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 News From You
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Week ending May 4, 2013
On 3 May, World Press Freedom Day, the World Association of Newspapers and News Publishers (WAN-IFRA), and the World Editors Forum stand firmly behind the joint initiative of the United Kingdom’s newspaper and magazine industry to safeguard press freedom.
WAN-IFRA backs an industry-proposed Royal Charter for independent self-regulation of the press that has been formally submitted to the Privy Council Office by the Newspaper Society, the Newspaper Publishers Association, the Scottish Newspaper Society, and the Professional Publishers Association for the magazine industry.
The Independent Royal Charter seeks to distance politicians from the regulation process, countering the proposed statutory underpinning of the press that lies at the heart of the Government’s Royal Charter.
“The Leveson inquiry asked many important questions of the British press, to which the industry, not the Government, was always best-placed to answer,” said WAN-IFRA in a statement. “The industry has proposed a sound response to attempts to implement regulation, which would threaten the independence of the British press, and send shockwaves around the world regarding the UK’s commitment to safeguarding press freedom.”
National, regional and local newspapers and magazines have been fully involved in devising the Independent Royal Charter. The industry response has the support of the overwhelming majority of UK newspapers and magazines, both locally and nationally, as well as backing from a number of senior members of Parliament and Peers in the House of Lords.
WAN-IFRA, the global organisation for the world’s newspapers and news publishers, represents 18,000 newspapers, 15,000 online sites and more than 3,000 companies in 120 countries. Along with press freedom organisations and human rights groups worldwide, WAN-IFRA rejects statutory underpinning for press regulation and has persistently warned of the implications of such proposals for press freedom globally.
300 years of democratic tradition and press independence in the United Kingdom are at stake, while oppressive regimes around the world would undoubtedly seize on such a precedent to justify their use of statutory regulation to silence critical voices in the press.
Such legislation would also be a major setback for those countries making tentative but steady progress towards press freedom, and who are influenced by the United Kingdom’s democratic model.
POLITICAL AS WELL AS ECONOMIC CONDITIONS NEED TO BE RIGHT TO PROTECT A DIVERSE AND FREE MEDIA
The European Publishers Council (EPC), representing 26 leading media organisations around Europe, is proud to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the United Nations “World Press Freedom Day” today, Friday, 3 May, and applauds the UN for its attempt to:
- celebrate the fundamental principles of press freedom;
- assess the state of press freedom throughout the world;
- defend the media from attacks on their independence;
- pay tribute to journalists who have lost their lives in the line of duty.
EPC Executive Director Angela Mills Wade said: “Press freedom is vital for democracy and is an essential vehicle for freedom of expression, a right enshrined in the European Convention of Human Rights. The EPC works to protect this right every day, working with legislators and policy-makers in the EU to guarantee a free and diverse press in Europe. This freedom is not something we can take for granted. As we see in Hungary, even in Europe there is a regime intent on limiting freedom of expression and freedom of the press.
“But not only do we fight against political threats but also economic ones; ensuring that the media is commercially viable is extremely important. It is essential that the media, traditional and new, are able to build sustainable business models to fund quality, authoritative and diverse content. In particular, we are working to make it easier for copyright to work online so that all content owners, from the individual to the largest corporation, can express their rights and, if desired, expect payment for their work. A successful, economically-viable press is necessary for freedom of expression to thrive.”
Masha Gessen, director of the Russian-language service of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) for the past seven months, today announced her resignation from the position to begin work on a new book.
"Masha Gessen is an award-winning journalist who will continue to bring her insight, energy and activism to journalism -- in the interest of civil society in Russia," Klose said.
Gessen, author of the political biography of Vladimir Putin, "The Man Without a Face: The Unlikely Rise of Vladimir Putin," (Riverhead Press, 2012) is a 2013 winner of the 4th annual Media for Liberty award for "The Wrath of Putin," published in Vanity Fair magazine last year.
Ms. Gessen also lectures on human rights, and is a regular contributor to The New York Times’ “Latitude” blog.
Klose said that in the future, the Russian Service will be coordinated by senior editors in Prague, the network's operations center, and Moscow, where the service recently installed a state-of-the-art news bureau.
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