The brutal attacks on independent media in Sri Lanka, which resulted in the strafing of an independent TV station complex and the execution-style murder of veteran journalist Lasantha Wickrematunga, once more cast doubt to the state of press freedom in this island nation. For years now, the Sri Lankan media have been the victims of threats and other forms of violence and from the looks of it, the situation is still at its worst. In this week's newsletter, we take a look back at the violent acts against the media in Sri Lanka and how the rest of the world is reacting to the tragic events.
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Singapore Gov’t on Facebook – Reaching Out or More Control?
Critics have called it an instrument of control and invasion of privacy — cyber style. But what exactly is wrong with Reach, the feedback arm of the Singapore government, setting up a Facebook group?
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Sri Lankan Editor's Killing Sparks International Outrage
The international community, as well as various human rights and media watch organisations, condemned the killing of Sri Lanka's 'Sunday Leader' editor-in-chief Lasantha Wickrematunga on Jan 8.
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Outrage, Helplessness at Editor's Murder
IPS zeroes in on the recent killing of Sri Lankan journalist Lasantha Wickrematunga on Jan 8 and reports on the reaction of different sectors within and outside of Sri Lanka.
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Can Google Save the Print Media?
What can online media do to save the newspaper industry if ever the latter begins spiraling down the drain?
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Al Jazeera English Beats Israel Ban on Gaza Coverage
"Israel has invaded Gaza, divided it, and banned foreign journalists from entering — but Al Jazeera English was inside before the war began," reported multimedia journalist Ahmed Shihab-Eldin on Huffington Post.
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China Purges Cyberspace of Porn
In a bid to clean up the Internet of pornographic materials, the Chinese government released the names of 19 blacklisted websites on Jan 5, according to the Xinhua News Agency.
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41 Journalists Killed in 2008 — CPJ
The Committee to Protect Journalists recently released statistics on the number of journalists killed either in the line of duty or were deliberately targeted for assassination in 2008.
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