Month: December 2021

Afghanistan and Mexico are the most dangerous countries for media work this year, the Press Emblem Campaign (PEC) said in its annual report in Geneva on Thursday in view of Human Rights Day. Since January 1, 76 media workers have been killed in 28 countries around the world.Afghanistan leads with 12 assassinations, ahead of Mexico where 10 journalists were killed. Among the most dangerous countries are Pakistan (7), India (6), Yemen (4), Democratic Republic of Congo (3) and the Philippines (3 killed).Two deaths were recorded in Azerbaijan, Bangladesh, Brazil, Burkina-Faso, Colombia, as well as in Ethiopia, Kenya, Nigeria, Somalia and Turkey. Finally, one victim has been identified in the following countries: Ecuador, Gaza, Georgia, Ghana, Greece, Guatemala, Haiti, Lebanon, Netherlands, Syria, and the United States of America.

Of the 76 journalists murdered, 29 were in war zones (Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, Burkina Faso, DRC, Ethiopia, Gaza, Somalia, Syria, and Yemen). Terrorist groups were responsible of at least 20 murders (Afghanistan, Burkina Faso, Pakistan, Somalia and Yemen), an increase compared to previous years.The PEC strongly condemns these attacks and calls for those responsible for these crimes to be brought to justice. By region, Asia, with 39 dead (+6), is ahead of Latin America 17 (-10), Africa 14 (+5), Europe 5 (+2) and North America 1 (+1).“The number of journalists killed decreased by 8% compared to the same period of last year, a slight improvement. Improvement has taken place in Latin America outside of Mexico, deterioration is observed in Africa and Europe. Mexico and Afghanistan have been among the most dangerous countries for journalists for many years, but the rise in Africa is particularly worrying”, commented PEC Secretary General Blaise Lempen.In Europe, the targeted killings of 3 journalists, in Greece, Georgia and the Netherlands is a very sad development. In Burma (Myanmar) after the coup and in Afghanistan after the departure of the NATO troops, press freedom has registered a very serious setback.Over the last 5 years, Mexico has recorded the highest victims (66), ahead of Afghanistan (53), then India (40), Pakistan (35), Syria (29), the Philippines (21), Iraq (18), Yemen (17), and Somalia (16). In ten years, from 2012 to 2021, 1150 journalists were killed, or 115 per year, 2.2 per week, according to figures from the PEC.One positive development, says PEC President Hedayat Abdel Nabi is that the awareness across the globe has become more widespread due to the enthusiastic engagement of media colleagues to spread the message of media protection and the safety of journalists as well as press freedom.“India has recently lost Buddhinath Jha (journalist cum Right to Information (RTI) activist, also known as Avinash Jha), whose body was found in Madhubani locality of  Bihar on 12 November. The Benipatti-based family claimed that Buddhinath was offered a lot of money (as bribes) by some illegal healthcare clinic owners, but he did not listen to them. Later he received a number of threatening calls from unknown persons,” said Nava Thakuria, PEC’s India representative.Prior to him, the populous country lost five journalists namely Ashu Yadav, Sulabh Srivastava, Ch. Keshav, Manish Kumar Singh and Raman Kashyap to assailants this year. Indian photojournalist Danish Siddiqui was killed in Afghanistan. India’s two neighbours Pakistan and Bangladesh reported (7 and 2 respectively) media casualties, however Bhutan, Nepal, Tibet (China), Maldives, Sri Lanka and Myanmar have not reported any incident of journo-murder till date this year. […]

New York Festivals® Radio Awards announced the appointment of Dylan Haskins, Commissioning Executive for Podcasts for BBC Sounds & BBC Radio 5 Live, to the NYF Radio Awards Advisory Board.Haskins is the 14th member of the prestigious New York Festivals Radio Awards Advisory Board, a brain trust of executives comprised of some of the Radio industry’s most respected content creators and broadcast leaders from around the globe. These thought-leaders provide NYF’s Radio Awards with ongoing knowledge of emerging trends, critical industry insights, and a global perspective.“It’s a great honour to be asked to join the Advisory Board of the New York Festivals Radio Awards and to have the opportunity to help shape and advise the awards during such an exciting period of evolution in audio creativity, innovation, investment and audience habits. As a commissioner for a public service broadcaster, it’s also a time of challenge and competition from new commercial players but, in my experience, this is leading us all to be more ambitious, to go bigger on what makes us distinctive and to experiment and collaborate more where there are shared aims. All of this means radio and podcasts have never been better and a competition like the New York Festivals helps recognise this,” said Haskins.

Dylan Haskins is a a multi-award winning audio commissioner and executive producer at BBC Sounds and BBC Radio 5 Live responsible for podcasts including I’m Not A Monster, Have You Heard George’s Podcast?, Where Is George Gibney?, Bad People and Wheel of Misfortune.I’m Not A Monster, the 10-part podcast series and the investigative podcast series ‘Where is George Gibney? won a total of six Golds, a Silver and the Grand Award at the 2021 New York Festivals Radio Awards, contributing to the BBC also being awarded 2021 Broadcaster of the Year.Dylan’s industry accolades in the US and Canada include podcast commissions that have won a Peabody Award, a RTDNA Edward R. Murrow Award and multiple Webby Awards including Best Documentary and Best Sound Design. In Europe, they’ve won the Rose d’Or for Audio, multiple UK Radio Academy ARIAS Golds, Silver and Bronze, the Broadcasting Press Guild Award for Podcast of the Year, NME Podcast of the Year, British Podcast Awards ‘Moment of the Year’ Gold and multiple Silvers, and Overall Prize at the Justice Media Awards in Ireland.This year is the twelfth year that New York Festivals has partnered with the annual NAB Show. This strategic partnership provides all attendees to the April 26th, 2022, Storyteller’s Gala access to the multi-day NAB event. NAB is the ultimate marketplace for people passionate about media, entertainment, and technology.The Radio Awards receives entries from radio stations, networks, and independent producers from over 30 countries around the globe. The mission of the competition is to honor the achievements of the men and women who make up the global audio storytelling community. To view the 2021 Winner’s Gallery, visit: HERE.New York Festivals invites award-winning industry leaders from around the world to become members of their world-class Radio Awards Grand Jury. The 2022 Grand jury will soon be set. Those jurors will include some of the most world’s recognizable voices and captivating content producers in the radio industry. Entries are judged on production values, organization, presentation of information, creativity, and use of the medium. All Entries in the 2022 competition will be judged online by NYF’s Radio Awards Grand Jury of 200+ producers, directors, writers, and other creative media professionals from around the globe. Award-winning entries will be showcased on the Radio Awards winners gallery. To view the 2021 winner’s gallery, visit HERE.The deadline to enter the 2022 Radio Awards competition is February 9, 2022. To enter please visit: HERE, for additional information visit: Rules and Regulations. […]