Media Quotes of the Week: From Taliban already threatening and harassing journalists to Society of Editors withdraws 'UK press not racist' statement

Reporters Without Borders (RSF) in a statement: "Publicly, the Taliban have undertaken to protect journalists and respect press freedom but the reality in Afghanistan is completely different. The new authorities are already imposing very harsh constraints on the news media even if they are not yet official.The list of new obligations for journalists is getting longer by the day. Less than a week after their spokesman pledged to respect freedom of the press 'because media reporting will be useful to society,' the Taliban are subjecting journalists to harassment, threats and sometimes violence."

Jeremy Dear, International Federation of Journalists deputy general secretary, on journalists in Afghanistan: "It is an incredibly challenging time for media workers. Many are fearful for their lives, women journalists are being prevented from working, some media have been forced to close, hundreds have fled or are trying to leave the country. At the same time others are trying to continue to work as journalsts but with a threat hanging over them and with severe restrictions on what they can report. Despite the propaganda that there would be no revenge by the taliban there have been reports of door to door searches for journalists and threats against many of them...We had one instance of a family being threatened and told the only way they would be left in peace is if their daughter - a journalist - married the local Taliban commander."

The Committee to Protect Journalists in a statement: "As the Taliban attacks reporters, searches their homes, and takes two female state TV anchors off the air, CPJ calls on the group to stand by its public commitment to allow a free and independent press, and to guarantee that all journalists are able to work safely and without interference. CPJ also urges the United States to ensure the safety of Afghan journalists by facilitating safe passage out of the country and providing emergency visas."

Deutsche Welle (DW) Germany’s international broadcaster reports:"Taliban fighters hunting a DW journalist have shot dead one member of his family and seriously injured another. The Taliban were conducting a house-to-house search to try and find the journalist, who now works in Germany. Other relatives were able to escape at the last moment and are now on the run. DW Director General Peter Limbourg issued a strong condemnation and called on the German government to take action. 'The killing of a close relative of one of our editors by the Taliban yesterday is inconceivably tragic, and testifies to the acute danger in which all our employees and their families in Afghanistan find themselves,' Limbourg said."

NUJ general secretary Michelle Stanistreet in a statement condemning the actions of anti-vaccine protestors who occupied the London headquarters of ITV News and Channel 4 News, targeted journalists including the Channel 4 News presenter Jon Snow: "Journalists have to be free to go about their work without abuse and harassment. It is disturbing and concerning to see the vitriol being expressed against media workers – rhetoric that has been whipped up and cynically exploited in some quarters. Today’s occupation is not an isolated example – it’s the latest in a series of incidents in which reporters and photographers have been hounded and abused – in the streets, in their workplaces and even at their home. More needs to be done by the police and by employers to step up security and clamp down on abuse."

Iain Dale on Twitter on the political row over Jess Brammar being up for a new post overseeing the BBC’s domestic and international news channels. "Given the BBC has banned its employees from defending @jessbrammar against misogynistic & unfair attacks, especially from the Mail, let me do so. Most political journos have 'views'. The key is if those views dictate their journalism. In my experience, she's a total professional."

BBC insider, quoted in The Times [£]: “What’s next, is the government of the day going to express an opinion on the next political editor of the BBC, or the next presenter of the Today programme or Newsnight? It’s disturbing. The BBC is now in a no-win situation. If the BBC doesn’t appoint her, then it looks weak, callow, and partial because it’s giving in to the government of the day about something so minor. If it does appoint her, it will be a massive culture war issue.”

Dawn Alford, executive director of the Society of Editors, in a statement: "Our previous executive director resigned following a statement he issued in which he said the press was not racist or bigoted. That statement didn’t accurately reflect the complex, challenging and changing processes that all society – including the media – is experiencing. It also did not reflect the continuing actions of the Society of Editors to support publishers in improving diversity and inclusion within our industry. We have taken down this initial statement from our website and consider this to be a formal withdrawal of it."

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Media Quotes of the Week: From UK criticised by press freedom group over detention of Assange to US Capitol riot accused say they were journalists

Reporters Without Borders in its World Press Freedom Index 2021 Report: "Europe continues to be the most favourable continent for press freedom but violence against journalists has increased, and the mechanisms the European Union established to protect fundamental freedoms have yet to loosen Viktor Orbán’s grip on Hungary’s media or halt the draconian measures being taken in other central European countries...There was a different kind of setback for journalism in the United Kingdom (up 2 at 33rd), where a judge based her decision not to extradite WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange to the United States on the potential threats to his mental health rather than the need to protect public interest journalism and free speech."

Jim Bilton on InPublishing on the best film and TV shows about the media business, according to a poll of media insiders: "All the President’s Men (1976) received the most votes by far. It clearly remains the definitive account of what investigative journalism is all about. In the current world of fake news, the misuse of political power and the ability of politicians to manipulate and deceive, the need for independent journalism and the reality of there still being “facts” to find out there, rings true with so many working now in the media business, both editorial and commercial. It also harks back to a “golden age” when management seemed to take big bets and committed real resource to major editorial missions. And of course, every male journalist of a certain age still harbours the secret longing to be."

• Drop the Dead Donkey was voted best TV show

The Times [£] reports: "Boris Johnson has scrapped plans for televised White House-style briefings amid concerns about the 'political risk' involved despite spending £2.6 million on a new room to host them. The Times has been told that the briefings have been axed because they risk giving 'oxygen' to difficult stories for ministers."

HuffPost UK editor-in-chief Jess Brammar on Twitter: "Ok, deep breath. My time at HuffPost UK is coming to an end. As part of cuts BuzzFeed announced weeks after buying us in February, the UK news desk is being closed down and many of our team are being made redundant - including the entire brilliant, trailblazing news team. My role is going along with about half the team. I was offered a new reduced editor role, running a HuffPost UK without a newsdesk, as part of BuzzFeed’s plan to 'fast track its path to profitability'. But news is at the heart of what HuffPost was for me. So I am bowing out."

James Ball in the New Statesman on the cuts at BuzzFeed and HuffPost: "Journalists have proven they can create online newsrooms that generate social value and can reach huge audiences. Other outlets have proven there are multiple ways to raise money off that. And the talent is there. What’s missing is the right owner: someone who wants to make decent, but not venture capital-scale profits and who can be more responsive than distant US corporate overlords. The latest news for digital media might be grim. But that shouldn’t stop people trying."

Former Northern Echo editor Peter Barron on the trials and tribulations of dealing with local safe cracker, businessman and one time Darlington F.C. chairman George Reynolds, who has died: "IN one call to me, George declared: 'If you’re going to write headlines about me, I’ll write headlines about you.' The next day, he erected a huge billboard outside the stadium, and posted weekly 'headlines' in enormous letters. They included SACK BARRON, BARRON IS A LIAR (complete with a picture of Pinnochio), and his carefully considered coup de grace, BARRON IS GAY."

Chris Blackhurst on Press Gazette on the newsroom under threat after Covid and the growth of working from home: "The newsroom is much more than covering the occurrence of a terrorist outrage or disaster or some political storm. It’s about a buzz, an intangible chemistry, an intoxicating smell, of people, young and old, sparking off each other, sharing ideas and leads, bits of information and yes, having a gossip and a laugh."

Séamus Dooley, NUJ assistant general secretary in a statement on the second anniversary of the killing of journalist Lyra McKee in Derry: "We hope that the second anniversary will prompt witnesses to come forward with new information. I know that in the immediate aftermath of the killing there was a climate of fear and intimidation in Derry, but it is vital that those responsible for the killing of a brave, talented and courageous journalist are brought to justice...the greatest tribute to Lyra would be the arrest and prosecution of all those responsible for her killing. That would send a clear signal to the community that violence, harassment and intimidation have no place in Northern Ireland and will not be tolerated.”

Committee to Protect Journalists Asia program coordinator Steven Butler in a statement: “Forcing a prominent pro-democracy media entrepreneur like Jimmy Lai to spend more than a year in prison and hitting him with additional national security charges that could jail him for life can only be seen as an act of retaliation against an outspoken critic. The Chinese government, which now tightly controls Hong Kong, should reverse course immediately to preserve the tattered remains of the territory’s tradition of press freedom.”

Richard Sambrook on Twitter: "We now have women running Reuters News, BBC News, BBC Content, ITN, ITV, Editing The Guardian, Sunday Times, Sun, Mirror and more. And about time too."

AP reports: "The Trump supporters who stormed the U.S. Capitol in January created a trove of self-incriminating evidence, thoroughly documenting their actions and words in videos and social media posts. Now some of the camera-toting people in the crowd are claiming they were only there to record history as journalists, not to join a deadly insurrection. It’s unlikely that any of the self-proclaimed journalists can mount a viable defense on the First Amendment’s free speech grounds, experts say. They face long odds if video captured them acting more like rioters than impartial observers. But as the internet has broadened and blurred the definition of a journalist, some appear intent on trying."

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