A female radio journalist gunned down

IFJ Condemns Killing of Female Journalist in Somalia

The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) today condemned the killing of Rahmo Abdulkadir, a female radio journalist who was gunned down in the Somali capital, Mogadishu on Sunday 24 March 2013.

According to the National Union of Somali Journalists (NUSOJ), an IFJ affiliate, Rahmo Abdulkadir who worked for Radio Abudwaq was shot dead near her house by three young men armed with pistols. The shooting took place in the district of Towfiq in north Mogadishu.

"We urge the authorities to thoroughly investigate this murder and bring the killers to justice," said Gabriel Baglo, IFJ Africa director. «We are seriously concerned by the escalation of deadly violence targeting journalists killed in Somalia." 

NUSOJ said that the motive behind the killing is unknown, adding that Rahmo Abdulkadir, who had recently arrived in Mogadishu for private reasons was working as journalist, producer and technician. 

"We need the law enforcement agencies and the government at all levels to put a stop to the incessant and senseless killing of media practitioners," said Omar Faruk Osman, NUSOJ Secretary General.

Rahmo Abdulkadir is the second Somali journalist murdered in as many weeks, following the killing of Abdihared Osman Adan on 18 January, also in Mogadishu. She is also the third journalist killed in Somalia since the start of the year and the second female journalist murdered in the country in a decade.IFJ Condemns Killing of Female Journalist in Somalia

For more information please contact: +221 33 867 95 86/87

The IFJ represents more than 600.000 Journalists in 134 countries in the World

IFJ Condemns Kidnapping of TV Journalist in Nigeria

Her baby and maid were released later

The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) has today condemned the kidnapping of OLubunmi Oke, a television journalist in Nigeria. According to the Nigerian Union of Journalists (NUJ), an IFJ affiliate, the reporter and presenter with the Nigerian Television Authority (NTA), her baby and maid were taken Thursday March 21 by four men who blocked her car as she was leaving her office in Akure, the capital of Ondo state (South West). Her baby and maid were released later while the car was found in another town. The reason of the kidnapping is unknown.

“We are deeply concerned by the kidnapping of our colleague. We call on security forces to do their best to ensure her safe return. We stand in solidarity with her family and colleagues,” said Gabriel Baglo, IFJ Africa director.

The IFJ raises concern about the personal security of journalists in this context of violence in some parts of the country.  On 26 April 2012, two suicide car bombs targeted offices of Nigerian newspaper This Day in Abuja and a Media house in Kaduna.  Arrests of journalists are also frequent. On 24 December 2012, journalists Musa Muhammad Awwal and Aliyu Saleh from weekly Al-Mizan, a Hausa-language newspaper, were arrested and detained by the security forces without clear charges. They have since been released. The journalist Ikechukwu Udendu, editor of Anambra News , a monthly newspaper, was shot dead on Saturday 12 January 2013 by unknown persons.

“We call on journalists to have personal safety protocol and ask authorities to bring to court all perpetrators of attacks against journalists,” Baglo added.

For more information please contact: +221 33 867 95 86/87

The IFJ represents more than 600.000 Journalists in 134 countries in the World

IFJ Condemns Kidnapping of TV Journalist in Nigeria

52nd Anniversary Celebrations of UNI

21-March-2013 18:05 IST
Need for more wire News Agencies in the Media Sector 
-I&B Minister Tewari Participates in the celebrations

Minister for Information & Broadcasting, Shri Manish Tewari has said that taking into account the potential of the growing media sector and the flow of information in the news segment, there existed a case for more wire news agencies being established across the media landscape in the country. The potential was tremendous as these agencies facilitated information flow at the sub regional, regional and national level. The increase in number of news agencies would not only enable local based news being highlighted at the national level, it would also enable such agencies to balance news dissemination at the national and local level. Taking into account the diversity of information dissemination, such mechanisms would enable local issues being highlighted as prominently as those at the national level. The Minister stated this while speaking at the 52nd Anniversary Celebrations of United News of India, here today. 

Elaborating further, Shri Tewari said that there was an urgent need to outline sustainable revenue models. Quoting the instance of the digitization process the Minister said it was an attempt to bring about transparency and a long term sustainable process in the broadcasting sector which would help all stakeholders. The revenue models would also have to take into account the parameters that were addressing different audiences with the emergence of new media platforms and instant communication mechanisms.   52nd Anniversary Celebrations of UNI
CP/ST

Copyright Rules 2013

18-March-2013 18:44 IST

Provide new rules for statutory licence
The Copyright Rules, 2013 has been notified by the Copyright Division, Department of Higher Education, Ministry of Human Resource Development on 14th March, 2013. The amendments to the existing provisions of the Copyright Act, 1957 and introduction of new provisions under the Copyright(Amendment) Act, 2012, which came into the force on 21st June, 2012, necessitated amendments to the Copyright Rules, 1958. The draft Rules were posted on the website of the Copyright Office on 28th August, 2012 seeking comments of all stakeholders and experts giving a deadline of 20th September, 2012. The Ministry also held a meeting with various stakeholders and copyright experts on 8th October, 2012 to seek their suggestions on the draft rules. 

The Copyright Rules, 2013 provide new rules for statutory licence for cover versions and broadcasting of literary and musical works and sound recording; compulsory licences for works withheld from public, unpublished and published works, for benefit of disabled; registration of Copyright Societies and Performer’s Right Societies; storage of transient or incidental copies of woks; making or adapting the work by organisations working for the benefit of persons with disabilities; importation of infringing copies and technological protection measures. 

The fee for registration of copyright for various works and fee for licences to be issued by register of Copyrights under the directions/orders of the Copyright Board have been increased under the Copyright Rules, 2013. The minimum fee has been increased for registration from Rs. 50/- per work to Rs. 500/- per work and the maximum fee has been increased from Rs. 600/- per work to Rs. 5,000/-. The fee for licences has been increased from Rs. 200/- to Rs. 2000/- per work and the maximum fee has been increased from Rs. 400/- to Rs. 40,000/-. The new fee structure provided under Second Schedule of the Rules is applicable from the date of coming into force of the Copyright Rules, 2013 that is 14th March, 2013. A copy of the same has been made available on the website of the Copyright Office (copyright.gov.in). 
R N M

Who will protect the people from the press

FREEDOM OF PRESS

It is a free press……there are laws to protect the freedom of the press’s speech, but none that are worth anything to protect the people from the press.” -------------Mark Twain

MEDIA IN WEST BENGAL

“Politics, Journalism, and Big Business work hand in hand for the hoodwinking of the public and the plundering of labour.” (Upton Sinclair/The Brass Check (1919)                                      From: Gouranga Chatterjee

Sri Lanka seeks to ID sources for Channel 4 film

March 6th, 2013 | Add a Comment

The Sri Lankan Defense Ministry says it wants to identify sources who provided information to the UK-based broadcaster Channel 4 for a new documentary alleging that government forces committed war crimes during the country’s long civil conflict,The Divaina, a Sinhala-language daily, reported today. In response, the producer issued a statement saying that no “resident anywhere in Sri Lanka helped us with this film.”

The Channel 4 documentary, “No War Zone: The Killing Fields of Sri Lanka,” was released last week in Geneva to coincide with a U.N. Human Rights Council discussion on Sri Lanka. The film depicts the Sri Lankan army’s involvement in a summary execution and torture. Callum Macrae, producer of the new documentary, also said in the statement that “no one was paid for any evidence or interviews.”

The Defense Ministry has a long history of threatening, intimidating, and harassing those who challenge government actions, CPJ research shows. An English translation of The Divaina piece referred to anyone assisting Channel 4 as having “turned their back to the motherland.”

“We deplore the Defense Ministry’s attempt to stifle free speech,” said CPJ Deputy Director Robert Mahoney. “Sri Lankans have a right to examine the country’s human rights record without fear of being denounced as unpatriotic.”

Channel 4 also exposed evidence of Sri Lankan war-time atrocities in a 2011 report. The government has denied any allegations of war crimes and has claimed that material used by Channel 4 was not authentic, local reports said.

Sri Lanka remains a highly restrictive and dangerous nation for the press. In July 2012, the Ministry of Media and Information blocked efforts to introduce freedom of information legislation before parliament, saying national security would be threatened if citizens were given access to public documents.

Written by cpj                                                                                             Courtesy: Network for Rights

Sri Lanka seeks to ID sources for Channel 4 film

Website on Heritage Initiatives

05-March-2013 14:27 IST
NCF and HUDCO agreed 
The Minister of Culture Smt. Chandresh Kumari Katoch has said that National Culture Fund (NCF) and Housing and Urban Development Corporation (HUDCO) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on 18th October, 2012. With the signing of the MoU, NCF and HUDCO agreed to utilize their respective strengths for the following:

1.     Training and Capacity Building
2.     Disaster management
3.     Museum upgradation
4.      Environmental improvement and provision of amenities
5.      Conservation and restoration of monuments
6.     Any other activity representing the cultural heritage of the country. The details of the salient features of the MoU are at Annexure.

In a written reply in the Lok Sabha today Smt. Katoch said, on the implementation of the said MoU, the Corporate Social Responsibility activities of HUDCO shall benefit the preservation and restoration of heritage buildings, with the provision of basic amenities/facilities at heritage sites and promotion, training/capacity building, awareness generation for the enhancement of culture and the improvement of the quality of life of citizens and development of the habitat sector.

This is an Umbrella MoU, which does not mention any fund allocation. Fund allocation is to be made upon the signing of individual project specific MoU’s between NCF & HUDCO subsequently, the Minister added.
Annexure
The salient features of the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU)The executed MoU identified the following areas of mutual cooperation:-1.     Training and Capacity Building- to actively work for sensitization of the local functionaries/implementing agencies for orientation towards cultural and heritage preservation. The local authorities as well as other role players shall be the focus of the training. International institutions working in the field shall also be involved in the training and capacity building programme.

2.     Disaster Management – to initiate joint research in the areas of traditional materials and technologies, damage assessment and retrofitting. Including strengthening measures and prevention of damages by taking up pilot projects.

3.     Museums- to ensure the improvement, value enhancement and revitalization of existing museums. Including state of art technology display, interpretations and presentation.

4.     Environmental improvement and provision of amenities- to work for improving the environmental conditions in and around world/other heritage sites including provision of basic facilities/amenities.

5.     Conservation and Restoration – to work for conservation and restoration of monuments/sites (protected/heritage building) which are State owned/Govt. of India owned.

6.   Any other activity which is mutually considered important/relevant to hereinabove referred areas of co-operation.(PIB)

***AD/DB