The Channel | 2002 | June

15 / 22

16 | the channel
It’s pretty common knowledge that more journalists were
killed inAfghanistan these past twelve months than any other
country, yet the death toll among the press in the Philippines
- without a major war action - is among the highest of any
country in the world. In the past few weeks, a newspaper
reporter was shot dead in her home, a radio commentator
killed in a drive by shooting, a home made bomb exploded
outside a radio station and the military continues to advise
foreign media they remain a kidnap risk in the south of the
country where the Abu Sayyef still hold foreign tourists
hostage.
China has more TV stations and media operations than all
of the rest of Asia put together. It has the second largest TV
network in the world and its media is seen to be freer and
more open than Singapore’s. Yet, for the third year running,
China remains the world’s leading jailer of journalists. Tiny
neighbour Nepal, with one per cent of China’s population,
ranks second.
In South East Asia, many Thai journalists, proud of their
free press, have accused business tycoon Thaksin
Shinawatra, the country’s prime minister, of trying to
exercise undue influence over the media. Radio programs
produced by the Nation Multimedia Group were banned
and advertising restrictions placed on their cable TV channel.
Two foreign correspondents from the Far
Eastern Economic Review were
threatened with deportation on the grounds
that they were a threat to national security.
The Nation still struggles, the reporters
were allowed to stay, but the stand off
continues.
The newly feted responsible leader of the
Islamic world, Dr Mahathir
Mohammed, remains in tight control in
Malaysia where political pressure, threats,
and licensing restrictions remain the norm.
It is rumoured political pressure may have
prompted the recent wave of resignations,
suspensions, and lay-offs at The Sun
newspaper, yet it remains puzzling to
many why the highly critical South East
Asian Press Alliance sponsored
web site remains
open and a constant thorn in the
government’s side.
In Singapore, local press is largely
controlled by the ruling People’s Action
Party (PAP). The government has restricted the foreign
media from covering domestic politics and has introduced
new regulations to curb independent political commentary
on the Internet. Yet
the regulatory
authority for
broadcasting, the
S i n g a p o r e
B r o a d c a s t i n g
Authority, remains
a staunch advocate
of the News World
Asia conference
where Singapore is
exposed to
criticism by the
leaders of Asia’s
broadcast news
operations and the
attending world
media.
In Myanmar
(formerly Burma)
journalists work
under impossible conditions, forbidden by state censors from
Banned, Sacked, Abducted, Jailed or
Killed
The everyday life of an Asian journalist
If you had a hard day at the office today, spare a thought for the scribes of Asia. They have one of the toughest beats on the planet,
as David Marshall, event director for News World Asia, explains.
Radio New Zealand reporter Shona Geary recounting her time held
captive at Parliament House, Suva
Aung San Suu Kyi, the opposition leader in
Myanmar, arrives at the headquarters of her
National League for Democracy after release
from 19 months of house arrest
SUVA:MARK BAKER/REUTERS;MYANMAR:SUKREE SUKPLANG/REUTERS