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In this newsletter you'll an interview with a brave Afghan journalist and a long read from one of our Journalist Fellows on how local journalism has been silenced in Kashmir. You'll also find a selection of readings and online events, and a chart and a podcast episode from this year's Digital News Report.
🕒 This newsletter is 1,384 words, a 10-minute read. If you don't receive it yet, join our mailing list here. If you want to receive our daily roundup with readings on journalism, join our Telegram channel here.
Explore Digital News Report 2021 here | Check out data from your country | Downdload a PDF version | Read our methodology
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A LONG READ
How the Kashmiri local press has been silenced
The issue. On 5 August 2019, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi stripped the state of Jammu and Kashmir of autonomy and split it into two territories directly controlled by the central government. Since then, the once-booming and vibrant press from the region has been dismantled through different tactics: new regulations, advertising blockades, arrests and intimidation.
The piece. Our Journalist Fellow Ipsita Chakravarty has reported for years on the region for Indian news site Scroll.in, where she supervises Kashmir coverage. Before coming to Oxford, she returned to the region to interview other journalists about how the press had fared over the last year. During her time at the institute, Ipsita produced a detailed essay explaining what she found there.
📱 Read Ipsita's piece here
📃 Download a longer version of her paper here
With press freedom under threat... we are doing all we can to help journalists fight back. Our new fund brings journalists working in difficult environments on to our signature Fellowship Programme so they can build the networks, skills and knowledge they need. Please donate any amount you can from £25 to the fund so more journalists under pressure can spend time with us.
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STUFF WE LEARNT THIS WEEK
🇩🇰 Nine years after its launch, Danish digital-born long-form magazine Zetland has reached 25,000 paying members. 🇦🇫 American TV networks devoted a total of 5 minutes to Afghanistan in 2020 💉 The most-viewed link on Facebook in the first three months of 2021 was a news article with a headline suggesting the coronavirus vaccine may have caused the death of a Florida doctor, according to a report the tech company decided to shelve. 💰 Politico's owner Robert Allbritton is seeking $1 billion in a deal with German media group Axel Springer. The Washington Post was sold to Jeff Bezos for $250 million in 2013. 🇮🇳 More than 700 million Indians are online in 2021 compared to fewer than 400 million just five years ago. 💼 A survey conducted in May by Morning Consult found that 39% of American workers said they would consider quitting if their employers weren’t flexible about remote work.
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A BRAVE COLLEAGUE
An all-female news site to tell Afghan women's stories
The project. In 2020 Afghan journalist Zahra Joya, 28, used her personal savings to recruit five women and start Rukhshana Media. Since then, they have published stories on the taboo of menstruation, child marriage, street harassment, gender discrimination and rape. The name is a tribute to a girl named Rukhshana who was stoned to death after being accused of adultery and running away from home.
The piece. Before the fall of Kabul, Zahra launched a fundraising campaign for Rukhshana Media. The goal was to raise 20,000 Canadian dollars. She's now raised more than 240,000 from more than 5,000 people. Last week Zahra spoke with our contributor Raksha Kumar about her project and about the uncertain future of journalism in her home country. "I hope we can protect this achievement of ours," she said.
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FROM DNR 2020
News on social media. Across 12 selected markets around two-thirds now use one or more social networks or messaging apps for consuming, sharing, or discussing news. WhatsApp, Instagram, TikTok, and Telegram have gained in importance, while use of Facebook for news has declined despite being the most widely used. In the Global South, YouTube is particularly strong in Asia (41% use it for news) while WhatsApp is the dominant platform for news in Africa (61%).
Explore Digital News Report 2021
🔗 Read the executive summary of the report. | By Nic Newman
✊🏿 How people perceive news coverage. | By Richard Fletcher
⚖️ What audiences think about impartiality. | By Craig T. Robertson
🏡 How technology has disrupted local news. | By Anne Schulz
💰 Financing commercial news media. | By R. Fletcher and R. Nielsen
🕺🏻 How and why people use social media for news. | By Simge Andı
📈 Explore data from your country. Figures from 46 markets
🌎 Read the report in Spanish. Explore the report in this global language
📄 Download the PDF version and read it on your tablet
📊 Check out our interactive. Explore our data and build your own charts
👩🔬 Learn about our methodology. How we produce the report
🎙 Listen to our podcast series on the report
🎥 Watch a video summary. Explore the key findings in 2 minutes
👩🏾💻 Explore the report in 192 slides. A presentation to use in your class
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FROM OUR PODCAST
"While Facebook is far more widely used as a network where people come across news, it’s not a platform where news consumers intentionally go to access the news. Twitter, in contrast, is often seen much more of a primary destination for news"
Simge Andı
Co-author of the Digital News Report
Audio and transcript here
Listen on: Spotify | Apple | Google
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ONLINE EVENTS AND COURSES
🏦 Wednesday 25 August, 16:00 UK time. Global news site Quartz hosts this online event on how to report on countries other than your own, as part of a long-running series on the fundamentals of business journalism. Speakers include Tripti Lahiri, Preetika Rana, Annalisa Merelli and Neha Wadekar. | Quartz
🗺️ Thursday 26 August, 19:00 UK time. Eyal Weizman, founder of Forensic Architecture, which combines maps, 3D models and animation to document crimes, human rights abuses and disasters, talks about the investigative outfit’s methods and how it collaborates with artists to share its stories. | IMPAKT
✍️ 2-4 September. Register now for the annual conference from the Society of Professional Journalists, convening journalists and academics for discussions and workshops on a range of topics including data journalism, investigative reporting, legal rights, interviewing techniques, mobile journalism and much more. | SPJ
🌍 13-17 September. Journalists and media innovators from across Africa can sign up for the inaugural Jamfest, a showcase for new content styles, audience engagement methods and approaches to sustainability. Speakers include Nigel Mugamu from 263Chat, Edwin Madu from Zizoko and Mpho Raborife from News24. | Jamlab
WE ARE READING...
🧐 The power of tech. “In deciding where and how to apply labels, tech companies are, in an important sense, defining what journalism is,” writes Emily Bell, in this article looking at tech platforms’ often flawed approach to deciding what counts as journalism. | Columbia Journalism Review
👐 Lessons on membership. After the closure of the Membership Puzzle Project, Kristen Hare talks to Ariel Zirulnick to draw together key lessons from the initiative. These include the need for an engaged membership body that provides more than just monthly donations, a community-relevant approach that rejects a one-size-fits-all model, and being always open to feedback and learning. | Poynter
🇷🇺 A weakened ecosystem. Thirty years after Russian journalists mobilised alongside others to reject the attempted coup against Mikhail Gorbachev and his reforms, Nadezhda Azhgikhina believes it’s “now impossible today to picture a dozen editors of national newspapers jointly supporting freedom of speech.” | The Nation
🇬🇧 Press freedom in the UK. Several investigative journalists tell Madeline Roache why proposed changes to the UK’s Official Secrets Act will make it harder for whistleblowers and reporters to uncover government wrongdoing. The changes would widen the scope of prosecutions and up the sentences from 2 to 14 years for those who make “unauthorised disclosures”. | Al Jazeera
💉 COVID-19 and quality journalism. “I think the pandemic served as a reminder to people that although it is easier than ever to spread news with smartphones and social media platforms, quality journalism matters.” Four journalists, including CNBC’s Julianna Tatelbaum, reflect on how the pandemic affected their day-to-day work and their wider profession. | World Economic Forum
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Today's email was written by Eduardo Suárez and Matthew Leake.
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