"Internet companies have become the new gatekeepers of information–and their data-parsing algorithms the twenty-first century equivalent of the stereotypical editor with the green eyeshade who filtered the news before passing it along to readers .. As they have expanded globally, these pioneering
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corporations have had to face, and deal with, a tough reality. The Internet that gave them birth espouses all sorts of high-minded principles of open and free expression. But many of the governments in countries that offer tantalizingly large commercial markets not only don’t espouse those principles, they actively deny them [...] This report offers these recommendations for addressing the role of the new information gatekeepers in the age of the Internet: The dominant Internet companies should be more transparent about how they decide on content issues ...; The start-ups of today should consider the lessons of the recent past ...; Twitter (and the telecoms, and other ICT companies) should join the Global Network Initiative ...; The Global Network Initiative should toughen up." (Executive summary, page 6-7)
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"This report offers four recommendations for addressing some of the complex challenges of independent media in exile: donor groups should expand and formalize coordination of their exile-media support [...]; organizations providing international media training should actively seek to train exile-med
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ia journalists [...]; a formal international association of exile media should be established; the exile-media organizations themselves should take some of the initiative." (Executive summary, page 5)
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"With all the organized efforts to support media development and defend press freedom around the world, there has been remarkably little done in any concerted way to reduce the problem of corrupt journalism", states this report. Ristow proposes tha
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t international journalism organizations should issue regular reports documenting instances in which journalists have received, or extorted, payment for news as a clear sign of acknowledging this "dark side" of the profession and take the lead in documenting, and publicizing, the pay levels of journalists around the world. Media development organizations should sharpen their focus on ethics training and support the creation and nurture of media accountability systems such as ombudsmen. News media owners, managers, and editors should adopt, publicize, and then stick to a firm policy of zero tolerance for any form of cash for news coverage - from simple "facilitation" payments to reporters to paid ads masquerading as objective news -, review pay policies and take the initiative in creating accountability systems on their own." (commbox)
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"1. The media development community should work within individual media houses to create in-house, publicly reported complaint systems rather than relying solely on outside press councils to do the job. 2. Funding groups should encourage media criticism, in forms such as local journalism reviews. 3.
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Press councils and ombudsmen should be adequately funded from a variety of sources (NGOs, media organizations, international donors) while safe-guarding their independence. 4. In the establishment of a press council, there must be an effective mechanism to avoid, or greatly reduce, the possibility that complainants will take advantage of defamation laws and take their issues to court rather than to the council. 5. To be effective, press councils and ombudsmen should focus on journalistic standards: ethical behavior (such as not accepting payment for stories), fairness, balance, and using appropriate and varied sources for information." (Summary of recommendations, page 7)
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"This report examines the key issues surrounding threats to the physical safety of journalists, particularly in countries with hostile media environments. While acknowledging the serious impact of repressive measures such as imprisonment, the focus of the report is sharply on incidents of violence.
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[...] If the problem of violence against journalists has so far proven intractable, enough strong research, analysis and advocacy has been done over the past two decades to provide a clear understanding of the challenges—and some potential answers. Drawing on the experience of press freedom experts, and especially on the insights of some of those on the front lines of violence, these are recommendations for action that could improve the hopes of true solutions: get the facts, and get them as straight as possible; more targeted coordination of efforts by international organizations; create a pilot project of independent investigation; toughening the policy approach; broaden the approach to training, and fund it better." (Executive summary, page 5-7)
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