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AFP photographer wins political photography award

Rachel McAthy — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 15:58:41 +0000

The AFP has issued a release to say its photographer John MacDougall won the Rueckblende (flashback) award in Germany for 2011.

The agency says this is the first time the award, which is for political photography and cartoons, has gone to one of its photographers.

The winning picture of a German female soldier embracing a relative of one of three victims at a military funeral brought home the human aspect of the tragedy of Afghanistan, judges of the Rueckblende award for political photography said.

MacDougall first started work at AFP in 1989 as a photo editor.

According to the AFP release “his photo was chosen from among 247 entries for the Rueckblende, which was created in 1995 and carries a 7,000-euro ($9,200) prize, and which also awards a prize for political cartoonists.”Similar Posts:

Media release: AFP Foundation to donate 25 laptops to journalists

Rachel McAthy — Mon, 24 Oct 2011 16:40:59 +0000

The AFP Foundation will give away 25 laptops to journalists in developing countries or working in exile in a collaboration with Reporters Without Borders (RSF).

In a press release French news agency AFP said the computers will go to journalists “facing particular hardship”. They will be given to RSF on Friday.

Jean-François Julliard, secretary general of RSF added:

We are grateful to the Foundation for its contribution to press freedom. Computers represent independent information which can be passed on and shared. We thank AFP for its support.

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CPJ and Russian media outlets challenge ‘climate of impunity’ after latest attack

Rachel McAthy — Mon, 08 Nov 2010 11:34:26 +0000

Russian media outlets and the Committee to Protect Journalists have called on President Medvedev to deal with unsolved crimes against the media, following an attack on reporter Oleg Kashin this weekend which led to him being placed into an induced coma.

According to a report by AFP, 26 reporters and media outlets, as well as hundreds of others, have signed an open letter demanding protection for journalists’ rights.

“By demanding the protection of reports, what we are talking about is not only our own trade,” the letter said. “One must also protect the rights of our readers. The rights of reporters to fulfill their obligation in a normal fashion and not worry about their lives — this is the right of society to speak and be heard.”

The Committee to Protect Journalists has also called on the government to act. In a statement, CPJ executive director Joel Simon said:

We are outraged by the attack on Kommersant reporter Oleg Kashin. While it is important that President Medvedev has called for the perpetrators to be ‘found and punished,’ we also believe that the government itself has considerable responsibility. By failing to prosecute those who have carried out crimes against journalists in the past – including 19 murders committed in the Putin era – the Russian government has created a climate of impunity. Government statements and expressions of sympathy are simply not sufficient. Arrests, prosecutions and convictions are what are urgently needed.

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AFP: Two journalists murdered in Philippines

Judith Townend — Wed, 16 Jun 2010 08:56:14 +0000

The AFP this morning reported that a radio journalist has been shot dead in the northern Philippines, the second killing of a journalist this week.

The press men, killed in separate attacks at opposite ends of the country within the space of 24 hours, were both outspoken radio broadcasters known for their criticism of corrupt local officials.

The AFP reports that 33 journalists were killed in the Philippines last year, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ).

More than 100 have been killed since President Gloria Arroyo came to power in 2001, according to the National Union of Journalists of the Philippines.

Full story at this link…

(via @globalfreemedia)Similar Posts:

Fast Company: AFP’s legal row with photographer – and Twitter

Judith Townend — Tue, 11 May 2010 08:53:15 +0000

Fast Company takes a look at the legal row between news agency AFP and photographer Daniel Morel – and where Twitter fits in. In summary, AFP is currently embroiled in a rights row with Morel after using photographs of Haiti that had been uploaded on Twitpic. Morel reportedly sent cease-and-desist letters to which AFP responded with threat of a law suit.

Fast Company writes:

AFP, like a lot of more established organizations, seems unable to change their perspectives on Twitter to address what the service actually is. That Morel posted some of the most important photos of the decade on Twitter before any other publication shows the power and flexibility of Twitter as a legitimate news service. AFP’s argument, that Twitter is in some way nothing more than a digital bulletin board with no accompanying rights, is worrisome – it’s a different kind of news outlet than AFP, but that doesn’t mean its value in news can simply be ignored.

Full Fast Company story at this link…

AFP launches paid-for iPhone app

Laura Oliver — Tue, 12 Jan 2010 16:44:52 +0000

Agence France-Presse (AFP) has release a paid-for application for the iPhone and iPod Touch.

Costing $1.99 to download, the app will offer multimedia news reports from AFP in English, Spanish, Portuguese and German.

Interestingly, the agency has also created a mobile opportunity for its clients with this launch. AFP customers can adapt the app with their branding and content – and French news org La Depeche du Midi as already done this with the launch of its iPhone app last week.

Related reading: The AFP’s not the only news organisation going for the iPhone market…Similar Posts:

WashingtonPost: Abducted French security advisers in Mogadishu posed as journalists

Judith Townend — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 08:54:40 +0000

“Two French security advisers posing as journalists were abducted from their hotel in Mogadishu on Tuesday by Somali gunmen, according to the foreign ministry and reports from the chaotic Somali capital,” reports the Washington Post. Full story at this link…

Related:

The Frontline Blog ran this post yesterday, updating as news broke.

The AFP reports that, according to the Somali defence minister, the pair were ‘kidnapped for cash not politics’.

Background from the Frontline:

“The Telegraph’s Colin Freeman and photographer José Cendón were kidnapped and held for six weeks earlier this year. Meanwhile, freelance journalists Amanda Lindhout and Nigel Brennan after still being held hostage after being kidnapped in Mogadishu in August, 2008. Their driver and fixer were released in January, 2009. This new kidnap comes at a time of ‘fresh fighting’ in the north of Mogadishu, although one could argue fighting never really gets the time to go stale in Mogadishu.”

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Cit-J agency photographs from Iran make front page of NYTimes… twice

Judith Townend — Mon, 22 Jun 2009 11:38:28 +0000

Further to our round-up of Demotix activity from Iran, here are two front pages from the New York Times, both featuring images from the pro-am agency’s contributors.

Demotix images have also been published by the Telegraph, El Pais, Wall Street Journal, ABC.es, and syndicated by Reuters, AFP and EPA to other outlets around the world.

“The bravery of our Iranian reporters has been astonishing. They are defying their government and risking their safety to tell their stories to the world, and we are delighted to be able to help them make their voices hear more loudly,” said Demotix commissioning editor, Andy Heath. “Demotix exists for moments like this.”

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Media Release: AFP and Getty agree video partnership

Laura Oliver — Thu, 02 Apr 2009 08:16:26 +0000

Agreement will allow the agencies to market their video footage in English. Agencies already partner on images.

Full release at this link…Similar Posts:

Economist.com: Will newswires learn to live without newspapers?

Laura Oliver — Fri, 13 Feb 2009 12:37:21 +0000

News agencies are boosting staff numbers, according to this Economist report – is this a sign they can thrive will newspapers struggle?

Full story at this link…Similar Posts:

British and Spanish journalist kidnapping in Somalia – details still to be confirmed

Judith Townend — Thu, 27 Nov 2008 11:08:45 +0000

Although reports with additional information are available online, exact details of the journalists kidnapped in Somalia remain unconfirmed. Articles that name the journalists have been removed from various news sites.

BBC yesterday reported:

“A British and Spanish journalist in Somalia have been kidnapped from the north-eastern Puntland region, local authorities say.

“Government officials said the pair were taken from their hotel in the port city of Bossasso.

“(…) the journalists were in Bossasso to cover the story of piracy hijackings off Puntland’s coast. He says the foreigners were abducted by gunmen along with two local reporters.

“‘The two foreigners are British and Spanish,’ Abdulkebir Musa, Puntland’s assistant minister for seaports, told news agency AFP.

“The office of Puntland’s president confirmed this information to the BBC.”

Journalism.co.uk will update when further reports are received from the relevant sources.Similar Posts:

AFP: AFP launches news site in South Korea

Laura Oliver — Fri, 14 Nov 2008 10:35:26 +0000

Korean-language site AFPBB.co.kr will ofer news, entertainment and sport content from the agency and local providers.

The launch is a direct way for the AFP to reach consumers in contrast to its usual ‘wholesale’ approach, a release from the agency said.Similar Posts:

AFP: Al Jazeera launching rights watchdog headed by Sami al-Haj

Judith Townend — Fri, 31 Oct 2008 11:20:43 +0000

Marking Al Jazeera’s 12th birthday, a new Public Liberties and and Human Rights Desk will be launched, headed by its cameraman Sami al-Haj who spent six years at the US detention centre in Guantanamo Bay.Similar Posts: