COMMENT BLOG
A remark, a critique, an opinion…
Are we our worst enemies in an increasingly authoritarian world?
In its 2021 report on the Global State of Democracy, the International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance (IDEA) stated that “the number of countries moving in an authoritarian direction exceeds the number of countries moving in a democratic direction” –...
Raising the bar in climate change communication #COP26
Thanks to the just-concluded UN climate summit COP26 (Glasgow, 31 Oct-12 November), conditions were just right to see climate change communication at its best, or worst. Over the two-week period, news media worldwide were presented with opportunities to grow or muddy...
A wake up call to the spectre of “anti-woke” news
There is widespread dismay at the spectre of former US President Donald Trump setting up his own social media app provocatively named TRUTH. A press release dated 20 October 2021 announced a merger between Trump Media & Technology Group and Digital World...
A global call to defend independent journalism
The last time a working journalist won the Nobel Peace Prize, Europe – and eventually nations around the globe - were on the brink of World War II. German editor Carl von Ossietzky won the prize in 1936, “for his burning love for freedom of thought and expression and...
Language diversity and the Internet
Global internet freedom has declined for the 11th consecutive year, according to the latest report from Freedom House. “Freedom on the Internet 2021” focuses on surveillance, censorship, privacy legislation, and encryption. The report notes that “unequal access to the...
Communication rights are central to climate justice
On 8 August 2021, the United Nations’ Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) released a major reportthat unequivocally links climate change to human activity and predicts more frequent and more severe heat waves, droughts, and floods over the coming years....
Newsrooms without women: The future of journalism in Afghanistan
Imagine a newsroom without women, where all staff, without exception, are men. Now imagine all newsrooms in an entire nation with men only, across all jobs, from the reporters, to the technicians, to the editing staff and managers. This threatens to be the future of...
Afghanistan: Is digital communication a blessing or curse?
The swift takeover of Afghanistan by the Taliban following the withdrawal of foreign forces has shocked and appalled human rights defenders. It has led to wholesale urgent calls to assist Afghans – particularly women, journalists, and those who have worked for or...
Restoring a sense of justice to history
By targeting monuments that celebrate historic figures who actively contributed to institutional racism and the oppression of marginalised peoples, Black Lives Matter and others have implicitly questioned the way collective memory is fashioned. Protests of this kind...
Call for a public service Internet
“The dominant forms and uses of digital technologies and the Internet endanger democracy. They undermine the indispensable resources of trusted information, in-depth analysis, rational debate, and diversity of representation that allow us to fully understand the...
The state of digital news and the world we want to see
The 2021 Digital News Report from the Reuters Institute points to some promising findings for those who value independent and reliable news. The Covid-19 pandemic appears to have increased trust in mainstream news – at least back to 2018 levels. Three quarters of the...
Public service journalism at its very best
Reporters Without Borders has underlined growing concerns about a steady decline of press freedom in several European Union member states, including Greece, Malta, Slovakia, Hungary, Poland, and Slovenia. In “‘Worrying picture’: Journalists in Europe face increasing...
PHOTO CREDIT: Paul Jeffrey/ACT Alliance