A new deal for journalism, editors of Apple Daily arrested under national security law, and winners of four major journalism awards announced

The International Journalism Festival weekly round-up. Stay up to date by subscribing to our newsletter, by following our Telegram channel, or by joining us on Facebook and Twitter.

A new deal for journalism. This report has been produced by the Working Group on the Sustainability of Journalism of the Forum on Information and Democracy, in response to a worsening international crisis facing the economic viability of independent professional journalism everywhere. The report calls for immediate and sustained action from, and collaboration between, governments and other influential actors to improve the policy, funding, and enabling environment for independent professional journalism – a New Deal for Journalism amounting to up to 0.1% of GDP annually in direct and indirect funding worldwide.

Editors of Apple Daily arrested under security law. Hong Kong police used a sweeping national security law Thursday to arrest five editors and executives of independent newspaper Apple Daily on charges of colluding with foreign powers — the first time the legislation has been used against the press in yet another sign of an intensifying crackdown by Chinese authorities in the city long known for its freedoms.

The 2021 Sigma Awards. The jury of experts selected 13 winners and also awarded 7 citations to the best data journalism of the past year from around the world.

The 2021 One World Media Awards. Across 15 categories, the awards celebrate the year’s best media coverage of the Global South.

The 2021 Committee to Protect Journalists International Press Freedom Awards

The 2021 Pulitzer Prizes

Ahead of shutdown, journalists from VTimes promise to create new media outlet. Journalists from the independent Russian news outlet VTimes, which is ceasing its operations on June 12 after being labelled a “foreign agent” last month, plan to create a new media outlet.

Why has local news collapsed? Blame readers. Despite all the impassioned pleas to salvage local news coverage, the reality is there’s a demand-side problem.

We need to complicate the “save local news” mantra. Placing too many eggs in the “demand” basket, and over-emphasizing economics, risks dismissing needs and desires that aren’t being met in the current system, warped as it is. Declining readership, after all, is also an impact problem.

10 news media accounts on Instagram you can’t miss out on. Publishers that are getting the popular, addictive social platform right.

Beleaguered Slovak journalists look to new media law for protection. Despite a years-long decline on the World Press Freedom Index framed by bullying politicians and mushrooming disinformation sites, Slovakia’s media could see better days ahead.

A reporter’s guide: how to investigate organized crime’s finances. Most of the criminals I investigated over the past two decades could have been some of the world’s best entrepreneurs. They had what it takes: resourcefulness, creativity, fast thinking, motivation, the ability to network and lead, and an obvious if uncanny attraction to risk.

Image credit: via Pixabay