What being thrown out of Russia taught me about the Kremlin’s war on the media

During my 10 years as a Moscow-based journalist, I struggled to imagine how and when I would eventually leave Russia.  

Half Russian myself, I had moved there in 2013, keen to learn more and report on a country that I felt was often misunderstood by many in the West.

In the end, the decision was made for me last month when a representative of Russia’s foreign ministry called to tell me that my visa would not be renewed and I had six days to leave.

Vladimir Putin signs bill targeting foreign media

So he's signed it. Of course, there was never much doubt Vladimir Putin would put pen to paper on a piece of legislation that's been rushed through both houses of parliament in roughly two weeks.

But now that it's officially law, we'll soon see how Russia's media foreign agent bill is to be used.

Donald Trump Personally Blasts the Press

The fantasy of the normalization of Donald Trump—the idea that a demagogic candidate would somehow be transformed into a statesman of poise and deliberation after his Election Day victory—should now be a distant memory, an illusion shattered.

First came the obsessive Twitter rants directed at “Hamilton” and “Saturday Night Live.” Then came Monday’s astonishing aria of invective and resentment aimed at the media, delivered in a conference room on the twenty-fifth floor of Trump Tower. In the presence of television executives and anchors, Trump whined about everything from NBC News reporter Katy Tur’s coverage of him to a photograph the news network has used that shows him with a double chin. Why didn’t they use “nicer” pictures?

Egypt’s Young “Anti-Torture T-Shirt” Detainee Finally Free After Nearly 800 Days Behind Bars

ISTANBUL — Mahmoud Hussein, detained in Cairo while wearing an anti-torture t-shirt, is finally free after nearly 800 days behind bars during which he says he was repeatedly tortured.

Hussein, who was 18 years old when he was taken into custody on Jan. 25, 2014, after attending a demonstration against both military rule and the Muslim Brotherhood, has since spent over two years in detention without being formally charged.

New Defense Department Manual Allows Journalists To Be Held As 'Unprivileged Belligerents'

WASHINGTON (AP) — New Defense Department guidelines allow commanders to punish journalists and treat them as "unprivileged belligerents" if they believe journalists are sympathizing or cooperating with the enemy.

The Law of War manual, updated to apply for the first time to all branches of the military, contains a vaguely worded provision that military commanders could interpret broadly, experts in military law and journalism say. Commanders could ask journalists to leave military bases or detain journalists for any number of perceived offenses.

Despite efforts to suppress journalistic expression, no longer a quiet Canada

Canada has been turned upside down in recent weeks. From the attacks in Ottawa to the sex allegations against CBC’s top cultural broadcaster, it’s been a shock to what many considered a relatively uneventful country. But, if anything good can be said to have come from these events, it is the elevated level of discussion and awareness in the Canadian public sphere, where millions of the usually disengaged are engaging in [mostly] constructive dialogue about serious issues like mental health, militarism, surveillance, and rape culture. And this time, we’re not looking to the crazy antics of our friends to the south, this time we’re taking a deep look at ourselves and our society, what defines us and what our values are.

Conservative Party targets media again in latest fundraising pitches

OTTAWA — At the end of a year that has seen the Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s government rocked by scandals uncovered by journalists, the Conservative Party is again targeting the media in fundraising pitches to supporters.

Party president John Walsh sent an email to the supporters Friday evening that lumped the media together with the Liberal Party as the Conservatives’ opponents.

“Here’s the bad news — the Liberal fundraising machine is in overdrive, and we need to keep up,” Walsh wrote in the email pitch.

Environment minister’s letter calls Postmedia reporter an ‘activist’

A letter from Environment Minister Peter Kent to editors at Postmedia in January called one of the news chain’s reporters an environmental activist.

On January 4, Kent wrote to Postmedia, saying he wanted to “clarify a few points” in a story the news chain ran on Christmas Eve. That story, by Postmedia reporter Mike De Souza, examined the government’s new fuel economy standards. De Souza reported that a government analysis had shown those regulations could put more cars on the road “and cost consumers and the economy up to $11.2 billion between 2017 and 2025.”

Hill reporters complain about PM’s lack of access on trips

Hill reporters say one of the only chances they have to pose questions to Prime Minister Stephen Harper are on foreign trips that they must pay for and see this new normal as “problematic,” especially since these access opportunities don’t balance out with limited availabilities in Ottawa.

“In effect, you are paying for access to the Prime Minister,” said Canadian Press reporter Stephanie Levitz, who has been on the Hill since June 2010. “When media outlets—I think often in the narrative of limited resources—are having to balance, ‘Okay, do we have to go on this trip, what’s the news value of this trip?’ and the news value of this trip becomes, as many of these trips have, ‘Well, we’ll get to ask the Prime Minister [a question],’ I think it raises a lot of questions about the implications of that decision. Are we paying for access to the prime minister? Now, the money doesn’t go into his pockets, but that makes me uncomfortable.”

Government Leaks: Leon Panetta Orders Pentagon Officials To Monitor Major Media Outlets

WASHINGTON, July 19 (Reuters) - Defense Secretary Leon Panetta ordered senior Pentagon officials on Thursday to begin monitoring major U.S. news media for disclosures of classified information in an effort to stop the release of government secrets after a series of high-profile leaks.

The announcement came hours after Panetta and other senior defense officials appeared before a closed-door hearing of the House of Representatives Armed Services Committee to discuss recent disclosures of classified security information.

"Gasland" Director Josh Fox Arrested at Congressional Hearing on Natural Gas Fracking

The Academy Award-nominated filmmaker Josh Fox was handcuffed and arrested Wednesday as he attempted to film a congressional hearing on the controversial natural gas drilling technique known as fracking, which the Environmental Protection Agency recently reported caused water contamination in Pavillion, Wyoming. Fox directed the award-winning film, "Gasland," which documents the impact of fracking on communities across the United States, and is now working on a sequel. Fox says he was arrested after Republicans refused to allow him to film because he did not have the proper credentials. "We wanted to report on what happened [at the hearing]. I was not interested in disrupting that hearing. It was not a protest action," says Fox. "I was simply trying to do my job as a journalist and go in there and show to the American people what was transpiring in that hearing, so that down the line, as we know there will be a lot of challenges mounted to that [Pavillion, Wyoming] EPA report—and frankly, to the people in Pavillion, who have been sticking up for themselves and demanding an investigation into the groundwater contamination—and to make sure that people could view that in a larger forum than usually happens."

Video
Source:
Author:

Rob Ford Shoots for the Moon and Snubs The Star

I shocked myself last week when I read Torstar chair John Honderich’s article about it, and realized I’d completely forgotten. This has been going on ever since Ford became mayor, the result of a July 13, 2010 article by Rob Cribb and Kris Rushowy about Ford’s high school football coaching career. He says the story got it all wrong, and threatened to pursue it legally, but never followed through.

The Star says the story got it right.

But let’s say for a moment they got it wrong. Let’s say they said something that was not true that damaged the mayor’s reputation. Then he would have two reasonable options. He could take it on the chins, realizing he’s a public figure and that a refutation of the story by the mayor would have roughly the same reach as the story itself had, and leave it at that. Or, he could take up his legal rights and sue for libel, because we have laws that protect people, including public figures, from having reputation-damaging lies spread about them in print.

He chose a third, unreasonable course, the municipal version of taking your football and leaving the field. The Star made him feel bad, and so he won’t play with them anymore. It’s childish, but it’s also an odd sort of vigilantism. There are laws to deal with these disputes, and he chose to ignore them. As a lawmaker himself, this is odd behaviour, and calls into further question exactly what it is he thinks he’s doing in City Hall, on top of so many other statements, actions and decisions that imply he thinks it’s his job to ensure municipal government stands aside wherever possible, rather than leading or even helping.

Occupy Wall Street Protests Heighten Tension Between Police And Media Nationwide

NEW YORK -- As police crack down on the Occupy Wall Street movement, journalists covering the story continue facing arrest, harassment, and restrictions on movement during midnight raids.

Such heavy-handed tactics over the past couple months have increased tensions between the police and the press across the country, from New York City's "free speech zones" to Los Angeles' "First Amendment area."

John Ensslin, president of the Society of Professional Journalists, expressed concern this week over the "alarming trend" of arrests and detentions -- one that doesn't appear to be dying down even as many camps are cleared.

Early Wednesday morning, Los Angeles police arrested two journalists covering the eviction of Occupy protesters, bringing the total to 30 since September. Meanwhile, other journalists didn't face the threat of arrest in Los Angeles only because they were part of the LAPD's designated press "pool." This group was permitted to cover the Occupy LA eviction nearby without risk of arrest for unlawful assembly -- a media restriction that rankled some in the press corps.

Rob Ford boycotts the Star, but we’ll fight it and here’s why

For the Toronto Star, covering local news is fundamental.

It is, quite simply, our bread and butter — and a journalistic responsibility we take most seriously.

If our local democracy is to flourish, it is essential Torontonians be well informed and conversant on all local issues.

Which brings us to the “Ford freeze” — the specific order by Mayor Rob Ford that all official notices and pronouncements from his office not be provided to this newspaper.

The ban has been in place ever since Ford won the mayoral race more than a year ago. It stems from Ford’s rage over a piece the Star ran during the campaign about his conduct as a football coach.

There is no purpose served in rehashing the details. However, the Star has always stood by the story, noting it was carefully checked by our lawyer before publication.

Conservatives Could Violate Constitution By Forcing CBC To Turn Over Documents

OTTAWA - Parliament's top lawyer says Conservative MPs could be violating the Constitution if they force the CBC to turn over documents it says are protected under privacy law.

Parliamentary law clerk and counsel Rob Walsh says the move by Tory members of the access-to-information committee could end up in the courts, where he says their attempt is likely to fail.

Walsh says the bid to peek at the CBC's internal files clearly conflicts with a case now before the Federal Court of Appeal which pits the CBC against the information commissioner.

Writing in response to formal questions from the NDP, Walsh says the committee might consider the documents behind closed doors, but even then he fears a leak could compromise CBC's privacy rights and undermine the ongoing legal case.

Nikki Haley Blasts Media For Challenging Jobs Report, Says Other Governors Are 'Jealous'

COLUMBIA, S.C. -- South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley called the media too negative after The Associated Press raised questions about her claim that 10,000 jobs had been created in the state since she took office in January.

Haley complained during a Cabinet meeting Tuesday the media doesn't want to report anything positive about her administration. She says regardless of the exact number of jobs, other governors are jealous.

An AP analysis of the 10,000 jobs cited by Haley revealed some of them were announced before she took office and others won't be filled for years. She also included hundreds of jobs created in a business deal that she opposed.

After repeated questioning by the AP, the state changed its jobs total several times before finally lowering it to about 9,000 positions, including 4,000 positions at Walmart stores.