SYDNEY (MEAA/ Pacific Media Watch): The Media Entertainment and Arts Alliance (MEAA) has released its annual 2016 Media Freedom Report titled: Criminalising the Truth, Suppressing the Right to Know.
The 74-page report gives analyses on press freedom in Australia.
An extract from the forward of the report, written by MEAA CEO Paul Murphy states:
“'Journalism is not a crime' goes the campaign slogan. It’s a message that is so obvious it should be redundant. But with nearly 200 journalists imprisoned around the world in 2015 and another 109 slain in targeted killings, bomb attacks or cross-fire incidents, the message clearly is being ignored."
The report also includes a chapter on investigative journalism in New Zealand and the Asia-Pacific region.
The New Zealand chapter recognises that it is not only media organisations that have press restrictions.
An extract from the report reads:
"Finally, intrusions on New Zealand media freedom in 2015 weren’t always suffered by journalists. The president of New Zealand’s Association of Scientists warned that a proposed code of conduct covering state-employed scientists who comment on issues in the media could amount to a gag. A survey of its members had already revealed concern about the constraints, risks and disincentives that scientists face in relation to speaking publicly, especially on sensitive issues which may involve political or commercial interests."
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