At least 462 journalists have died from COVID-19, from 56 countries — with Latin American countries accounting for more than half this grim tally and a recent surge striking India and Bangladesh. One NGO tracking these deaths told GIJN that most journalists who died in the pandemic since October 1 were under the age of 60.
In a very difficult year for journalism, newsrooms around the Bangla-speaking region have produced significant investigations to reveal and expose modern day slavery, corruption, abuse of public funds, and more.
Reporters at a regional newspaper in Bangladesh, Gramer Kagoj, heard from local villagers that a maternity allowance scheme for poor mothers was being abused by women who weren’t pregnant. With guidance from an expert, they applied statistical survey methods to interview 400 beneficiaries, and their investigation took a different turn — revealing a deeper, systemic problem.
Investigative journalist Taha Siddiqui, who was forced to flee to France recently after a failed abduction attempt, talks about why he left Islamabad and his SAFE Newsrooms initiative which aims to highlight freedom of expression issues in newsrooms across South Asia.
Full guide here. العربية | বাংলা Media Environment Oman’s constitution guarantees freedom of expression, but with strong limitations. The 1984 Press and Publications law further outlines the restrictions on journalism and journalists in the country and explicitly prohibits defamation of the ruling family. It is common practice for journalists to self-censor to avoid threats, fines and […]
