The United Nations Secretary-General on Monday urged governments to “do everything in their power” to support free, independent and diverse media, which the UN’s top human rights official highlighted as “a cornerstone of democratic societies”.
Press freedom should be seen as the “by-product of healthy political society", according to an exiled journalist from Myanmar, where the crisis following the military coup, is now in its fourth month. Near daily pro-democracy protests are being held across the country, which have been met with a crackdown by security forces. There are reports that hundreds have been killed and countless more wounded, including media workers and journalists.
Just ahead of World Press Freedom Day on 3 May, Julia Dean from the UN Country Team in Australia, spoke to Swe Win, Editor-in-Chief of the news agency Myanmar Now. She started by asking him how vital press freedom is for democracy.
The financial decline of many public interest media organizations worldwide has been among the dangerous side-effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, Secretary-General António Guterres said on Wednesday in remarks to a UN-backed event to boost support for the sector.
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) on Tuesday named investigative journalist and media executive Maria Ressa of the Philippines as the recipient of its 2021 press freedom award.
Media which serves the public interest, not only provides vital information communities need to take informed action, it also dispels misinformation, strengthens democratic accountability and boosts sustainable development. But the coronavirus pandemic has hit journalism hard, drying up revenue and putting its very existence into question.
UN News’ Vibhu Mishra speaks with Sheetal Vyas, Founding Executive Director of International Fund for Public Interest Media, about the Fund’s bold, billion dollar rescue plan to help save journalism for the public good.
At least 59 media workers have been killed this year, four of them women, the UN said on Wednesday, in a call to stand up for access to information and factual reporting “as a public good”.
Prominent journalists and champions of press freedom from across the world are examining ways to overcome increasing challenges facing the media during a two-day online conference organized jointly by the UN’s cultural and educational agency, UNESCO, and the Netherlands.
Reporters and other media workers in warzones across the world, are reliable witnesses who contribute to forging peace, and must be better-protected under international humanitarian law, said the UN chief on Wednesday.
