"The 2023 global total – the highest since 2015 and an almost 44% increase on 2022’s figures – includes a record number of journalist killings, 78, that CPJ research determined were work-related, with eight more still under investigation. Thirteen media workers also were killed last year."
In documenting and counting the costs, CPJ revealed that "investigating the circumstances of these war-related deaths which also included three Lebanese and two Israeli journalists – was particularly challenging, not only because of the large number of deaths in a short time, but also because of the loss of those who could have provided more information."
This is a calamity and the numbers are rising every day with Israeli bombardment continuing unabated. Sadly, the CPJ said that many journalist victims’ families were killed along with them in Gaza, their colleagues died or fled, and Israeli military authorities adamantly deny targeting journalists or provide only scant information when they acknowledge press killings.
Critical information about their lives and work may have been lost forever.
In SA, World Press Freedom Day took place during the country's celebration of 30 years of freedom and democracy and in the midst of the forthcoming most hotly contested elections since 1994.
On that score, the University of Western Cape in conjunction with the Press Council of SA, SA National Editor's Forum and Indigenous Languages Action Forum held a webinar to discuss the importance of linguistic inclusivity in SA's media landscape.
This comes after the Press Council's milestone in translating the code of ethics and conduct for print and online media into seven of SA's 12 official languages with the latest translation of the code to Zulu, Xhosa, Pedi, Tsonga and Venda.
This is no small feat for the organisation that is dependent on its subscriber members for survival, with the challenges facing print media not only in the country, but globally. It was therefore notably moving that at the 2023 Presidential National Orders Awards recently, 12 scholars from diverse races and backgrounds recited the importance of bestowing national orders in the 12 SA languages including Khoi and sign language.
THEMBA SEPOTOKELE | War in Gaza highlights perils of journalists' work
Image: REUTERS
World Press Freedom Day took place under a rather gloomy and sombre mood with the raging war by the Israeli government against the Palestinians in Gaza, which has claimed thousands of lives, with journalists also caught in the crossfire.
As the world celebrated Press Freedom Day on Friday May 3, it would be remiss to turn a blind eye to the genocide unfolding in Gaza which has caused untold pain, suffering and misery, and also leading to journalists being killed in the line of duty.
The latest report by the Committee of the Protection of Journalists (CPJ) paints a gloomy and gory picture, with 99 journalists killed worldwide in 2023. Of these, 77 were killed during the Israel-Gaza war. Over and above this, 320 journalists were imprisoned for their work around the world.
"The conflict claimed the lives of more journalists in three months than have ever been killed in a single country over an entire year," the CPJ said.
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"The 2023 global total – the highest since 2015 and an almost 44% increase on 2022’s figures – includes a record number of journalist killings, 78, that CPJ research determined were work-related, with eight more still under investigation. Thirteen media workers also were killed last year."
In documenting and counting the costs, CPJ revealed that "investigating the circumstances of these war-related deaths which also included three Lebanese and two Israeli journalists – was particularly challenging, not only because of the large number of deaths in a short time, but also because of the loss of those who could have provided more information."
This is a calamity and the numbers are rising every day with Israeli bombardment continuing unabated. Sadly, the CPJ said that many journalist victims’ families were killed along with them in Gaza, their colleagues died or fled, and Israeli military authorities adamantly deny targeting journalists or provide only scant information when they acknowledge press killings.
Critical information about their lives and work may have been lost forever.
In SA, World Press Freedom Day took place during the country's celebration of 30 years of freedom and democracy and in the midst of the forthcoming most hotly contested elections since 1994.
On that score, the University of Western Cape in conjunction with the Press Council of SA, SA National Editor's Forum and Indigenous Languages Action Forum held a webinar to discuss the importance of linguistic inclusivity in SA's media landscape.
This comes after the Press Council's milestone in translating the code of ethics and conduct for print and online media into seven of SA's 12 official languages with the latest translation of the code to Zulu, Xhosa, Pedi, Tsonga and Venda.
This is no small feat for the organisation that is dependent on its subscriber members for survival, with the challenges facing print media not only in the country, but globally. It was therefore notably moving that at the 2023 Presidential National Orders Awards recently, 12 scholars from diverse races and backgrounds recited the importance of bestowing national orders in the 12 SA languages including Khoi and sign language.
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The National Broadcasters Association will also host a webinar looking at the current impediments facing freedom of the press including disinformation and misinformation, including the "fake news" phenomenon.
As we celebrated World Press Day, it's important to also denounce censorship, misinformation and disinformation peddled mostly, but not exclusively, on social media and digital platforms, especially during the elections.
Some of the new challenges facing the media and journalism include ethics in the era of artificial intelligence. The world in general and media practitioners globally must observe a moment of silence for those who have lost their lives, been maimed and left disabled and destitute by war waged against the Palestinians by Israeli troops under the watch of Benjamin Netanyahu's government.
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