Peter Mackler Award Ceremony Tickets Now On Sale

NEW YORK, September 17, 2012 – Tickets for the Peter Mackler Award Ceremony are now on sale at www.pmaward.org.  This year’s winner is Lukpan Akhmedyarov of Uralskaya Nedelya (Kazakhstan).   The Key Note Speaker is Assistant Secretary of State Robert O. Blake, Jr. The ceremony will take place October 12, 2012 at 6PM at the National Press Club in Washington, DC. Advance tickets are $25, $10 with student ID, and $35 at the door. Ticket purchases include one free drink and all proceeds directly benefit the Peter Mackler Award Fund.

Lukpan Akhmedyarov , 36, is a reporter for the weekly Uralskaya Nedelya in Kazakhstan. He is well known for his investigative coverage of corruption and human rights abuses as well as his criticism of the current regime. He has been the target of threats and harassment by the police.

On April 19, 2012, Akhmedyarov was the victim of a murder attempt outside his apartment building in the city of Uralsk.  Two masked individuals attacked him, hitting him on the back of the head, stabbing him multiple times and shooting him with an air-pistol.  As a result, Akhmedyarov was hospitalized for a month and treated for a head injury, eight stab wounds to the lung, kidneys, and stomach, and gun pellet injuries.

Mr. Blake was appointed Assistant Secretary for South and Central Asian Affairs in May 2009.  As Assistant Secretary, he oversees U.S. foreign policy with India, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Maldives, Bhutan, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan, and Tajikistan.  He previously served as Ambassador to Sri Lanka and Maldives from 2006 to mid-2009 and Deputy Chief of Mission at the U.S. Mission in New Delhi, India from 2003 – 2006.  Mr. Blake earned a B.A. from Harvard College in 1980 and an M.A. in international relations from Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) in 1984. 

The Peter Mackler award rewards journalists who fight courageously and ethically to report the news in countries where freedom of the press is either not guaranteed or not recognized.  The Award is administered jointly by Global Media Forum and Reporters Without Borders.

Contact:
Camille J. Mackler
Project Director, Peter Mackler Award
Global Media Forum
Tel: +1-212-422-7446
Email: cmackler@globalmediaforum.com

Lukpan Akhmedyarov Named 2012 Winner of Peter Mackler Award for Courageous and Ethical Journalism

Photo: Reporters Without Borders

NEW YORK, Aug. 9, 2012 - Global Media Forum and the US branch of Reporters Without Borders (RSF) are pleased to announce that Lukpan Akhmedyarov is the 2012 winner of the Peter Mackler Award for Courageous and Ethical Journalism.

Akhmedyarov is a reporter for the weekly Uralskaya Nedelya in Kazakhstan. He will be awarded the prize at a ceremony at the National Press Club in Washington, DC on October 12, 2012. 

Lukpan Akhmedyarov, 36, is well known for his investigative coverage of corruption and human rights abuses as well as his criticism of the current regime. He has been the target of threats and harassment by the police.

On April 19, 2012, Akhmedyarov was the victim of a murder attempt outside his apartment building in the city of Uralsk.  Two masked individuals attacked him, hitting him on the back of the head, stabbing him multiple times and shooting him with an air-pistol.  As a result, Akhmedyarov was hospitalized for a month and treated for a head injury, eight stab wounds to the lung, kidneys, and stomach, and gun pellet injuries.

Photo: Uralskaya Nedelya 

Camille Mackler, Project Director for the Peter Mackler Award, said that “Mr. Akhmedyarov has shown enormous courage in reporting on corruption in an authoritarian regime. That he continues to do so, after almost paying with his life for his commitment to journalistic integrity, makes us proud to name him this year’s winner of the Peter Mackler Award.”

“Through Lukpan Akhmedyarov, we pay homage to the courage of all who continue to work independently to cover the news in Kazakhstan.  Working as an independent news source in this country has never been easy. Over the past twelve month, it has become more dangerous than ever.  Lukpan's courage and dedication command respect” said Christophe Deloire, Reporters Without Borders Director.

RSF ranked Kazakhstan 154^th out of 178 countries in their 2011-2012 Press Freedom Index.

About the Peter Mackler Award for Courageous and Ethical Journalism

The Peter Mackler Award for Courageous and Ethical Journalism was founded in June, 2008 to honor the memory of Peter Mackler, a Brooklyn-born thirty-five year veteran journalist who championed ethical journalism and freedom of expression. Mackler helped transform the news agency Agence France-Presse (AFP) into the international competitor that it is today.  Mackler also founded the Global Media Forum, which has helped to train journalists and non-profit organizations to use the media as a tool for social change, and Project Plato, which teaches journalism as a life skill to disadvantaged teenagers.

The Peter Mackler award rewards journalists who fight courageously and ethically to report the news in countries where freedom of the press is either not guaranteed or not recognized.  The Award is administered jointly by Global Media Forum and Reporters Without Borders.  Details regarding the award ceremony, to be held October 12, 2012, will be made available August 22nd, 2012

Contact:
Camille J. Mackler
Project Director, Peter Mackler Award
Email: cmackler@globalmediaforum.com

Peter Mackler Award Announces Catalina Botero Marino as Key Note Speaker for 2011 Award Ceremony

NEW YORK, October 5, 2011 - The Peter Mackler Award for Courageous and Ethical Journalism announced today that Catalina Botero Marino will be the key note speaker at this year’s ceremony honoring Karla Rivas of Radio Progreso (Honduras). The ceremony will take place October 20, 2011 at the National Press Club in Washington, DC.

The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights elected Colombian attorney Catalina Botero Marino as Special Rapporteur for Freedom of Expression in July 2008.

Before assuming the position of Special Rapporteur, Dr. Botero Marino worked as an Auxiliary Magistrate at the Constitutional Court of Colombia. Previously she held a number of posts, including: adviser to the Office of the Prosecutor General of the Nation of Colombia; National Director of the Office for the Promotion of Human Rights in the Office of the Ombudsman of Colombia, Director of Human Rights and International Humanitarian Law at the non-governmental organization Fundación Social, and professor and researcher at the law school of the Universidad de los Andes and other universities in Colombia and abroad. She is the author of several books and essays published in various countries on freedom of expression, constitutional law, international criminal law and transitional justice.

She received her law degree in 1988 from the Universidad de los Andes and completed postgraduate studies there, as well as in Madrid, Spain, at Universidad Complutense, Universidad Carlos III, and the Center for Constitutional Studies.

The Peter Mackler award rewards journalists who fight courageously and ethically to report the news in countries where freedom of the press is either not guaranteed or not recognized. The Award is administered jointly by Global Media Forum and Reporters Without Borders. The Award ceremony will take place on October 20, 2011 at 6PM at the National Press Club in Washington, DC, 529 14^th St. N.W, 13^th Fl.; Washington, DC 20045. The ceremony will be followed by a networking hour. There will be a silent auction.

Contact:
Camille J. Mackler
Project Director, Peter Mackler Award
Global Media Forum
Tel: +1-917-655-3548
Email: cmackler@globalmediaforum.com

Tickets For 2011 PMA Ceremony Now on Sale!

Reporters Without Borders / Global Media Forum Please join us for the presentation of this year's PETER MACKLER AWARD FOR COURAGEOUS AND ETHICAL JOURNALISM Honoring : Karla Rivas Radio Progreso, Honduras October 20, 2011 6.00 PM National Press Club - 529 14th Street, N. W. Washington DC Cocktail reception to follow with Silent Auction to benefit the Peter Mackler Award Tickets: $25 ($10 with student ID) Available at the door or in advance Purchase Tickets Now www.pmaward.org More Information: info@pmaward.org

Karla Rivas Named 2011 Winner of Peter Mackler Award for Courageous and Ethical Journalism

NEW YORK, Aug. 22, 2011 - Global Media Forum and the US branch of Reporters Without Borders are pleased to announce that Honduran radio journalist Karla Rivas, news editor for Radio Progreso, has been selected as the 2011 winner of the Peter Mackler Award for Courageous and Ethical Journalism. Rivas will be awarded the prize at a ceremony at the National Press Club in Washington, DC on October 20, 2011. Rivas is the first woman to receive the Award.

Karla Rivas, 33, works for Radio Progreso, a Jesuit-run radio station covering current events, sports, and arts news. Despite being one of the first victims of raids by the military after the 2009 coup, Radio Progreso continues to challenge censorship and to promote dialogue within Honduran society. It’s leader, Father Ismael Moreno, was one of approximately ten journalists the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights instructed the new Honduran government to protect, an injunction the regime continues to ignore. Karla Rivas became a vocal opponent of the military tactics and continues to defend Radio Progreso’s right to broadcast uncensored information. Camille Mackler, Project Director for the Peter Mackler Award, said that “Ms. Rivas has shown enormous courage and integrity by asserting the right of the People of Honduras to receive fair, accurate news. She has done so regardless of the danger she placed herself in. This selflessness and strong ethics are what the Peter Mackler Award rewards by naming Ms. Rivas this year’s winner.”

Jean-François Julliard, Secretary General of Reporters Without Borders stated that Ms. Rivas’ recognition “constitutes both a symbol of the fight for the right to information, and a reminder to the international community of the tragedy Honduras has suffered since the coup on June 28^th, 2009. Radio Progreso’s efforts to inform the public about the state of human rights since that day is rewarded today. The driving force for dialogue within an extremely polarized society, Radio Progreso continues to take on with courage its journalistic and educational role, despite threats and persecution. If the station is over a half-century old, its young journalists and announcers embody both the future of a profession and the hope of a country.” Reporters Without Borders ranked Honduras 143^rd out of 175 countries in their 2010 Press Freedom Index, down from 128^th the previous year.

About the Peter Mackler Award for Courageous and Ethical Journalism

The Peter Mackler Award for Courageous and Ethical Journalism was founded in June, 2008 to honor the memory of Peter Mackler, a Brooklyn-born thirty-five year veteran journalist who championed ethical journalism and freedom of expression. Mackler helped transform the news agency Agence France-Presse (AFP) into the international competitor that it is today. Mackler also founded the Global Media Forum, which has helped to train journalists and non-profit organizations to use the media as a tool for social change, and Project Plato, which teaches journalism as a life skill to disadvantaged teenagers.

The Peter Mackler award rewards journalists who fight courageously and ethically to report the news in countries where freedom of the press is either not guaranteed or not recognized. The Award is administered jointly by Global Media Forum and Reporters Without Borders. The Award ceremony will take place on October 20, 2011 at 6PM at the National Press Club in Washington, DC, 529 14^th St. N.W, 13^th Fl.; Washington, DC 20045. The ceremony will be followed by a networking hour. There will be a silent auction.

Contact:
Camille J. Mackler
Project Director, Peter Mackler Award
Global Media Forum
Tel: +1-917-655-3548
Email: cmackler@globalmediaforum.com

The State of Journalism in Russia

By: Margaret Colbert.

The recent attack on journalist Oleg Kashin was a shocking example of the pressures and threats that journalists have been living with in Russia since the collapse of the Soviet Union, but unfortunately not a unique event in the context of recent Russian history. During the period between 1993 and 2009 over 300 journalists were murdered in Russia alone; incidents that have rarely produced prosecutions or convictions by the government. Considering what many critics of the Putin and Medvedev regimes have considered a stance on journalistic freedoms that approached complicity with the attacks on journalists publishing works critical of the government or its partners, President Medvedev’s condemnation of the attack on Kashin was noteworthy, causing some commentators to hope for a change in Russia’s hostile stance towards a free and critical press. Protests in the Moscow streets indicate that a Russian public, long apathetic about concerns relating to the existence of an open press, are now beginning to realize the suppressive environment that these attacks breed, and may be rejecting old attitudes of ambivalence in regards to strong-arm tactics used by the government and its agents to stifle dissent.

It is interesting that often, in states where press freedoms are heavily controlled or suppressed, there will often be little expressed concern on the part of the populace. It is no accident that measures of relative quality of life and measures of international standards of press freedom generally group states in a like manner. That is, if a state scores high on the quality of life index, it is likely to score high on the Press Freedoms Index (compiled by RSF), with the inverse being true as well. While it may not be possible to identify a direct or absolute correlation between an open press and a higher standard of living, in a climate where individuals and groups have a higher relative educational level, as well as a higher level of personal security and wealth, a press that identifies threats to these conditions is more likely to be broadly supported. In states where issues of personal security and income are still major concerns for the general populace, critical dissent can often seem like a secondary concern for those focused on issues of basic survival. A free and open press, in states like Russia, where high levels of corruption and violence have come to be expected from the government, suffers not only from direct government interference and suppression, but also from the general lack of support from a public that feels that democracy and its attendant press freedoms can be legitimately limited in the name of progress or stability.

It is heartening then, that attacks on individuals like Kashin, as well as high profile murders of journalists like Anna Politkovskaya in October of 2006, have seemed to hit a nerve among the Russian public. It is likely that this public disenchantment with the Russian government’s reactions may also have spurred the government to reopen the investigation related to the brutal 2008 attack on Khimkinskaya Pravda’s editor, Mikhail Beketov- though this encouraging development comes on the coattails of Beketov being found guilty of criminal slander against a political figure he criticized on air during a television interview in 2007. While the dichotomy of this response is disappointing, it may be that Russia is, slowly, moving towards a future where journalists and activists may face the clearly conveyed displeasure of the government in its various offices, without the threat to their personal security that has for too long been part and parcel of Moscow’s approach to stifling journalistic enterprise.

Photo: Mikhail Beketov (Agence France-Presse)

Russian Journalist Oleg Kashin Brutally Attacked in Moscow

Russian journalist Oleg Kashin, a well-known journalist for the Russian daily Kommersant, was savagely beaten outside his home at 12:40 AM on November 6 as he returned from dinner with friends. The attack, which Kommersant editor Mikhail Mikhailin insisted was related to Kashin's work, left Kashin with a two broken jaws, a broken leg, a fractured skull, a concussion, blood in the lungs, and several broken fingers, one of which had to be amputated.

Free press organization Reporters Without Borders (RWB), among others, publicly decried the attack and called on the perpetrators to be punished. In a rare move in Russia, President Medvedev also condemned the attack and announced, via his Twitter feed, that he had ordered the interior minister and prosecutor's office to supervise the investigation and bring the attackers to justice. Secretary-General of RWB, Jean-Francois Julliard, said that “We hold [President Medvedev] to his word and we urge the authorities to put all the necessary conditions in place for the police and judicial authorities to be able to work independently and get results.”

Reporters Without Borders - USA Director Clothilde Le Coz called Russia "one of the world’s most dangerous countries for independent journalists." High profile murder cases, such as that of Anna Politcovskaya, remain unsolved years after their commission, despite the identity of the killers being well known to authorities. According to Julliard, "The culture of impunity has prevailed for too long. No crime of violence against journalists has been solved since the start of the past decade."

Ilya Barabanov, deputy editor of the Russian independent weekly The New Times and
2010 Peter Mackler Award winner, told guests at the 2010 Peter Mackler Award Ceremony that "the reality is that independent media outlets are not able to feel safe in Russia." Barabanov, however, further stated that "the enemies of independent press have yet to break down or intimidate those journalists who truly believe in honestly executing their duty before the citizens of their country."

As the events of this past week show, detractors of a free press in Russia have not yet given up trying to shut down those independent voices exemplified by Kashin and Barabanov. "Our thoughts and prayers are with Oleg Kashin and his family." Said Peter Mackler Award Project Director Camille Mackler. "We hope he will make a full and speedy recovery and that Russia will finally reverse its trend and bring the perpetrators of this terrible act to justice."