Tag: journalists

Number Of Imprisoned Journalists Worldwide Hits New Record

The number of journalists imprisoned worldwide has hit a new record at 533, according to an annual report by press fredom watchdog, Reporters Without Borders.

The total number is up from 2021, when 488 journalists were imprisoned, according to the RSF’s Annual Press Freedom Review published last week.

“More than a quarter of them were imprisoned during the year,” according to the Paris-based watchdog which has kept records on imprisoned reporters since 1995.

More than half of those jailed are in five countries: China (110), Myanmar (62), Iran (47) Vietnam (39) and Belarus (31) – with 32 of the 47 in Iran having been arrested since protests broke out in September over the death of Masha Amini, a 22-year-old woman who died in police custody while breaching the country’s strict dress code.

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Massive Omnibus Bill Includes Funding For Monuments To DC Journalists

Congress has an absolutely horrible approval rating and so does the media. This story is a perfect explanation of why those two things are true.

The massive omnibus bill currently making its way through congress includes funding for a monument to the media in Washington, DC.

Why? Who among the American people asked for such a thing? Who does this help?

Breitbart News reports:

Omnibus Bill: Taxpayers to Erect Monument to Journalists in D.C., Give over $1B Subsidy to Media

Taxpayers will fund the erection of press statues in Washington, D.C., along with handing out media subsidies worth over $1 billion, if the Omnibus bill is passed into law in the coming days.

According to section 708 of the bill, the establishment media will be given a “commemorative” location in Washington, D.C., to honor “journalists”:

The location of a commemorative work to commemorate the commitment of the United States to a free press by honoring journalists who sacrificed their lives in service to that cause within Area I, as depicted on the map entitled ‘‘Commemorative Areas Washington, DC and Environs’’, numbered 869/86501 B, and dated June 24, 2003, is approved.

The statues will be located in “Area I,” according to the bill, which appears to encompass areas of the Mall in Washington, D.C., along with the White House, Tidal Basin, Theodore Roosevelt Island, and the Potomac shoreline in Virginia.

No budget or allocation of money was disclosed in the bill.

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DOJ to Charge ABC News Journalist Who “Fell Off the Face of the Earth” After FBI Seized Classified Documents From His Laptop in Home Raid

As previously reported, an Emmy-winning investigative journalist went missing after the FBI raided his Virginia home and seized classified information from his laptop in April.

James Gordon Meek, 52, went missing after the feds raided his Arlington penthouse apartment, the Rolling Stone reported.

Meek produced the Hulu documentary “3212 Unredacted” which detailed the 2017 Pentagon coverup of the deaths of US special forces in Niger.

The “lightning raid” was conducted after a search warrant was approved by a federal magistrate judge in the Virginia Eastern District Court, Rolling Stone reported.

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Third Journalist Confirmed Dead While Covering World Cup 2022 in Qatar – FIFA Open Books of Condolence for Three Journalists

It has been confirmed that a third journalist have died suddenly in November while covering the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.

ITV Sport’s Technical Director Roger Pearce, 65, passed away while reporting his eighth Fifa World Cup tournament in Qatar.

His death was reported on ITV’s broadcast before the Wales-USA game on November 21.

“We have very sad news to bring you from here in Qatar,” said presenter Mark Pougatch.

“Our technical director, Roger Pearce, who was here for his eighth World Cup, sadly passed away. Roger was a hugely respected figure in the TV sport broadcasting industry, for ITV he has been instrumental in the logistical planning and delivery of rugby world cups as well as the football world cups as well as the Euros.”

“He always had a smile on his face and left a smile on your faces. He was utterly dedicated, professional, charming and hugely popular. He will be missed by so many people inside the industry and at home,” he concluded.

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Second Journalist Dies Suddenly While Covering the FIFA World Cup 2022 in Qatar

It has been reported that Al Kass TV photojournalist Khalid al-Misslam died suddenly on Saturday while covering the FIFA World Cup 2022 in Qatar.

“Al Kass TV photojournalist Khalid al-Misslam passed away recently,” Qatari news media outlet Gulf Times reported.

“Al- Misslam, a Qatari, died suddenly while covering the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022. We believe in Allah’s mercy and forgiveness for him, and send our deepest condolences to his family. We are all Allah’s and to Him we return,” the post concluded.

The cause of Khalid Al-Misslam’s death has not yet been revealed.

According to Express, Al Kass TV barely mentioned their photojournalist’s death on their live show, and it seems they are waiting for more information before issuing a statement.

Khalid al-Misslam is the second journalist to have died while covering the 2022 World Cup.

On Friday, longtime U.S. soccer journalist Grant Wahl died in Doha, Qatar on Friday while covering the World Cup for CBS Sports, his wife confirmed.

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US soccer journalist Grant Wahl dies covering World Cup in Qatar, brother thinks ‘he was killed’

Influential U.S. soccer journalist Grant Wahl died in Qatar while covering the World Cup, his brother announced. He was 48.

While covering Argentina’s quarterfinal win over the Netherlands on Friday, Wahl, who had run his own Substack after a long career at Sports Illustrated, collapsed at Lusail Iconic Stadium and was rushed to a nearby hospital. It’s unclear whether he died at the hospital or in transport.

His brother, Eric, believes foul play from the Qatari government may have been involved.

“My name is Eric Wahl. I live in Seattle, Washington. I am Grant Wahl’s brother. I’m gay,” he said in a video posted to his Instagram account before making the account private. “I’m the reason he wore the rainbow shirt to the World Cup. My brother was healthy. He told me he received death threats. I do not believe my brother just died. I believe he was killed. And I just beg for any help.”

Prior to the USMNT’s World Cup game against Wales, Wahl was initially not allowed into Ahmad bin Ali Stadium and detained for 30 minutes for wearing a shirt depicting a soccer ball surrounded by a rainbow. He was eventually let into the stadium.

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Star news producer vanishes after FBI raids his Arlington home

Documentary producer and investigative journalist James Gordon Meek hasn’t been seen since the FBI raided his apartment in Arlington, Virginia, just outside Washington DC, on 27 April of this year.

The 52-year-old’s neighbour John Antonelli told Rolling Stone magazine that he witnessed the raid from the street as he was heading out on a walk. He said he spotted 10 heavily armed people among the group of law enforcement officers, a green armoured tactical vehicle, a black utility vehicle with tinted windows and several Arlington police cars, among other vehicles.

Only the police cruisers were marked, Mr Antonelli noted. The heavily armed individuals had no markings revealing what agency they were working for. The raid took around 10 minutes.

“They didn’t stick around. They took off pretty quickly and headed west on Columbia Pike towards Fairfax County,” Mr Antonelli told Rolling Stone. “Most people seeing that green vehicle would think it’s some kind of tank. But I knew it was the Lenco BearCat. That vehicle is designed to be jumped out of so they can do a raid in that kind of time. It can return fire if they’re being fired upon.”

The magazine reported that Mr Meek was targeted by the FBI at his home at the Siena Park apartments, where he had lived for more than 10 years.

The FBI told Rolling Stone that agents went to the home on 27 April “at the 2300 block of Columbia Pike, Arlington, Virginia, conducting court-authorized law-enforcement activity. The FBI cannot comment further due to an ongoing investigation”.

While Mr Meek hasn’t been charged, observers think that this could be among the initial raids, if not the first, to be conducted on a reporter by the Biden administration.

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FBI Raids Star ABC News Producer’s Home

At a minute before 5 a.m. on April 27, ABC News’ James Gordon Meek fired off a tweet with a single word: “FACTS.”

The network’s national-security investigative producer was responding to former CIA agent Marc Polymeropoulos’ take that the Ukrainian military — with assistance from the U.S. — was thriving against Russian forces. Polymeropoulos’ tweet — filled with acronyms indecipherable to the layperson, like “TTPs,” “UW,” and “EW” — was itself a reply to a missive from Washington Post Pentagon reporter Dan Lamothe, who noted the wealth of information the U.S. military had gathered about Russian ops by observing their combat strategy in real time. The interchange illustrated the interplay between the national-security community and those who cover it. And no one straddled both worlds quite like Meek, an Emmy-winning deep-dive journalist who also was a former senior counterterrorism adviser and investigator for the House Homeland Security Committee. To his detractors within ABC, Meek was something of a “military fanboy.” But his track record of exclusives was undeniable, breaking the news of foiled terrorist plots in New York City and the Army’s coverup of the fratricidal death of Pfc. Dave Sharrett II in Iraq, a bombshell that earned Meek a face-to-face meeting with President Obama. With nine years at ABC under his belt, a buzzy Hulu documentary poised for Emmy attention, and an upcoming book on the military’s chaotic withdrawal from Afghanistan, the 52-year-old bear of a man seemed to be at the height of his powers and the pinnacle of his profession.

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Journalist Calls Child Protective Services On Senate Candidate And Single Mom Over Columbus Day Tweet

Self-described “Award-winning multi-media journalist” David Leavitt called Child Protective Services on Virginia State Senate candidate Tina Ramirez, reporting her for “child abuse” because her opinion of Columbus Day differed from his.

The spat began with an apparent non-sequitur, when Leavitt replied to a tweet from Ramirez over reports that PayPal planned to fine people for spreading “misinformation” — a story broken by Daily Wire reporter Ben Zeisloft.

“Only women can be pregnant. Do I owe PayPal $2500 now?” Ramirez asked, to which Leavitt replied, “Why are you celebrating torture, rape, murder, and enslavement?”

Leavitt appeared to be referencing another tweet in which Ramirez wished her followers a happy Columbus Day, and Ramirez responded with a simple explanation: “I teach my daughter real American history. I refuse to join the radical left’s campaign to erase history.”

Leavitt responded by attempting to get some of his 330,000+ followers to harass Ramirez by reporting her to Child Protective Services.

“Can someone please call child care services on Tina Ramirez who’s teaching her child to be a racist?” he asked.

He then apparently decided to make the call himself — and complained about the long wait time to speak to someone at the hotline.

“The Virginia State hotline for child abuse has a 10+ minute hold and is experiencing ‘high call volumes’ with 14 callers ahead of me. This is absolutely unacceptable. How many people try to report child abuse and hang up? How many children will continue to be abused?” he asked.

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