RECOMMENDATIONS

of participants of the seminar “Legal and ethical bases for media activities in Tajikistan” within the framework of the Project “Promoting development of legal and ethical standards in Tajik journalism” organized by NANSMIT, Internews Network and USAID.
Kurgan-Tube
5 April 2011

Expressing concern about the growing number of legal persecutions of the media and journalists, representatives of the Tajik mass media with different forms of property, public officials and employees of international and public organizations have developed the following recommendations:

To the mass media and media organizations:

— to enhance interrelations and consolidate efforts ensuring solidarity among journalists;

— to acknowledge ethical standards acceptable for all media;

— to strengthen responsibility of journalists and the media for veracity and objectivity of the information they publish;

— to ensure access of the media and journalists to legal services and legal data bases;

— to introduce the position of legal consultant in the media;

— to conduct regular online competitions promoting and strengthening professionalism among journalists;

— to improve working conditions and professional environment for journalists within every medium;

— to promote and support improvement of professional training of young journalists in universities.

NANSMIT

Deadline:15/10/11
Russian American magazine Florida

Russian-American magazine Florida is accepting short stories in Russian for a competition.

Called «Next Stop,» the theme of the competition includes traveling, making friends on the road and the theme of near and far. Experienced authors and beginners are encouraged to apply.

The winners will get cash prizes, ranging from USD$500 to USD$1,000.

For more information, (in Russian) click here: http://www.florida-rus.com/09-10/konkurs.htm

http://ijnet.org/opportunities/russian-american-magazine-accepting-entries-worldwide

Deadline:20/04/11
Transitions Online (TOL)

Media professionals and citizen journalists from Central Asia — Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan and Turkmenistan — are encouraged to apply for a distance learning course about improving coverage of minority groups.

Called “Painting a Fairer Picture: Improving the Coverage of Ethnic and other Minorities,” it was developed by Transitions Online (TOL), a Prague-based international publishing and media development organization. Citizens of those countries who live elsewhere are also invited to apply. Participation is free of charge.

During the course, participants will take five theoretical modules. Each module consists of a text on a specific subject, questions about the text and a practical writing assignment. Throughout the course an experienced trainer will answer questions and provide detailed feedback on their writing. The working language is Russian and the course lasts five weeks.

Participants who complete the training successfully will be awarded TOL certificates. The top performers will be eligible for full scholarships to TOL journalism training courses in Prague. In addition, successful participants will be offered an opportunity to become paid contributors on Central Asian issues to TOL’s award-winning internet magazine.

The National Endowment for Democracy, a private, nonprofit organization created in 1983 to strengthen democratic institutions around the world, sponsors this project.

For more information (in Russian), click here: http://www.tol.org/client/training/course/21726-painting-a-fairer-picture-improving-the-coverage-of-ethnic-and-other-minorities.html

http://ijnet.org/opportunities/online-course-improving-journalism-coverage-minorities-offered-centra

As much as social media can be a blessing for activists, it can also be their undoing. For a recent example, see how the Tunisian authorities compromised activists’ Facebook accounts.

Access Now, an NGO that campaigns for digital freedom, has just launched a handy and concise how-to guide for activists online. It has «tips and tools for reducing surveillance and monitoring, protecting privacy, and dealing with censorship.»

Even if you’re not an activist, the guide has lots of invaluable online security advice about using HTTPS with email and social networking sites, making smarter passwords, and safely and securely using proxies and anonymizing tools.

The guide is available in English and Arabic, but Brett Solomon, the executive director of Access Now, tells me they’ve had offers to translate it into 10 languages since they launched — «everywhere from Tibetan to Russian to Serbian.»

http://www.rferl.org/content/how_to_stay_safe_online/3544056.html

In March 2011 the NANSMIT Monitoring Service received 17 reports. Ten of them describe the factual situation in the media in the light of socio-legal and political environment; four reports describe direct violations of rights of media professionals; and three reports describe conflicts and accusations against the media and journalists.

I. POLITICAL, SOCIAL, ADMINISTRATIVE AND LEGAL CLIMATE IN THE COUNTRY DEFINING THE FACTUAL SITUATION IN THE MEDIA

1. Public speeches and statements of superior officials defining the factual situation in the mass media

March 2
G. Afzal, chairman of the Khatlon province administration

On 2 March 2011, the authorities of Khatlon province held a meeting with representatives of the mass media. Inter alia, the officials discussed the problems of access to the Tajik TV channels, delivery of periodicals, improvement of the program content of the local TV-5 channel, and cooperation between the media and the administration.

2. Factual situation in the media

March 2
Vechorka, private newspaper, Dushanbe

A new periodical Vetchorka came off the press on 2 March in Dushanbe.

The founder of the new printing outlet is Gulnora Amirshoeva, a former editor of the weekly Vetcherny Dushanbe.

According to Amirshoeva, the new periodical is mainly oriented to municipal news and feature stories. The newspaper must become an “information indicator” of social, political and economic developments in the Tajik capital.

Vetchorka is published in Russian. It is planned to start disseminating the newspaper countrywide. In the nearest future, the newspaper will be launched online.

In January 2011, the former staff of Vetcherny Dushanbe denounced their withdrawal from the media holding Charkhi Gardun after a conflict with its owner, chairman of the Tajik Union of Journalists Akbarali Sattorov.

3. Amendments to the legislation and new draft laws aggravating the media environment

March 11
All media, Dushanbe

A round table on amendments to the Tajik media law in the area of the Internet as a platform ensuring access to information was held in Dushanbe. The event was organized by the Open Society Institute (Soros Foundation).

The amendments developed by two Tajik parliamentarians – Olimjon Salimzoda and Akramsho Felaliev – provoked a big resonance in the Tajik information community.

Participants of the media forum in Dushanbe expressed concern over the introduction of a term “online journalism”. Experts say that the introduction of such terminology may lead to limitations in access to information and new artificial impediments in the domestic media market. Due to such terminology, the authorities can start considering the Internet as the mass media, which can entail application of the media legislation to the online media.

March 28
Parliament of Tajikistan, Dushanbe

On 28 March, the Tajik parliament discussed the draft law “On mass media”.

The press secretary of the lower chamber of the Parliament Mukhamadato Sultonov told the NANSMIT monitoring service that the draft law will be further discussed at the next session of the Parliament.

4. Journalists protecting their civil and professional rights

March 14
Civil society, Dushanbe

The Coalition of Tajik NGOs in charge of an alternative report to the United Nations Committee Against Tortures issued a statement to protect the Asia Plus weekly.

The Tajik Bureau on Human Rights and Rule of Law, the Sughd Bar Association, the Human Rights Center in Dushanbe, the National Association of Attorneys “Sipar”, the NGO “Amparo”, the NGO “RDI”, and the NGO “Equal Opportunities” signed the statement expressing concerns about the frequent lawsuits against journalists and the media, which entail self-censorship and undermine the freedom of speech in the country.

“It is alarming that the journalist who touched upon the problem of tortures is accused of aiding terrorists. It is seen as intimidation of other journalists in the country”, — says the statement.

The Tajik Coalition of NGOs calls upon the Tajik law enforcement agencies to carry out urgent investigations on the cases described in the article written by Ramziya Mirzobekova and published by Asia Plus, and to present the results of these investigations to the public.

II. VIOLATION OF PROFESSIONAL RIGHTS

1. Accusations of libel and insult

March 29
Charkhi Gardun, private newspaper

The court hearing on the case of the former Tajik parliamentarian Saivali Nurov against the private weekly Charkhi Gardun is adjourned until 5 April.

Nurov applied to the court after the publication of an article titled “Will the official-hooligan appear in court?” (27 July 2010). The former parliamentarian says that the article defames his reputation and demands to bring the medium to responsibility according to Articles 135 and 136 (Libel and Insult respectively) of the Tajik Criminal Code.

March 31
Makhmadyusuf Ismoilov, correspondent, Nuri Zindagi, Sughd province

The correspondent of the Nuri Zindagi weekly Makhmadyusuf Ismoilov has beenunder custody for four months in the city of Khujand.

Initially, the correspondent was detained for his publications containing criticism of the authorities. However, the court incriminates him four articles of the Criminal Code, including “extortion”, “incitement of religious and racial feud”, “libel” and “insult”.

Colleagues of Ismoilov told the media that the journalist and his relatives experience pressure from the law enforcement agencies who conduct the investigation.

2. Impediments to professional activities

March 9
Bahriddin Sangmadov, correspondent, Pazhvok, Kulyab, Khatlon province

The correspondent of the Pazhvok weekly in the city of Kulyab Bakhriddin Sangmadov told the NANSMIT monitoring service that he is being intimidated by the police. On 8 March, he was detained near the premises of the Kulyab university while filming the cutting of trees.

Sangmadov says that the main reason for his detention and the conversation with the police is his cooperation with the Pazhvok weekly.

III. CONFLICTS. VIOLATIONS INCRIMINATED TO THE MEDIA AND JOURNALISTS

1. Protection of honor, dignity and business reputation

March 14
Asia Plus, Farazh, Ozodagon, private newspapers, Dushanbe

The Sino district court in Dushanbe adjourned the hearings on the case of the judges of the Tajik Supreme Court against three private weeklies – Asia Plus, Farazh, and Ozodagon – until 17 March.

The judges applied to the court demanding a moral compensation from the newspapers in the amount of 5,5 million Somoni (about $1,250 million) after the publication of articles quoting the attorney Solijon Juraev who accused the Tajik legal system and particular judges of corruption. Juraev was quoted as speaking publically at a press conference in Sughd province.

On 4 March, the court presented the results of an independent linguistic expertise implemented at the Institute of Language and Literature under the Tajik Academy of Sciences. The expertise proves that the publications in the three periodicals contain no libel or insult against the judges.

This report is based on compiled materials from the media and private information presented by correspondents of the NANSMIT Monitoring Network

Coordinator of the Monitoring Service
Abdufattokh Vokhidov

Project Manager
Nuriddin Karshibaev

Make a Lasting, Visible Impact on Media and Society

The Knight International Journalism Fellowship program helps to create news outlets and programming, training centers and schools, and innovative resources to improve the quality and free flow of news in the public interest around the world. Send us your ideas for a fellowship project. If your idea is selected, we will recruit and support a journalist or media manager to work on a fellowship project for at least a year. Or send in a proposal for a project you would like to run as a Knight fellow. For more information about the program’s criteria, please click here: http://knight.icfj.org/GetInvolved/ProjectCriteria/tabid/826/Default.aspx

1. What is the primary goal of the Knight International Journalism Fellowships?

Knight International Journalism Fellows work with local partner organizations to make lasting, visible changes that improve the quality and free flow of news in the public interest around the world.

Fellows have established media training centers, journalism associations, academic programs, citizen journalism networks, and units of investigative reporters. They have created mobile news services and online databases to track corruption. They have developed topical journalism manuals and curricula in more than a dozen languages. With the help of our fellows, local journalists have improved environmental, business and health coverage, and uncovered corruption and mismanagement, improving living conditions in their societies. Each project is designed to ensure that the impacts and achievements last beyond the fellowship.

2. Where do fellows work?

We work in Latin America/Caribbean, Central Europe/Eurasia, Asia/Pacific, Africa, and the Middle East. We target countries where there is great opportunity to make a lasting impact. Examples of opportunities for fellowship projects:

•New leadership or improved media laws have opened a window for better journalism
•An end to conflict has enabled the growth of independent media
•Digital tools have created new ways for citizens to become active participants in their societies
3. What do fellows do?

Fellows help media organizations launch new content on the most-urgent issues of our time, from climate change to democratic reform to life-threatening diseases. Media working with Knight fellows have developed voters’ guides before elections in Cambodia and Ghana, news programming for a newly privatized radio station in post-conflict Rwanda, ongoing television programs on social issues in Lebanon and Jordan, and a television news agency staffed by women in Bangladesh.

Knight fellows have used internet and mobile phone innovations in Bolivia, India, Malaysia and Tanzania to improve the flow of information from under served areas to major media that influence policy makers.

Their projects must produce lasting, visible change.

See a list of our current projects by topic.

4. Can I propose a fellowship?

We welcome fellowship proposals at any time. To propose a project, submit a fellowship proposal. Candidates who wish to propose a project and become a Knight International Journalism Fellow should submit a proposal and a fellowship application.

5. What types of proposals will you consider?

Successful proposals will outline a very specific idea and the lasting, visible results that will be achieved at the end of the fellowship. Examples.

We are not likely to approve proposals that are simply about to training journalists or teaching students. We also are not likely to approve proposals that require substantial amounts of funding to achieve objectives.

6. How can I propose a project?

Submit a fellowship proposal.

7. How can I become a fellow?

•Apply for a current fellowship opening posted on our website
•Submit a fellowship proposal and a fellowship application.
8. What are the requirements to become a fellow?

Fellows should meet these requirements:

•Strong leadership qualities
•Entrepreneurship; ability to identify opportunities that produce results
•Fluency in the language of the country
•Demonstrated knowledge of fellowship focus
•Minimum of 10 years of journalism, multimedia technology and/or media management experience
9. Can I use this fellowship to fund my education or give me the skills I need to advance my career?

This fellowship builds the capacity of media in the host country or region. It cannot be used to fund the education or development of the fellow.

10. Is there a deadline for application submissions?

Applications are accepted throughout the year unless otherwise specified in specific fellowship openings. To see current openings, click here.

11. What is the selection process?

Fellowship applications and proposals are evaluated on a rolling basis. Finalists may be invited to ICFJ’s office in Washington, D.C., for interviews. If that is not feasible, they will be interviewed by ICFJ’s regional representatives or by phone. Our regional and at-large advisory committees help us to develop good projects and recruit and select top fellows.

Fellows selected for the program attend a week-long orientation program in Washington, D.C. The orientation program takes place twice a year.

12. How long does the fellowship last?

Fellowships last at least one year. Fellowships can be extended at the discretion of ICFJ’s Knight International staff.

13. What does the fellowship cover (financial, health, and benefits)?

During the fellowship, each fellow receives an allowance for transportation, professional and living expenses, and an honorarium. Fellows also receive an allowance for health-insurance coverage in their home countries and emergency coverage if they are working outside their home country. Fellows receive two weeks of paid vacation per year.

14. Can fellows work on other projects or continue to work as journalists during their fellowships?

Fellows work full-time on their projects. Since they are considered business consultants, they may not work as journalists during the fellowship.

15. For applicants whose native language is not English: Do I need to translate everything I send in, including my work samples?

Applications, CVs and resumes should be in English. Relevant work samples or supporting material for project proposals may be in the applicant’s native language.

If you have additional questions, please contact Program Officer Pedro J. Rodriguez at prodriguez@icfj.org or 1-202-349-7638.

http://ijnet.org/node/91662

This summer, the 2011 European Journalism Institute (EJI) organized by The Fund for American Studies will take place in Prague, Czech Republic from July 9 — July 17. As an important resource for current and future journalists, we ask that you to help us recruit outstanding participants for this summer’s Institute.

For the 8th summer, this Institute will bring together working journalists and journalism students from around the world for a one-week workshop that revisits and expands upon the fundamental skills of visual and written information gathering for young journalists and those interested in developing basic journalism skills. The intensive seven day program consists of seminars, lectures, and discussions about journalism by both theorists and practitioners from both the United States and Europe.

If you know working journalists or journalism students who may be interested in EJI, I encourage you to forward them this email. They can also visit our website or contact Brigit Moore by email at bmoore@tfas.org or by phone at (202) 986-0384. To begin an online application, interested individuals should go here: https://app.applyyourself.com/?id=tfas-int.

THE FINAL ADMISSIONS DEADLINE FOR EJI IS APRIL 15, 2011

http://ijnet.org/node/92186

MOSCOW — Some of Russia’s most prominent opposition figures have produced a report accusing Prime Minister Vladimir Putin of presiding over a boom in corruption and enriching his inner circle over the past decade.

The report, titled «Putin. Corruption,» was produced by the newly formed People’s Freedom Party and authored by key opposition figures including former First Deputy Prime Minister Boris Nemtsov, former State Duma Deputy Vladimir Ryzhkov, and former Deputy Energy Minister Vladimir Milov.

It details how once relatively obscure businessmen used their ties to Russia’s powerful prime minister to amass personal fortunes over the past decade.

One such acquaintance, Gennady Timchenko became a dollar billionaire while his Swiss-based company Gunvor exported at least a third of Russia’s oil, which it bought at preferential rates, the report alleges in a section titled «Putin and his billionaires.»

Nemtsov tells RFE/RL’s Russian Service the general public is largely unaware that people like Timchenko, Putin’s former judo partner Arkady Rotenburg, and Bank of Russia head Yury Kovalchuk have enriched themselves due to their ties to the prime minister and former president.
«They [the public] don’t know that Timchenko, Rotenberg, Kovalchuk have got rich not because they created Facebook or Google, or something else, but did so absolutely at the expense of the state and state property,» he says.

Nemtsov adds that corruption is directly responsible for harming Russians’ quality of life. «We have bad roads. This is because of corruption,» he says. «The fact that prices are going up on utilities in our country, this is because the tariffs are going up on gas, and the tariffs on gas are going up because Putin’s friends have taken $60 billion worth of property.»

Putin and President Dmitry Medvedev themselves have 26 «palaces» and five yachts, which in turn require costly state upkeep, according to the report.

‘Nothing Being Done’

Published roughly a year before Russia’s presidential election, the report is the first project produced by the People’s Freedom Party, which operates under the slogan «For a Russia without tyranny and corruption.»

Nemtsov says reports like this are necessary because the state-controlled networks are not reporting on corruption among Putin and his inner circle.

«If there was a place for discussion, if there was a place for discussion on federal television, then of course, there would be no need for reports like ‘Putin. Corruption,'» Nemtsov says.

Corruption rose steadily in the first five years of Putin’s tenure costing Russia $300 billion a year, the equivalent of 25 percent of its gross domestic product, according to the report, which cites the Indem think tank. «Supporters of Putin often assert that corruption in the so-called ‘wild 1990s’ was worse than it is now. But the facts speak to the opposite,» the authors write.

President Medvedev’s flagship anticorruption campaign, which he announced shortly after he assumed office in May 2008, has had little impact, according to international corruption watchdogs. Medvedev himself has acknowledged that the campaign has thus far had little impact.

Transparency International found that Russia’s perceived levels of corruption increased last year, while its global corruption ranking slumped from 146th to 154th out of 178 countries.

Going To Court

Nemtsov says 11,000 copies of the report have already been printed and will be made available at Strategy 31 opposition rallies scheduled to take place on downtown Moscow’s Triumph Square on March 31. Nemtsov says that 100,000 Russians visited the report’s website in the first 36 hours of its publication.
In the past, Nemtsov and Milov have co-authored similar reports, including one accusing former Moscow Mayor Yury Luzhkov of using his position to enrich himself and his wife, Yelena Baturina. The latter report generated a drawn-out legal battle between Nemtsov and Luzhkov.

Timchenko took Nemtsov and Milov to court over another opposition pamphlet titled «Putin. The Results. Ten Years.» In February the pair were required to retract two statements that were deemed slanderous and pay 200,000 rubles (about $7,000) in compensation.

No lawsuits have been filed against the authors of «Putin. Corruption.»

In December Nemtsov, Milov, and Ryzhkov filed their own defamation suit against Putin, seeking $34,000 in damages after the prime minister suggested in a nationally broadcast address that the three siphoned off budget money while they were in government in the 1990s.

In the same breath, Putin said that «extremist» rallies should be «cut short immediately.»

The lawsuit was unsuccessful and Nemtsov was subsequently arrested at a New Year’s Eve opposition rally and detained for 15 days.

RFE/RL’s Russian Service contributed to this report

Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty

Источник: http://www.rferl.org/content/russia_opposition_party_says_corruption_rose_under_putin/3541988.html

A report released by an agency of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) calls for greater cooperation among countries in the global South and says poor governance structures threaten quality investigative journalism in the region.

Titled Investigative Journalism: Issues for a South-South Debate, the document was recently published by website Mercado Ético/Ethical Markets and the UNDP International Policy Centre for Inclusive Growth .

The report was based on the 2010 International Workshop on Investigative Journalism: A South-South Dialogue, which gathered journalists, experts, academics, opinion makers and representatives of the United Nations and civil society from South Africa, Brazil, India, Mexico, Switzerland, and Qatar.

Without governments that ensure the safety and freedom of journalists, various forms of censorship — political, financial, economic and geographic — prevail, along with market pressure and corruption. Together, these forces frequently prevent journalists from effectively reporting on their societies.

One example is the case of journalist Sanjuana Martinez, who wrote three books on pedophilia in the Catholic Church in Mexico. Martinez suffered threats, lost her job and spent years unable to publish her story because of pressure from the local church. “When I did the first series of interviews, there were no problems, but after when I tried to continue the story, I could not anymore,” she explained.

Frequently, funds are the main barrier. “Investigative journalism is expensive, time-consuming and often does not generate anything to be published,” said Maurício Hashizume of NGO Repórter Brasil, who has covered slave labor in Brazil.

When the pressure to make money prevails, democracy suffers, said Abderrahim Foukara, Al Jazeera Washington bureau chief.

“We are under so much pressure to ‘feed the beasts’ 24 hours a day that we lost the necessary tools to reflect on what we reported and its consequences.» He cites poor reporting on weapons of mass destruction in Iraq. The media failed to question their existence, legitimizing the invasion. “We are more concerned with generating revenue than producing information for the people,» he concluded.

The report urges investigative reporters and institutions from different countries to work together.

“The South-South exchanges must go beyond the markets. We have a heavy flow of business and flow of little experiences of civil society and media,” Hashizume added, pointing that obstacles could be overcome with strategic international partnerships and financial and logistical support of multilateral organizations.

The pedophilia story in Mexico would have benefited from such international cooperation. As Martinez recounted, a cardinal sexually abused more than 100 children in Mexico and the U.S., only to move to another country when he was accused of the crimes. For Martinez, it would have been crucial to continue the investigation in the other country.

Barriers to investigative journalism also hamper economic growth, a main concern for the Southern Hemisphere.

“There is a clear link between journalism and democracy and also between journalism and development,” said Patrice Schneider of the Media Development Loan Fund.

To read the report in PDF format (in English or Portuguese), click here.

A version of this article first appeared in IJNet’s Portuguese edition.

http://ijnet.org/blog/un-report-calls-cooperation-investigative-journalism-crucial

Deadline:01/06/11
One Minutes Foundation

Aspiring journalists between 12 and 21 years old can enter a video competition.

The One Minutes Junior Competition, organized by The One Minutes Foundation with the support of UNICEF, is a video competition for 60-second videos.

Young filmmakers can submit a film, music video, short documentary or animation. There are three categories: a self-introduction, a video on belonging or being left out and an open video on any topic.

To view videos submitted so far, click here.

The winner of each category will receive a JVC digital video camera. For more information, click here: http://www.theoneminutesjr.org/?thisarticle=43

http://www.theoneminutesjr.org/?thisarticle=43