News

Kenyan elections: Uchaguzi revolutionises crowdsourcing

Launched just before the Kenyan general election of 2013, new online platform Uchaguzi gave Kenyan internet users the unique opportunity to report on violence and other disturbances unfolding as members of the public cast their votes. It is hoped that this latest development of iHub will continue facilitating a form of citizen journalism that will lead to calmer, more transparent elections in the future.

The New Yorker launches ‘Strongbox’ to protect privacy of sources

On Wednesday (15 May), The New Yorker launched ‘Strongbox’, a new way to share information with the magazine’s writers and editors that provides “a greater degree of anonymity and security than afforded by conventional e-mail.” The formation of this anonymous information-sharing platform means that members of the public need not hesitate about sharing sensitive information, given that their identities will remain protected from magazine staff.

AP: US Justice Department secretly accessed phone records

The US Justice Department is being accused of carrying out “a serious interference with AP’s constitutional rights to gather and report news” by secretly obtaining two months’ worth of telephone records of the Associated Press’ reporters and editors. As some are seeing it, that infringes on the news cooperative’s rights to maintain the confidentiality of their sources and newsgathering operations.

Winners shaping the future: Gwen Lister

The Namibian, founded in 1985, faced a dual challenge: a politically repressive regime and the quest for a business model, says Gwen Lister, the paper’s founder editor and Executive Editor. The paper began with donor funding, but achieved financial sustainability after Namibian independence in 1991.

Golden Pen of Freedom Awarded to Mexican Journalist

Mexican journalist Anabel Hernández was been awarded the Golden Pen of Freedom, the annual press freedom prize of the World Association of Newspapers and News Publishers (WAN-IFRA).

Protestors at opening

At the opening of the 64th World Newspaper Congress and 19th World Editors Forum, protestors wave signs criticizing the Ukrainian government’s media policy.

Press Independence is in the Details

Sometimes press freedom is not a result of big, overarching issues, but of ensuring that many small things are properly respected.

Trevor Ncube on NewsDay, press freedom and mobile in Africa

I interviewed Trevor Ncube, Chairman of Alpha Media Holdings (AMH) in Harare, during the 2009 World Newspaper Congress in Hyderabad, India, just months before his company was about to launch NewsDay, the only independent daily newspaper in Zimbabwe. Ncube will be speaking at this year’s Congress to update us on AMH’s new newspaper but also on other developments in Africa, so it was a good time to catch up with him to see how the company’s projects are developing.