Category Archives: Media

Attacks on press in Mexico hit record level during López Obrador’s presidency

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Report paints bleak picture of journalist safety under leader who often criticises media and downplays violence against reporters

Attacks against the press in Mexico have increased by 85% since President Andrés Manuel López Obrador took office, making it the most deadly period for journalists since records began, according to a new report.

Mexico is one of the most dangerous countries in the world for journalists with 1,945 attacks – including 33 murders – between 2019 and 2021, according to the press freedom group Article 19. Another eight have been killed so far this year.

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Tory ’revenge’ against Channel 4 could turn into bruising battle

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Analysis: why ministers are risking political capital pushing ahead now with privatisation plan is unclear

According to one key individual involved in the battle for Channel 4’s future, the broadcaster is a “wonderful company doing a fantastic job”, it is performing well financially and plays a crucial role in supporting the British television ecosystem.

Curiously, that individual is Stephen Parkinson, a government minister arguing that the only solution to secure Channel 4’s future is to rapidly privatise it and sell it off to a commercial owner, possibly one based overseas.

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Channel 4 privatisation plans face Tory backlash – UK politics as it happened

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This live blog is now closed. You can find our latest stories on Channel 4 below:

DCMS select committee chair Julian Knight has questioned if the government’s plans to forge forward with the privatisation of Channel 4 are “revenge”, adding that many Tories believe the move is “payback time” for “biased coverage”.

Knight said Channel 4 could succeed if it was privatised and managed well, but it’s “a big risk” and “must be done as part of a thorough overhaul of all public service broadcasting”.

It is certainly true that Channel 4 will have greater freedom to compete once privatised and if managed well it should be able to continue to innovate and crucially appeal to young audiences - a real USP in today’s broadcast landscape.

However, this is a big risk. The question has to be, do you think a restricted but brilliant small state broadcaster will part compete with the likes of Apple and Amazon or does it need to be able to borrow and grow in a way only privatisation can unlock?

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What you need to know about the privatisation of Channel 4

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As the government presses ahead with the sale, what is the broadcaster worth and who would buy it?

The industry player most likely to buy Channel 4, with the least regulatory hurdles, is Discovery. The big US pay-TV company, which is merging with WarnerMedia, the parent company of CNN, HBO and the Hollywood studio behind the Batman and Harry Potter franchises, expressed interest the last time the broadcaster faced privatisation in 2016.

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Nadine Dorries presses ahead with plan to privatise Channel 4

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Ministers hope to raise £1bn from sell-off ending broadcaster’s 40 years in public ownership

The culture secretary, Nadine Dorries, is pushing ahead with controversial plans to privatise Channel 4, with the government backing proposals to sell off the broadcaster after 40 years in public ownership.

The government hopes to raise around £1bn from the sell-off, making it one of the biggest privatisations since Royal Mail went public a decade ago. Ministers have suggested they could spend the proceeds to boost creative training and independent production companies, essentially funding their levelling up agenda.

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Will the news boom prevent more media outlets going bust?

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Analysis: newspapers have attracted record numbers of readers seeking trusted sources in uncertain times

From the pandemic and the war in Ukraine to the Westminster partygate saga, newspapers are benefiting from a financially lucrative news boom. However, is the news industry enjoying a one-off blip in the battle for survival against big tech, or is this proof that publishers have finally forged commercial models fit for the new media age?

In a sign of the shifting fortunes amid unprecedented news events, Rupert Murdoch’s Times and Sunday Times last week reported a doubling of operating profits to their highest level since 1990 and the Sun, a one-time cash cow turned high-profile casualty of the digital age, is within £1m of returning to operating profit for the first time in a decade.

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‘Massacre of innocents’: how the papers covered Russia’s atrocities in Bucha

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Accusations of war crimes and calls for tougher sanctions feature on Monday’s front pages amid horror at civilian killings by Russian troops

  • Warning: this story contains images some readers may find distressing

Revulsion at the atrocities committed by Russian forces in the Ukrainian town of Bucha dominates today’s front pages, as politicians lined up around the world to condemn the massacre of hundreds of civilians.

The Mirror says simply “Genocide” in its headline under the bleak strapline: “Putin’s latest atrocities”. It quotes Volodymyr Zelenskiy’s use of the term but the page is given over to a heartbreaking image from Bucha, just near Ukraine’s capital, where the bodies of civilians were abandoned in the street. Hundreds of civilians have been found in mass graves, it reports, and some had been tied up.

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BBC advertises political editor’s job after dissatisfaction with shortlist

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Bosses said to have been unhappy with choice of candidates after all-female shortlist was produced

BBC bosses have readvertised the job of political editor after being unhappy with the choice of candidates to replace Laura Kuenssberg in one of the most influential roles in British journalism.

Following weeks of interviews and an extensive recruitment process, the corporation had produced an all-female shortlist for the role, with ITV News’s Anushka Asthana and Sky News’s Sophy Ridge believed to be the final two candidates. An announcement on which of them would get the job had been expected to coincide with Kuenssberg stepping down last week.

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Ukrainian photographer Maksim Levin killed while covering war

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Levin, who worked for Ukrainian news website and contributed to Reuters, found dead in village north of Kyiv

Maksim Levin, a photographer and videographer who was working for a Ukrainian news website and who was a longtime contributor to Reuters, has been killed while covering Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. He leaves behind his wife and four children.

His body was found in a village north of the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv, on 1 April, the news website LB.ua, where he worked, said on Saturday.

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Biden press secretary Jen Psaki to become TV host at MSNBC, reports say

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Psaki will reportedly stay on until end of April before joining liberal cable news network

Jen Psaki is reportedly preparing to quit as Joe Biden’s White House press secretary, to become a TV host with MSNBC.

Axios first reported the move on Friday, citing anonymous sources “close to the matter”. Other outlets said they had confirmed the news, and reported that Psaki was expected to stay through the end of April.

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Michael Grade confirmed as Ofcom chair despite MPs’ warning

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Former BBC chair will lead watchdog even though report said his knowledge of social media and online safety clearly lacked depth

Michael Grade has been confirmed as chair of the communications watchdog despite MPs warning that he has a “clear lack of depth” of knowledge about social media and online safety.

The former BBC chair will lead Ofcom, which will play a key role in regulating large social media platforms and search engines in the UK, as the body charged with implementing the landmark online safety bill. However, the digital, culture, media and sport committee said on Friday that it was concerned by Lord Grade’s admission this week that he does not use social media but is aware of how it works thanks to his children.

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Morrison government’s advertising spend tops Coles and McDonald’s

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Coalition spent $145m on advertising last financial year, with defence recruiting and Covid vaccines among biggest campaigns

The federal government spent more money on advertising last financial year than McDonald’s and Coles, new research suggests, prompting calls for greater oversight on taxpayer-funded public campaigns.

A new paper from progressive think tank the Australia Institute scrutinises government spending on “campaign advertising” – a repeated series of ads to promote important messages.

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UK politics: Public must be told if Carrie Johnson fined for breaking lockdown rules, says Starmer – live

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Latest updates: the Labour leader suggests it is in the public’s interest if the prime minister’s wife is fined over Partygate

Clive Efford (Lab) is asking the questions now.

Q: You have expressed strong views in the past. Is that a problem?

I described the licence fee as regressive. I didn’t think that was an opinion, I thought that was a statement of fact, actually.

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Ambassador barred from Beijing spy trial of Australian journalist Cheng Lei

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Canberra protests as court verdict deferred after closed-door, one-day trial

A Chinese court has deferred its verdict after the closed-door national security trial of the Australian journalist Cheng Lei lasted less than a day.

Foreign journalists and diplomats, including Australia’s ambassador, were denied entry to the courtroom on Thursday as Cheng, a former anchor for the Chinese state TV broadcaster CGTN, faced trial on charges of “illegally supplying state secrets overseas”.

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Close ties allow Russian propaganda to spread swiftly through China, report claims

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A cyber monitoring group says Chinese sources are amplifying disinformation about Ukrainian ‘nazism’

Close ties between Russian and Chinese state media along with strict government control of information have allowed Russian propaganda to spread swiftly throughout China, “nazifying” Ukraine in the eyes of some Chinese citizens and fostering pro-Russian sentiment, a new report has claimed.

Taiwan-based cyber monitoring group, Doublethink Labs, tracked state and social media from mid-February until late March. It said Chinese sources were amplifying Russian disinformation about Ukraine and linking Ukrainian nazism to the Hong Kong protests to encourage solidarity between Russian and Chinese people against “foreign forces interfering with internal affairs”.

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Indian journalist prevented from flying to Europe to speak about intimidation

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Rana Ayyub, a columnist for the Washington Post, was not allowed to board a flight at Mumbai airport on Tuesday

A prominent Indian journalist has been prevented from flying to Europe to speak about intimidation of journalists and rights in the world’s largest democracy.

Rana Ayyub, an outspoken critic of the government of Narendra Modi and columnist for the Washington Post, was not allowed to board a flight at Mumbai airport on Tuesday. She had been due to travel to London to address a conference at the International Centre for Journalists.

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Executive producer of 7.30, Justin Stevens, to be appointed ABC news director

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Stevens, 37, chosen for top role after lengthy recruitment process following October departure of former news head Gaven Morris

The executive producer of 7.30, Justin Stevens, has been chosen to helm ABC news, leapfrogging over the acting head, Gavin Fang, and the current affairs head, John Lyons, to land the powerful job.

Guardian Australia understands that the ABC managing director, David Anderson, will announce the appointment of Stevens as director of news, analysis and investigations on Thursday morning.

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Yandex helps websites pushing false news make millions in advertising

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Yandex-delivered ads found alongside misinformation and propaganda about Ukraine on Russian-language news sites

A Russian tech giant mostly owned by western investors is helping websites pushing false claims about the war in Ukraine to make thousands of dollars every day through digital advertising.

Yandex is considered Russia’s equivalent to Google, running both a search engine and an extensive digital advertising business. Its deputy CEO, Tigran Khudaverdyan, resigned this month after the European Union imposed sanctions on him.

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Ben Roberts-Smith defamation trial: ‘I believed something unlawful had happened’, Andrew Hastie says

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Assistant defence minister tells court he was troubled by ‘warrior culture’ in elite SAS regiment when he and Roberts-Smith were comrades in Afghanistan

Australia’s Special Air Service regiment was riven by a “culture war” with one faction obsessed by a “pagan warrior ethos” where “killing was a sacrament in itself”, the assistant defence minister, Andrew Hastie, has told Ben Roberts-Smith’s defamation trial.

Hastie, a former SAS officer who resigned from the military when he was preselected to run for parliament, has been subpoenaed to give evidence by three newspapers defending a defamation action brought by his former comrade and Victoria Cross recipient Roberts-Smith.

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Chris Wallace: working at Fox News became ‘unsustainable’ after election

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Journalist’s new show begins on archrival CNN’s streaming service after nearly 20 years with the right-leaning cable channel

Chris Wallace has said working at Fox News became “increasingly unsustainable” before he jumped ship to CNN last December after almost 20 years with the right-leaning cable channel.

His departure dealt a blow to Fox’s news operation at a time when its opinion side had become preeminent. The veteran journalist’s new show begins on archrival CNN’s streaming service this week and the 74-year-old spoke to the New York Times.

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