How journalists can spot the signs of autocracy, Philippines order to shut Rappler site, and what the press can do about Ukraine fatigue

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.

How journalists can spot the signs of autocracy — and help ward it off. The threats to democracy are everywhere now. A new guidebook tries to show reporters the right way to cover them.

Nobel laureate Maria Ressa vows to fight Philippines order shutting Rappler site. ‘Kill’ order to revoke news website’s certificates of incorporation made in final days of Rodrigo Duterte’s rule.

Ukraine ‘fatigue,’ and what the press can—and can’t—do about it. “Compassion fatigue,” as some observers have dubbed dwindling international attention to the war, is, ultimately, a widespread human impulse—news organizations can put reporting in front of their audiences, but they can’t force them to care about it.

In Turkey, Erdoğan’s crackdown on the free press intensifies. Following a new digital censorship legislation introduced to Turkish parliament by Erdoğan’s ruling party to criminalise “disinformation” last month, Turkey launched a new wave of arrests targeting journalists.

UN: Israelis fired shots that killed journalist Shireen Abu Akleh. Veteran Al Jazeera journalist was killed on May 11 while covering Israeli army raids in the occupied West Bank city of Jenin.

For print newspapers, one Florida retirement community is a better market than Atlanta, St. Louis, or Portland. For local newspapers, print circulation has collapsed for every audience except retirees. That’s why the daily paper in The Villages, Florida (metro population 129,752) prints as many copies as the one in Atlanta (metro population 6,930,423).

The Forbidden Stories of Rappler. Starting in February, 30 organizations – including 22 media – shared “The Forbidden Stories of Rappler,” a series of five videos about journalist Maria Ressa and the investigations of Rappler.com – stories that the Philippine authorities want to silence.

Journalists are facing a surge in online violence, often leading to psychological or physical harm and self-censorship. TRFilter allows users to document and manage online harassment and abuse, so they can take control of their social media.

News Equity Fund. Google has launched a ‘News Equity Fund’, a global commitment to provide financial support and opportunities to news organizations that primarily serve underrepresented communities. 

How to reach underserved communities: journalism for – not about – them. Keynote address by Gina Chua, executive editor of the new media start-up Semafor.

“We should side with democracy:” why the war in Ukraine is existential for Baltic journalists. Thirty years after the fall of the Berlin Wall, the Baltic states’ independent media reckon with Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Twenty-five years after handover to China, Hong Kong press freedom more threatened than ever. As 1st July 2022 marks the 25th anniversary of Hong Kong’s handover to the People’s Republic of China (PRC), press freedom in the former British colony, once one of the most outstanding in Asia, is more threatened than ever.

CMDS launches state media monitor, the world’s state media database. The database contains information on 546 state-administered media companies in 151 countries.

Fact-checking Modi’s India. As the pandemic rages across the country, one team of fact-checkers contends with a post-truth dystopia.

Image credit: Element5 Digital via Unsplash