CFOM publishes commentary pieces focused on media freedom, journalism safety and the issue of impunity from researchers across the globe on areas that they study. If you are interested in writing a commentary for us please email cfom@sheffield.ac.uk.
Can a Free Press Survive in Russia? The scorecard so far
By Nadezda Azhgikhina, vice president of the European Federation of Journalists and board member of the Free Word Association. In 2017 the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation handed down an exceptionally important decision. It struck down a series of...
Ahed Tamimi: father speaks of his pride as Palestinian activist prepares for trial
Emma Heywood, a Lecturer and Researcher at the University of Sheffield’s Department of Journalism Studies, wrote this article which has been published on The Conversation based on her first-hand experience of life in the West Bank, where her research is focused on the...
Wanted: clear criteria for news organisations when dealing with hate speech and extremist content
By Chris Elliott There are clear signs that hate speech is on the increase, often turbo charged by social media. The London Bridge attacks in July triggered a big spike in hate crimes with a significant amount of them being attacks in the street directed at British...
The flawed role of the media in international justice and reconciliation in former Yugoslavia
By Dejana Radisavljević In 1993 the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY’) was established to deal with the war crimes committed during the conflicts in the former Yugoslavia in the 1990s. In over two decades, the ICTY has convicted and...
The Hungarian laboratory for limiting press and civic freedoms
By András Dési The Hungarian parliament recently adopted a new law forcing NGOs to register as ‘‘foreign-supported organization” if they receive more than 24,000 Euros from foreign donors per year. With this legislation the Hungarian government and the ruling...