press freedom
The War On Press Freedom
Using the work of video journalist Jason Parkinson, we explore the ways in which press freedom in the UK is being restricted.
Democracy’s Dystopian Future – with Rappler’s Maria Ressa
Journalist Maria Ressa co-founded the multi-award winning news startup Rappler in the Philippines in 2011. Since then, both she and Rappler have become key targets for President Rodrigo Duterte’s government crackdown on media freedom with 11 legal cases filed against them. Rappler has also been the subject of prolific and frequently orchestrated online attacks. Ressa will be at the club to discuss how Rappler and other news organisations are confronting the escalating political attacks against them.
Unreported World: Nicaragua, Press Under Siege
Unreported World returns to the Frontline Club for the first time this year with a pre-broadcast screening of a stunning new documentary that takes an inside look at the dangers faced by Nicaraguan journalists trying to get their stories out.
Ethics in the News: Censorship and Survival in Egypt and Beyond
For media workers, internalising red lines presents some of the most challenging ethical decisions they will face in their careers and lives. Join us to hear from those who’ve experienced first hand how censorship affects journalists – and journalism – in Egypt.
Ctrl, Alt, Delete. How Politics and the Media Crashed Our Democracy
Interviewing everyone from Tony Blair to Michael Gove, top journalists to Russian bloggers, and tech giant execs to online activists, Tom Baldwin describes a vicious battle for control of the news agenda.
President Rouhani: One Year On
In the month the US is expected to review the Iran nuclear deal, our panel reflect on one year of President Rouhani in power, his accomplishments and legacies, both domestic and international.
Eritrea’s Forgotten Journalists
According to the Committee to Protect Journalists Eritrea has the most censored press in the world. Has Eritrea become Africa’s North Korea? With only state communication remaining, contacting the outside world has become nearly impossible. What was once a relatively unknown and underreported country is now at the forefront of the EU’s mind, as Eritreans make up a significant number of those entering Europe on dangerous crossings. Who are Eritrea’s forgotten journalists, and how did this extreme stifling of press freedoms come to be?
Mohamed Fahmy and Amal Clooney: #FreedAJStaff in Pictures
Photographs by Tolly Robinson from Wednesday 7 October 2015 – former Al Jazeera English bureau chief Mohamed Fahmy spoke to the Frontline Club in his first public appearance since his release from a Cairo prison on 23 September. He was joined by his lawyer Amal Clooney and BBC chief international correspondent Lyse Doucet.
Mohamed Fahmy and Amal Clooney: #FreedAJStaff
By Charlotte Beale On Wednesday 7 October, former Al Jazeera English bureau chief Mohamed Fahmy joined a packed audience at the Frontline Club in his first public appearance since his release from a Cairo prison on 23 September. Fahmy was joined in conversation by his lawyer Amal Clooney and BBC chief international correspondent Lyse Doucet. […]
#FREEDAJSTAFF – Mohamed Fahmy and his lawyer Amal Clooney talk to the Frontline Club
On his first trip to London since being released from prison in Egypt we are delighted to welcome former Al Jazeera bureau chief Mohamed Fahmy to the Frontline Club. He will be joining us in conversation with his lawyer Amal Clooney to reflect on his ordeal, their fight for press freedom in Egypt and his hopes for the future. Chaired by BBC presenter and chief international correspondent, Lyse Doucet.
The New Censorship and the Global Battle for Press Freedom
By Josie Leblond What are journalists worth in an age where anyone can tell their own story online? Has their diminishing value led to the growing violence against journalists across the world? This is the argument that executive director of the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), Joel Simon, put forward at the Frontline Club on Tuesday 17 March. […]
Beyond the limit: Peter Greste recounts a year in Egyptian prison
By Richard Nield In an emotional and inspiring interview at the Frontline Club on 19 February, little more than two weeks after his release from an Egyptian prison, Australian journalist Peter Greste spoke of his experience of being incarcerated for more than 400 days for nothing more than doing his job as a journalist. Greeted by […]
Al Jazeera and Egypt: An Insider’s Perspective
In his first trip to London after 400 days in jail, Al Jazeera journalist Peter Greste will discuss his relief at being released as well as calling for the unconditional dismissal of the case against colleagues Baher Mohamed and Mohamed Fahmy. Peter will also talk about how he managed to get through the ordeal and the wider press freedom campaign.
The New Censorship: Inside the Global Battle for Media Freedom
From Egypt to Mexico, Russia to Syria, journalists are increasingly coming under attack. They are murdered, imprisoned and intimidated for doing their job. As executive director of the Committee to Protect Journalists, Joel Simon is on the front line of the global battle for media freedom. He will be joining us to offer an insight into the problems we face and to examine what needs to be done to ensure future generations are not deprived of a free press.
Egypt’s Roadmap
As Abdel Fattah al-Sisi takes his place as Egypt’s second democratically elected leader, we will be looking at his roadmap for the country. Are we seeing a return to military dominance of politics and what does that signal for Egypt?
First Wednesday: Crossing the Red Line
As the rhetoric about intervention in Syria escalates, we will be bringing together a panel of experts to examine the arguments for and against, and the implications of action or inaction.
Tackling impunity
By Alex Glynn Stark facts and personal tales of attacks on the press took the centre stage at the Frontline Club on Wednesday 8th May, in a session chaired by BBC Global News director Peter Horrocks
Sneak Preview Screening: Forbidden Voices + Q&A
Followed by a Q&A with Barbara Miller and Iranian blogger Farnaz Seifi
On the Internet, their voices are skillfully shielded, but the famous bloggers Yoani Sánchez, Zeng Jinyan and Farnaz Seifi aren’t afraid of the dictatorial regimes in their respective home countries of Cuba, China and Iran. Director Barbara Miller follows these brave young rebels on their dangerous journey. She traces their use of social media like Facebook, YouTube and Twitter to denounce and combat human rights and freedom of speech violations in their countries.
What will Lord Justice Leveson conclude about the future of the British press?
As hearings come to a close and Lord Justice Leveson begins his report we will be holding a special event in association with Index on Censorship to discuss what we have learned and the key issues Leveson will be tackling in his report.
Journalists killed as CPJ’s ‘Attacks on the Press’ is released
By Helena Williams No one who attended last night’s discussion at the Frontline Club on the safety of journalists was under any illusion that the issue was not an important one, but few there could have anticipated that it would be so topical. News of the death of Sunday Times journalist Marie Colvin, a regular at the […]
Reporting under fire: covering a new world of political unrest
Join us for the launch of a series of events, screenings and workshops at which we will be examining the challenges to safety faced by journalists around the world.
The event will also mark the launch of the Committee to Protect Journalists’ Attacks on the Press report which will be presented by CPJ executive director Joel Simon.
Part 2: Frontline Club discusses Italian press after Berlusconi
By Charlene Rodrigues Interestingly, condemnation of Berlusconi’s media involvement was not wholesale. Paolo Mancini, professor at the University of Perugia said: “Everyone here will expect me to say one thing but I don’t think Berlusconi is controlling the media. It’s overstated.” “Berlusconi tried to limit freedom of journalists but he did not succeed because there […]
Part 1: Frontline Club discusses Italian press after Berlusconi
Watch the event here. By Will Turvill The Frontline Club last night hosted a lively and informative discussion on what the future might hold for Italian media in the post-Berlusconi era. The event was hosted by BBC Radio 4 presenter Steve Hewlett who was joined on the panel by four Italians and an Anglo-Italian lecturer […]
REACTIVE: The battle for press freedom in Iran
Almost two weeks after their arrest, little has been heard about the fate of the six Iranian filmmakers who are currently being held in Tehran’s notorious Evin Prison with no access to their lawyers.
Accused of collaborating secretly with BBC Persian and illegally supplying content portraying Iran in a negative light, they have been condemned as “a group of terrorists, Bahais, communists and devil worshippers” by Iran’s Minister of Intelligence.
Join us at the Frontline Club for this reactive briefing to discuss the detainment of the filmmakers, the battle for press freedom in Iran and the regime’s relationship with foreign media.
Saleem Shahzad’s death and Pakistani journalists living dangerously
By Fifi Haroon Even in the face of daily suicide bombings and a recurrent crisis of governance Pakistanis tend to get prickly when the troubled country is tagged by the western media as the most dangerous place on earth. There is even a motley crew of turgid television anchors and sundry media commentators loosely termed […]
The Secular Fatwa on Julian Assange by Charles Glass
In February 1989, Ayatollah Khomeini issued a fatwa inciting the faithful to murder author Salman Rushdie for blasphemy. Within a few days, professional writers convened in London, New York, and elsewhere to discuss countering this threat. In London, we met at the National Union of Journalists’ offices in Gray’s Inn Road. We had fierce arguments […]
Rebecca Peyton: ‘Sometimes I Laugh Like My Sister’
On 10 February 2005 BBC journalist Kate Peyton was murdered in Mogadishu, Somalia. Kate Peyton’s younger sister Rebecca Peyton will be at the Frontline Club to perform her one-woman show, which invites us into her post-Kate world: a life that is changed forever, but it goes on.
Sri Lanka: could the West do more about human rights and press freedom?
Part 1 Part 2 View in iTunes The appointment of Mervyn Silva, a politician with an established record of hostility towards journalists, as deputy minister of Information within the Sri Lankan government in April this year was met with calls for his removal by press freedom organisations. What can be done to protect journalists working […]
Photography and Slander in Uzbekistan
In February this year, the Uzbek documentary-maker and photographer, Umida Akhmedova, was sentenced by a Tashkent court for “slandering the nation”. William Wheeler takes a closer look at the case.