

A Tunisian court sentenced the prominent journalist Mohamed Boughalab, a fierce critic of President Kais Saied, to six months in prison on charges of insulting a public official, his lawyer told Reuters. "It is a black day for the judiciary and freedom of the press. It is a message to the press: Be silent or your place is in prison," Jamal Eddine Boughalab, who is the brother of Mohamed, said. Boughalab was detained last month, which the journalists' union said was aimed at silencing the voices of journalists.

Mar

2024

By The African Mirror

Egypt frees last of Al Jazeera journalists it had detained

MEDIA FREEDOM

EGYPT has freed the last two Al Jazeera journalists who remained in detention in the North African country following a thaw in relations with Qatar, the Doha-based network said on Friday. One of the journalists, Bahaa Eldin Ibrahim, had returned home after being freed, his wife Mona Gamal Eldin confirmed. The head of Egypt's journalism syndicate posted a photo on Facebook of the second journalist, Rabie el-Sheikh, at his home. The journalists, both Egyptian, had been held in pre-trial detention for about four years. Ties between Egypt and Qatar deteriorated after Egypt's then-army chief Abdel Fattah al-Sisi led the ousting…

Mar

2024

By The African Mirror

Detained Congolese journalist Bujakera has been freed, lawyer says

MEDIA FREEDOM

STANIS Bujakera, a journalist detained since last September in the Democratic Republic of Congo on charges of spreading false information, was released, his lawyer said. The lawyer, Yana Ndikulu, said Bujakera - who works for international media including Reuters and Jeune Afrique - was released on Tuesday evening from the prison in the capital Kinshasa where he was being held. "Our client is free," Ndikulu said. Bujakera told Reuters the director of the prison had told him he was free to leave shortly after 21:30 local time (2030GMT). A court in the capital Kinshasa on Monday had found Bujakera guilty of spreading…

Mar

2024

By The African Mirror

Congo court sentences journalist Stanis Bujakera to six months in jail

MEDIA FREEDOM

A court in the Democratic Republic of Congo found Congolese journalist Stanis Bujakera guilty of spreading false information among other charges, and sentenced him to six months in prison, his lawyer said. "The judges found our client guilty of all charges as established. They have imposed the most severe sentence of 6 months, plus the payment of a fine of 1 million Congolese francs ($364)," Bujakera's lawyer, Jean-Marie Kabengela, told journalists. He added that Bujakera, who works for international media outlets including Jeune Afrique and Reuters, is expected to leave the prison where he has been detained since last September…

Mar

2024

By KAREN MCINTYRE and MEGHAN SOBEL COHEN

Press freedom in Kenya, Uganda and Rwanda: what journalists have to say about doing their jobs

MEDIA FREEDOM

A majority of the world’s population has experienced a decline in press freedom in recent years, according to a UN report. In East Africa, the results are mixed and debatable. In Rwanda, both international press freedom rankings and journalists on the ground say press freedom has increased over the past 10 years. In neighbouring Uganda, both international rankings and local journalists say media freedom has declined. In Kenya, rankings reflect declining freedom over the past decade, but reporters acknowledge they have more freedom than their counterparts in Uganda and Rwanda. In our roles as associate professors in journalism and mass…

Jan

2024

By The African Mirror

Weaver Press is closing – how one small, brave Zimbabwean publisher made a difference

MEDIA FREEDOM

WITH the news that it is to halt operations, it’s a fitting time to take stock of Weaver Press in Zimbabwe. The publishing house started small in 1998 and remained small, co-managed by its two full-time employees, the husband and wife team of Murray McCartney and Irene Staunton. At the same time as Weaver Press was celebrating its 25th anniversary, McCartney revealed that it would effectively be closing. TINASHE MUSHAKAVANHU, Junior Research Fellow, University of Oxford For the couple, publishing was a labour of love. The company’s office in the backyard of their house in suburban Harare was a way…