20 October 2012 The Centre for Freedom of the Media and the BBC College of Journalism jointly hosted a Symposium on Media Responses to Matters of Life and Death on 18 October in the BBC’s new London Headquarters at New Broadcasting House. Senior figures from leading international media titles mostly set aside scepticism about the value of UN interventions.
They voiced acute, often passionate, concerns about the rising toll of deaths, injuries and imprisonment of journalists worldwide.The BBC, CNN, Al Jazeera, Globo of Brazil, La Stampa of Italy, The Guardian, Dawn newspaper of Pakistan and more than 30 other news organisations, agreed to sign a London Statement of concern and of engagement with a newly-hatched UN-wide plan to shore up safeguards for media freedom – not only for journalism but also to enable people everywhere to speak without fear.
Read more:
- More than forty media organisations sign “London Statement” demanding strong UN action to stop the killings of journalists.
- London Statement with signatures of global media representatives as received by the UN
- Freelancers organise to help each other. Stuart Hughes, BBC World Affairs Producer writes on the BBC’s College of Journalism blog
- Spotlight in print: eighty true stories of journalists persecuted or killed. Kaius Niemi, editor of Finland’s Ilta-Sanomat newspaper, writes for the BBC College of Journalism and CFOM
- Media reports related to the London symposium
- Frontline editors and journalists write about their own experiences and what must be done to stop violence and end impunity: read here
- Peter Horrocks, Director of BBC Global News, speaks about the fight for independent and truthful journalism in Africa in the face of external threats and biased reporting