SAMSN BLOG
Pakistan: Holding governments accountable for Pakistan’s media woes
A strong and independent media depends on progressive government and state policies. But in a country like Pakistan, where critical voices find little space and attacks on critical media continue, the dream of a free media remains elusive, writes Mazhar Abbas. Never...
Free expression at stake in critical Sri Lankan intimidation case
A senior police officer threatening a highly respected journalist is likely to have a chilling effect on journalism if it goes unchecked, writes Ruki Fernando. Tharindu Jayawardhana is one of Sri Lanka’s most outstanding and promising young journalists. His writings...
Blocking media access and rights in Northern Sri Lanka
The people of the remote island of Iranaitheevu in Northern Sri Lanka have an important story to tell the world. But journalists are being denied access, writes Ruki Fernando. Article 14 (1) (a) of the Sri Lankan constitution guarantees freedom of speech and...
Impunity for religious extremists threatens peace in the Maldives
A failure to prosecute past crimes by religious extremists in the Maldives is causing major problems for the future of democracy in the country. Fazla Abdul-Samad unpacks the situation. Despite recent steps to put the Maldives back on the road to democracy, undoing...
SAMSN Blog : A Vindication for India’s #MeToo Moment
The acquittal of senior journalist Priya Ramani of criminal charges of defamation brought by former editor and politician MJ Akbar is a landmark in the struggle against sexual harassment at the workplace in India. Laxmi Murthy unpacks the verdict. On February 17,...
IFJ Blog : Women journalists unite against online attacks
The severity of online threats has promoted a collective of women journalists in Pakistan to take matters into their own hands, writes Lubna Jerar Naqvi. Attacks on women journalists are common in patriarchal societies like Pakistan with threats ranging from verbal...
Sri Lanka: On the front line of media rights
Political upheavals in Sri Lanka have given rise to new challenges. To protect media freedom, journalists and media workers must focus on collective action, writes Viranjana Herath. Sri Lanka, a tiny island in the Indian Ocean but unfortunately a large dot on the...
IFJ Blog: Unsafe health reporting amid Covid-19
The situation confronting health journalists in Pakistan has made them fearful amid concerns of inadequate protections writes Lubna Jerar Naqvi. Reporting has become a dangerous task during the Covid-19 pandemic in Pakistan with at least 50 journalists infected and...
IFJ Blog: Media in Pakistan unprepared to cover coronavirus outbreak
The rapid spread of Covid-19 is creating challenges for journalists covering the health crisis in Pakistan, writes Lubna Jerar Naqvi. The first news of coronavirus made its way into the Pakistani media in the last week of January 2020, when four Pakistani students,...
IFJ Blog: Connectivity in times of Corona
As Kashmir locks down yet again – this time to contain the coronavirus pandemic – access to the internet can be a matter of life and death, quite literally. Dr Suhail Naik makes a compelling case for restoration of communication facilities to the region. Following the...
OPINION
SAMSN Blog : A Vindication for India’s #MeToo Moment
The acquittal of senior journalist Priya Ramani of criminal charges of defamation brought by former editor and politician MJ Akbar is a landmark in the struggle against sexual harassment at the workplace in India. Laxmi Murthy unpacks the verdict. On February 17,...
Disappearances of Journalists in Sri Lanka: Lessons Learned
Sri Lanka has seen decades of abductions and disappearances by state security agencies. Campaigning against such repressive acts too has become part of our political culture. Enforced and involuntary disappearance of persons has been a permanent feature in Sri Lankan...