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Jan 20 2025
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2024 was another deadly year for journalists, especially in Gaza

By Dispatch, Dispatch, Dispatch, Dispatch, Dispatch, Dispatch, Dispatch, Dispatch, Dispatch, Dispatch

BY ELIZABETH MCSHEFFREY

For many years, #NotATarget has been used on social media to raise awareness of the brutal impact of conflict on civilians, including children, humanitarian workers and doctors. The campaign condemns the killing and injury of innocents in wars, and seeks to pressure decision-makers to protect civilian life in accordance with international humanitarian law.

In the past year, we have seen egregious violations of this law with the death of civilians, including journalists who are entitled to the same protections as other non-combatants.

According to Reporters Without Borders (RSF), between Jan. 1 and Dec. 1, 2024, 54 journalists were killed on the job or in direct connection to their work. The Committee to Protect Journalists says the total number is even higher, at 86.

Of the RSF’s 54, 42 of the dead were journalists working for Arab news media who were killed by the Israeli military.

Among them are Al Jazeera Arabic journalist Ismail Al-Ghoul and cameraman Rami al-Rifi, who were killed in an Israeli air attack on July 31, 2024. At the time, the pair were west of Gaza City and wearing media vests in a car with identifying signs, an Al Jazeera report says.

Al-Ghoul’s and al-Rifi’s deaths prompted rallying cries around the world; Israel alleged that Al-Ghoul was a member of Hamas’ military wing, a claim Al Jazeera denied as “baseless” and RSF decried as having been based on “insufficient, questionable evidence.”

The following month in Myanmar, reporter Win Htut Oo of the Democratic Voice of Burma (DVB) and freelancer Htet Myat Thu were shot in cold blood in a home raided by security forces, editors of the DVB told the Committee to Protect Journalists. The two had been friends since childhood and their killings were condemned by Audrey Azoulay, Director-General of UNESCO, who called for an independent investigation into their deaths.

It’s important to remember the names of these journalists, and all those who have paid the ultimate price for their commitment to truth, accountability, and the public’s right to know. The protection of press freedom goes hand in hand with the protection of human rights.

As it stands, RSF reports that some 550 journalists and media workers remain imprisoned around the world. In 2024, 72 of them were sentenced to a combined total of more than 250 years behind bars.

World Press Freedom Canada urges Canada and other members of the Media Freedom Coalition to demand justice for our killed and detained colleagues, and promote press freedom in a world where those who benefit from its absence are the ones who seek to exploit, manipulate, and harm us.

Jan 20 2025
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More media fallout from Trump’s election victory

By Uncategorized

BY SHAWN MCCARTHY

American media companies face accusations of self-censorship and legal cowardice as they confront a new term for President-elect Donald Trump, who has targeted the press as an enemy.

Washington Post editorial cartoonist Ann Telnaes resigned in early January after the paper’s editors spiked her cartoon showing media owners and tech billionaires genuflecting to Trump. The cartoon depicted Post and Amazon owner Jeff Bezos, Meta’s founder Mark Zuckerberg and Mickey Mouse, the corporate mascot of the Walt Disney Company, which owns ABC.

In a post on her Substack, the Pulitzer Prize-winning cartoonist said she had “never had a cartoon killed because of who or what I chose to aim my pen at. Until now.”

The Post’s opinion editor David Shipley issued a statement saying the cartoon was pulled because columnists at the paper had covered the same ground and he wanted to avoid “repetition.”

Telnaes targeted Disney’s ABC after the network came under fire for settling a defamation lawsuit Trump had launched over anchor George Stephanopoulos’ statement that then-candidate Trump had been found civilly liable for raping writer E. Jean Carroll. In fact, he was found liable for sexually abusing and defaming Carroll.

Numerous critics have slammed ABC, The Washington Post and other legacy media outlets of cowardice in the face of Trump threats.

The Washington Post and L.A. Times sparked outrage among Democrats and columnists in November when their billionaire owners refused to endorse a candidate in the presidential election.

Telnaes’ inclusion in the cartoon of Meta’s Zuckerberg appears prescient. Less than a week after her resignation, Zuckerberg announced Meta’ Facebook would no longer fact check posts on the global social media sites. Trump and his supporters have long complained about fact checking on platforms like Facebook, Instagram and X, saying the practice amounts to censorship.

There are concerns that the change will lead to an increase in disinformation and misleading comments on these social media sites on such sensitive issues as immigration, climate change and vaccine safety.

During Trump’s first term, Telnaes warned of increasing threats to press freedom around the world, and in the United States in particular. In a keynote speech at the 2017 World Press Freedom Canada’s annual luncheon, she noted the administration was threatening to impose tougher libel laws to constrain the press, a threat that is being revisited as Trump takes office for a second time.

Jan 20 2025
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Freedom-of-information (FOI) regimes across Canada withered in 2024

By Press Freedom News, Press Freedom News, Press Freedom News, Press Freedom News, Press Freedom News, Press Freedom News

BY DEAN BEEBY

Courts and governments across Canada tightened the noose around transparency last year, making it harder for journalists and other civil society actors to hold governments to account.

Last February, the Supreme Court of Canada upheld a decision by the Ontario government to withhold ministerial mandate letters as cabinet secrets. CBC had been denied the letters in 2018 after a request under the province’s freedom-of-information law.

Many rulings and appeals later, the high court settled the matter. Secrecy won, hands down.

The far-reaching decision may result in cabinet-adjacent records being improperly withheld in future cases.

In June 2019, Canada’s information commissioner was given order-making power. Misbehaving departments now could be ordered to release documents.

However, such orders are not binding, despite what the government may claim. Some departments simply ignore them.

The information commissioner has gone to court at least six times to ask a federal judge for a judicial order to compel recalcitrant departments to act on her orders. National Defence has been the worst offender so far, and 2024 saw the pace quicken.

These cases drain legal resources on both sides, using public money better spent on improving the access-to-information system.

Government records had a nasty habit of disappearing in 2024.

The Canada Border Services Agency managed to lose 12,000 access-to-information requests, blaming the fiasco on technical troubles.

In the fall, the Alberta government introduced a bill to protect more information from disclosure, including factual information related to its decisions. The province’s information commissioner called it an “erosion of access rights.”

In Nova Scotia’s election this year, Premier Tim Houston refused to commit to giving order-making power to the province’s information commissioner, which he had promised in the 2021 election, when he first won government. At the federal level, the Access to Information Act fell off the political agenda altogether, despite the government’s promises of legislative reform.

In a positive move for transparency, a non-government group last year launched Open By Default, which is doing the web posting that Ottawa refuses to undertake. They’ve made public about 48,000 such documents to date, and are expanding by the week.

Looking ahead, we will see a federal election and change of government in 2025. General elections can sometimes bring meaningful reform to transparency laws. Too often, promised improvements are forgotten once a political party wins power.

World Press Freedom Canada urges federal parties to include access to information reform in their platforms, and to act on it once in office.

(A form of this article originally appeared in Dean’s newsletter)

Jan 20 2025
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In case you missed it: Stories we’re following

By Uncategorized

A majority of Canadians want to preserve but fix the CBC: poll

A significant majority (78 per cent) of Canadians would like to see the CBC/Radio-Canada continue if it addresses its major criticisms, according to a poll from McGill University’s Centre for Media, Technology and Democracy. When asked what they would do with the CBC/Radio-Canada’s budget, 57 per cent of respondents would either increase (24 per cent) or maintain (33 per cent) funding.

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Mexican government disbands its transparency watchdog, raising concerns over access to information

The National Transparency, Access to Information, and Personal Data Protection Institute (INAI) was dismantled as part of a suite of constitutional changes proposed by Mr. López Obrador prior to leaving office in September.

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Press watchdogs call for European Union to act over Hungary’s media curbs

Hungary has stifled its independent media and imposed a level of control over journalists that is unprecedented in an EU country, according to a joint report from six international press watchdogs that calls on EU leaders to take action.

Read more

Jan 20 2025
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Meta’s shift to ‘Community Notes’ is a direct threat to press freedom and democracy

By President's message, President's message

By HEATHER BAKKEN, WPFC PRESIDENT

Mark Zuckerberg’s decision to replace professional fact-checkers on Meta platforms with a crowdsourced alternative called “Community Notes” is a clear signal the era of Big Tech accountability is over.

The founder, chairman and CEO of Meta also announced he will move trust and safety teams, which are responsible for enforcing policies around hate speech and disinformation, from California to the conservative stronghold of Texas. Framed as an effort to promote free speech, Zuckerberg says it, “will help remove the concern that biased employees are overly censoring content.”

Nobel Peace Prize-winning journalist Maria Ressa told CNN that this isn’t about free speech—it’s about consolidating power while shrugging off accountability. It leaves a gaping hole where press freedom and democracy should thrive.

Meta influences almost half the world’s population. It controls three of the top four platforms and its user base spans almost every demographic and geographic region. Facebook’s integrations with WhatsApp, Instagram, Threads and Messenger further expand its influence. By replacing fact-checking rooted in journalistic standards and ethics with random ‘Community Notes’ contributors as the arbiters of truth, Meta is reneging on its responsibility to ensure the integrity of information on its platforms. It risks becoming a global echo chamber for emotional manipulation.

This move isn’t happening in isolation. Elon Musk’s transformation of X has already shown us what happens when content moderation systems are dismantled. Musk replaced oversight with opaque algorithms and user-driven “context,” allowing misinformation to flourish under the guise of free speech. Like Musk, Zuckerberg is outsourcing responsibility to users ill-equipped to combat complex global disinformation, positioning itself as a passive bystander while its platform becomes a breeding ground for chaos and manipulation. Incidentally, X adopted Community Notes and rid itself of fact-checkers after Musk took over.

Napoleon Bonaparte famously said: “The battlefield is a scene of constant chaos. The winner will be the one who controls that chaos, both his own and the enemies.”

Ressa has warned us about this very scenario: “It’s not a free speech issue; it’s a safety issue when you get rid of standards and ethics on a global platform. Facebook has replaced journalism as the gateway to information on a global platform. Without shared facts and a shared reality, how can you have a democracy that works?”

The global stakes are dire. According to the V-Dem Institute, 72 per cent of the world’s population now lives in autocracies, often led by elected leaders who dismantle democratic institutions such as the media, civil society, and the judiciary. This process is fueled by disinformation and polarization, eroding democracy from within.

Journalist Carol Off writes in her latest book, At a Loss for Words: Conversations in an Age of Rage, about the dangers of our present political predicament. “It’s not that we have differences of opinion; it’s that emotion is trumping logic and reason,” she writes. We’ll be talking to her about it on Jan. 22 in Ottawa.

By prioritizing profit and political expediency over accountability, Zuckerberg is gambling with the foundations of democracy. Absence of professional oversight doesn’t just amplify harm—it institutionalizes it. That leaves the press, marginalized voices, and democratic institutions to fend for themselves in an increasingly chaotic information landscape. Meta’s new battlefield isn’t about free speech—it’s about control. The bigger question is: who will emerge as the winner?

Nov 25 2024
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Trump victory raises spectre of war on fact-based journalism

By Uncategorized

BY SHAWN MCCARTHY

Journalists who don’t toe the MAGA line have long been among Donald Trump’s favourite targets. His election victory on Nov. 5 heralds a new era of media bashing, with efforts to silence independent voices and attacks on journalists themselves.

In the waning days of the campaign, Trump frequently targeted the “fake media” at his rallies.

After CBS’s 60 Minutes aired an interview with Vice President Kamala Harris and explained that Trump had accepted and then pulled out of a similar opportunity, Trump sued the network for allegedly doctoring the Harris interview in her favour. CBS has denied his complaint.

Trump has talked about having the Federal Communications Commission strip news networks of their broadcast licenses for airing coverage he disapproves of, and about defunding public television and radio.

He has vowed to “shatter the left-wing censorship regime” by eliminating all federal support for efforts to moderate social media platforms in order to police mis- and disinformation. Trump himself, of course, lied about the 2020 election being “stolen,” and falsely alleged federal hurricane disaster relief was diverted to support undocumented migrants.

In his final rallies, he joked to his MAGA audience that he would not be sad if the journalists covering him were shot.

Not surprisingly, assaults on journalists in the United States are rising. Press Freedom Trackers reports 84 such attacks by early September this, up 50 per cent compared to the number for all of 2023.

The Committee to Protect Journalists has provided safety training to more than 700 media workers in the U.S., and will continue that effort in the runup to Trump’s January inauguration.

Trump’s verbal assaults on the media is being echoed in Canada by Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre, although typically without the same level of vitriol. As the president-elect ratchets up his campaign of censorship and intimidation, we can expect greater pressure here.

World Press Freedom Canada acknowledges there is plenty of room for legitimate media criticism. It must be pursued without menace to individual journalists and while respecting the important role the news media plays in holding to account those who hold or are pursuing power.

Nov 25 2024
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Editorial cartoonists are drawing their own conclusions

By Uncategorized

BY SHAWN MCCARTHY

Each year at our annual luncheon, World Press Freedom Canada director Guy Badeaux  (pen name: Bado) announces the winner of our international editorial cartoonist contest, which celebrates the journalists who illustrate the state of the world through pictures, metaphors and snappy lines.

Editorial cartoons are the soul of a newspaper, anchoring the editorial pages with the news-driven caricatures and biting commentary.

Sadly, the pool of cartoonist talent is being drained as media companies cut staff.

The loss of cartoonists is of course part of the overall trend of declining resources for journalism. The decline is leaving North Americans more poorly served for news and commentary.

Last month, Michael de Adder was dropped after 30 years at The Chronicle Herald, the Halifax newspaper purchased in August by Postmedia Network Inc. De Adder is an internationally renown cartoonist whose work has also appeared in The Washington Post, The Toronto Star and The Globe and Mail. He was recently awarded the Order of Canada.

In the United States, the McClatchy chain let go of three Pulitzer Prize winning cartoonists as it continues its cost-cutting efforts. The company says its 29 daily newspapers will no longer publish daily editorial cartoons.

The three are John Ohman at the Sacramento Bee, Joel Pete at the Lexington Herald-Observer and Kevin Siers, a freelancer who published regularly in the Charlotte Observer.

Meanwhile, the Minnesota Star Tribune, an independent paper based in Minneapolis, is moving its full-time cartoonist Mike Thompson to a freelance role.

Nov 25 2024
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Challenges for big broadcast outlets as local news operations get a bit of help

By Uncategorized

BY JANET E. SILVER

There appears to be no end to the rocky road of broadcast news in Canada.

Shrinking newsrooms have been a feature of the media landscape in Canada for the past two decades but the decline has accelerated in recent years. The trend leaves Canadians increasingly ill-served by major corporations that own broadcasting networks but see news programming as a costly extravagance.

On Oct. 25, Corus reported that its fourth-quarter revenue had declined 21 per cent year-over-year and that it had reached a deal with lenders giving the media company time to reduce its $1 billion debt.

Days later Bloomberg reported that Corus Entertainment Inc was working with Jefferies Financial Group on a potential sale of its operations.

If Corus – which owns Global Television Network – is looking to sell its operations or fails to meet a deal on its debt, it will be forced to make additional cuts across the country including newsrooms that serve both national and local audiences.

Meanwhile, BCE which owns CTV through Bell Media also continues to struggle on its debt repayment, and cost cutting remains the watchword. This fall, its parliamentary bureau replaced all in-studio manned cameras with robo-cameras.  On Oct. 31 Bell Media announced that it was pulling the plug on MTV.

Employees are bracing for hundreds of job cuts to BCE by the end of the year though it’s unclear how those cuts will impact newsrooms across the country.

Last February Bell announced that it was cutting 4800 jobs including the sale of 45 of its 103 regional radio stations. These cuts across the country left many news vacuums including Atlantic Canada where all weekend local newscasts were eliminated.

While CBC has not announced any layoffs this fall, it also struggles with shrinking ad revenue, smaller audiences and threats from Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre to defund the CBC if his party forms government in the 2025 election.

While Canadians can get news elsewhere – including from small, online sources – the declining fortunes of the country’s national broadcast platforms is resulting in a more parochial news ecosystem, where people are increasingly retreating into regional sites that reflect their existing political biases.

Nov 25 2024
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ICYMI: A roundup of press freedom news

By In Case You Missed It, In Case You Missed It

Strengthening communities and combating disinformation: The vital role of local news and public broadcasting

World Press Freedom Canada president Heather Bakken appeared before the Senate Transport and Communications committee on Nov. 19 to contribute to its study on Local services provided by CBC/Radio-Canada.

“The information space has changed dramatically since the CBC was created in 1936. But it has evolved at warp speed since smart phones became ubiquitous. Without any guardrails, our adversaries are leveraging our openness and accessibility to define the narratives they want us to believe. In the absence of any substantive policy, they have found a way into the consciousness of Canadians,” she said. “For national unity to prevail we need a public broadcaster that serves as a bulwark against disinformation; one that will strengthen the democratic values and freedoms we have fought for, shed blood for and should continue to go to bat for.”

Read her opening testimony here or view the full hearing here.

Ukrainian journalist Romandash speaks to WPFC, CIGI members

On Nov. 14, WPFC hosted a Pendulum salon with Ukrainian author and journalist Anna Romandash, who is her country’s Media Freedom ambassador. Romandash was in Canada to appear before the Commons committee on disinformation. She spoke about Ukraine’s cybersecurity challenges, including hacking, data breaches, and Russia’s exploitation of citizen information as well as how Ukraine’s resilience provides valuable lessons for safeguarding national security.

How disinformation defined the 2024 election narrative: Brookings

We can’t ignore the ways in which disinformation shaped views about the U.S. presidential election candidates, affected how voters saw leader performance, and generated widespread media attention, says a new report.

READ MORE

Saudi Arabian cartoonist sentenced to 23 years in prison over charges of insulting the kingdom.

A Saudi cartoonist who once drew for a Qatari newspaper as a yearslong diplomatic crisis engulfed Doha has been sentenced to 23 years in prison, an activist group says.

READ MORE

Three killed, three hurt in Israeli strike on journalists’ compound in Lebanon

An attack killed two journalists and a media worker and injured at least three others, leading to calls for an independent investigation to determine whether the journalists’ compound was deliberately targeted.

READ MORE

Canadian-born journalist at centre of U.S. press freedom legal battle after refusing to identify source

Toronto-born journalist Catherine Herridge has dedicated 37 years to working with major U.S. media outlets, including ABC, CBS, and Fox. Now, she finds herself at the centre of a high-profile legal battle that raises critical questions about press freedom and whether journalists can be forced to reveal confidential sources.

READ MORE

Nov 25 2024
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Rising journalist killings and unchecked impunity threaten global press freedom

By Uncategorized

By HEATHER BAKKEN

UNESCO’s report marking the International Day to End Impunity for Crimes against Journalists is both a somber reminder and a rallying cry for the need to protect press freedom globally.

These biennial reports highlight the challenges journalists face in regions plagued by conflict and authoritarianism, but the 2024 report carries a particularly stark warning: the killing of journalists is on the rise.

The data from the Director General, Audrey Azoulay, includes the number of journalists killed in 2022 and 2023. On average, one journalist was killed every four days. But data also show a disturbing trend that has a longer tail.

Since 2006, more than 1,700 journalists have been killed worldwide. Some 85 per cent of those cases remain unsolved. This shocking rate of impunity is not just a failure of justice; it’s a systemic danger to free speech, human rights, and democracy itself.

The wars in Gaza and Ukraine, and conflicts in countries like Sudan and Myanmar, underscore how violence against journalists often spikes amid military operations. In Mexico, the drug cartels and corrupt officials are the principle menace.

This UNESCO report must be a clarion call to urgent action.

The high cost of impunity for crimes against journalists extends far beyond individual reporters. As UNESCO aptly warns, the silencing of journalists stifles access to truth, covering up potential abuses and perpetuating cycles of violence without any oversight or accountability.

If perpetrators know they can intimidate or kill reporters without consequence, the outcome will have profound implications for the public’s access to first-hand information, especially in regions where journalists risk their lives to expose war crimes, corruption, and humanitarian crises.

Of course, these numbers represent more than lives lost; they signify a chilling trend of disregard for press freedom as an underpinning of democracy. Journalists are not simply casualties of conflict; they are often targeted to stifle voices of dissent, to hide crimes, and to prevent public accountability. Without a free press, justice hangs in the balance.

UNESCO’s data also show a deepening gender dimension to this violence. 14 female journalists were killed over this period, the highest number since 2017. These murders highlight the distinct threats faced by women in media, threats that include both physical violence and gender-specific harassment.

Ending impunity requires an unwavering commitment to investigate and prosecute those who attack journalists. Equally important, democratic nations must support legal and logistical protections for journalists operating in dangerous environments. That ranges from conflict zones abroad to increasingly violent protests here in Canada.

UNESCO’s 2024 report calls for more responsive measures from governments. It makes clear that safeguarding the free press is not only about protecting journalists; it’s about protecting everyone’s right to reliable information.

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