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Does Islamophobia exist?
Tony Phillips
The "what we stand for" section of your website contains the following statement: "To help to unite the efforts of trade unionists inside and outside the media in promoting fair and accurate coverage that reflects a wide diversity of views and cultures". I was therefore surprised and disappointed that you published the interview with Dr Jamila Bshir without any balancing comments or context, suggesting that you must sympathise with her views. Dr Bshir claims that Islamophobia was invented by Muslims as a cunning ploy to defect criticism of their religion. She says she is proud to be an Islamophobe, stating that it is the same as standing up against the Nazis. She follows that by implying that Britain today's would-be Hitler, Nick Griffin, is a tragic victim of an unholy alliance of the establishment and the left for standing up for freedom of speech with his attacks on Islam. Presumably if Dr Bshir lived in Weimar Germany she would upholding Hitler's right to free speech in claiming that behind big business and the left was an international Jewish conspiracy? Dr Bshir is sadly mistaken if she thinks the Muslim baiting amongst Western Governments and the mass media is really motivated by defence of the rights of women. Islamphobia is real and is the modern equivalent of MaCarthyism - creating a bogus enemy within to justify imperialist policies in the Middle East while attempting to divide the opposition at home. In fact Islamophobia is not about free speech or liberation for anyone, it is old fashioned racism with an anti clerical veneer. Real press and broadcasting feedom cannot mean the right to scapegoat religious and ethnic minorities.
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World Press Freedom Day
More reporters are currently imprisoned in Turkey than in any other country in the world. Only a matter of weeks ago lawyers failed to persuade a Turkish court to release a 76-year-old journalist from a Turkish internet news station.
World Press Freedom Day on Friday May 3, 2013 is being marked in Britain by a rally to highlight the dangers facing journalists in Turkey and in this podcast, Nicholas Jones speaks to Barry White, Organiser at the Campaign for Press and Broadcasting Freedom, and Sam Bamford, the TUC's policy officer for Eastern Europe and Africa about the importance of a campaign to highlight international press freedom.
The World Press Freedom Day rally is being staged by the National Union of Journalists at the NUJ head office, Gray’s Inn Road, London WC1 on Thursday May 2, 6pm-8pm.
DATELINE: 27/4/13
UK launch of EU media campaign
DATELINE: 13/3/13
The UK launch of a 'European Citizens' Initiative' calling for EU rules against concentration of media power will take place on Thursday March 21 from 11:00am – 12:30pm in Committee Room 4A at the House of Lords, London. Guest speakers will include actor and activist Hugh Grant (pictured), media consultant Claire Enders, Professor Steven Barnett, Barry McCall (President of the NUJ) and Marc Gruber (Director of the European Federation of Journalists).
A European Citizens' Initiative is an official petition, like a Downing Street petition. If it succeeds in gathering a million signatures across the EU, the Commission is obliged to respond.
This petition calls for the EU to act to protect media pluralism and press freedom.
CPBF Annual General Meeting
DATELINE: 1/3/13
Make a note in your diary
Saturday 13 July 2013 from 10.00am
NUJ HQ, 308/312 Gray's Inn Road, London WC1.
Leveson, media ownership, CPBF future work.
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DATELINE: 26/3/10
Papers from the Media for All Conference
MEDIA MANIFESTO
DATELINE: 26/3/10
The media’s job is to inform and entertain us but we rely on them too to tell us what our rulers and representatives are up to. In the run-up to the Iraq war the government used spin and disinformation in the media to create panic and mislead people. The truth is coming out now, but we need stronger, more independent media to be able to scrutinise governments and make informed choices.
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Previous stories
Journalism Theory & Practice
Beyond the veil
Orwell in Tribune: "As I Please" and other writings 1943-7
Are we moving from their media to ours?
What We Stand For
Text Size
Journalism gets younger and cheaper
The Angry Buzz: This Week and Current Affairs Television
Text Size
A Voice for Media Freedom
Media literacy reviews from Ofcom
