Moving along... - 7 May 2012

So after all the public holidays that we've been having here in South Africa, things are pretty much back to normal once again in the office.

Last week we celebrated World Press Freedom Day. This day, observed annually on 3 May globally, focuses on the importance of the freedom of the press and freedom of expression. According to a report issued by the Committee to Protect Journalists, ahead of World Press Freedom Day celebrations, it was noted that Eritrea experiences the worst censorship in the world, while Equatorial Guinea is among the five most heavily-censored countries.

Carole Kimutai, a Kenyan based journalist, evaluates press freedom in Kenya from a technology perspective. I certainly agree with her that we all should celebrate the expansion of the media space and the opportunity to interact and engage with newsmakers who were previously hard to reach. With social media networks such as Twitter and Facebook, it has become somewhat easier.

MISA-Malawi has asked government to consider repealing all laws that are inconsistent with the constitution and those considered as an insult to the media fraternity in Malawi. This was in a statement issued by MISA-Malawi chairperson Anthony Kasunda on World Press Freedom Day. The statement also pointed out positive and negative developments the Malawian media has experienced over the past year.

In Uganda, human rights activists are calling for a stronger self-regulation mechanism to promote responsible journalism in the country.

In other news around the continent: the High Court judge in Malawi has put a stop to the Malawi Communication Regulatory Authority from using the Consolidated ICT Regulatory System dubbed as the 'spy machine'; Nakumatt Holdings in Kenya will open a multimedia store that will be branded as Planet Media; the seventh season of Big Brother Africa, branded as StarGame, has officially kicked off. By the look of things, this season is sure to be the most entertaining with housemates entering in pairs including seven celebrity contestents (35 housemates in total) and the Google Zeitgeist Young Minds 2012 winners have been announced - of the ten young minds selected from around the world, five of them are from Africa. Congratulations to all of them!

Have a great week!

Evan-Lee Courie @evan1985