Help us demand justice
for Reeyot Alemu
June 17, 2013 -- Two years ago this Friday (June 21), Ethiopian journalist Reeyot Alemu was arrested and thrown in jail for shining a rare light on her country's government. Although Alemu has won the IWMF Courage in Journalism Award and the UNESCO World Press Freedom Prize, the Ethiopian government insists that she is a terrorist.
News anchors Christiane Amanpour and Cynthia McFadden have
called for her release, and the IWMF has worked tirelessly to advocate on Alemu's behalf. Now we need your help!
Here is what you can do to
support press freedom in Ethiopia and
demand justice for Reeyot Alemu:
Send a tweet, make #ReeyotAlemu a trending hashtag
Share, like and comment on Facebook
Indonesian journalist named
IWMF Elizabeth Neuffer Fellow
June 13, 2013 -- The International Women’s Media Foundation has selected Jakarta-based journalist Prodita Sabarini as the 2013-14 IWMF Elizabeth Neuffer Fellow. Sabarini is the ninth recipient of the annual fellowship. She currently works as a staff reporter for the English daily The Jakarta Post and plans to research the phenomenon of religious intolerance in Indonesia during her tenure as the Elizabeth Neuffer Fellow.
Learn more
Marcia McNutt to become Editor-in-Chief
of Science magazine
May 31, 2013 -- Tomorrow, former Director of the United States Geological Survey and science advisor to the United States Secretary of the Interior, Marcia McNutt, will assume the position as editor-in-chief of Science magazine, making her the first woman to serve in this position since the journal's inception in 1880.
Earlier this month, the IWMF had a chance to talk with McNutt about her new position, work-life balance, plate tectonics and barrel racing.
Read the interview
Syrian reporter killed near Homs
May 29, 2013 -- The IWMF is saddened and shocked to learn that Syrian news reporter Yara Abbas was killed by a sniper while reporting in Al-Qusayr, Homs province, earlier this week. Abbas was reportedly embedded with the Syrian troops, and was monitoring and reporting on their counter-insurgency operations in the area when she was killed.
The 26-year old woman was a prominent war reporter for the pro-government Al-Ikhbariyah TV station and was frequently seen along the side of government forces during front-line fighting in the now two-year conflict that has engulfed the region.
Syria is still the deadliest country for journalists according to the Committee to Protect Journalists which reports that seven Syrian journalists have been killed in 2013 - making Abbas number eight.
Norah O'Donnell joins
the IWMF Board of Directors
May 28, 2013 -- Norah O'Donnell, co-host of 'CBS This Morning', has joined the Board of Directors of the International Women's Media Foundation. An Emmy-winning journalist, O'Donnell joined CBS News in June 2011 as the Network’s Chief White House Correspondent, and was named a co-host of 'CBS This Morning' in July 2012.
"I am honored to join the board of this incredibly important organization, whose efforts shine a spotlight on dedicated and courageous women journalists worldwide," O'Donnell told the IWMF.
See Press Release
IWMF Board of Directors
IWMF program in South Africa aims to improve
coverage of HIV/AIDS pandemic
May 21, 2013 -- The International Women’s Media Foundation is once again joining forces with nine South African news organizations to improve media coverage of the complex issues surrounding the HIV/AIDS pandemic there.
South Africa is believed to have more people infected with HIV/AIDS than any other country in the world. Yet, mainstream media coverage of the pandemic has been characterized by a lack of urgency, failure to examine the reasons behind stigma and denial, and inadequate engagement with people living with the disease.
To transform the way that HIV/AIDS reporting is done in South Africa, the IWMF created its HIV/AIDS Investigative Reporting Fellowship in 2011 with support by the M*A*C AIDS Fund. Now in its third year, the fellowship offers 10 journalists advanced training and coaching to produce innovative, high-quality investigative reporting on the complex, underreported issues surrounding HIV/AIDS, reflecting women’s voices and concerns.
Read more
Government Intrusion on News Gathering Activities
May 14, 2013 -- Accustomed to defending freedom of the press around the world, today the IWMF finds itself calling on the US Government to cease its dangerous intrusion on the Associated Press (AP) and uphold the First Amendment rights that make newsgathering possible in a free and open society. We urge the Justice Department (DOJ) to return the records to the AP and destroy all copies, release to the public any documents reflecting the Deputy Attorney General's formal approval of the subpoena, and launch an internal effort to ensure that everyone in the Department is sensitive to the First Amendment values embodied in the DOJ Guidelines restricting subpoenas to reporters.
Read Press Release
2013 Courage in Journalism Awards
May 3, 2013 -- For the past 22 years, the IWMF has paid tribute to women journalists who risk their lives to report the news with its Courage in Journalism Awards. This year, the IWMF honors:
2013 Lifetime Achievement Award winner
Edna Machirori
Zimbabwe |
Machirori was the first black female newspaper editor in Zimbabwe. As a woman journalist in post-colonial Zimbabwe, Machirori rose through the ranks of several newspapers, including The Chronicle and The Financial Gazette, in spite of a deeply patriarchal culture. Now, Machirori continues to write about development, corruption and social issues for The Daily News, among other publications. |
Read Award winner profiles
Reeyot Alemu wins 2013 UNESCO World Press Freedom Prize
May 3, 2013 -- Today, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) honored imprisoned Ethiopian journalist Reeyot Alemu with its 2013 UNESCO-Guillermo Cano World Press Freedom Prize. Alemu, nominated for the award by the IWMF, was recommended by an independent international jury of media professionals in recognition of her "exceptional courage, resistance and commitment to freedom of expression."
The Jury took note of Reeyot Alemu’s contribution to numerous and independent publications. She wrote critically about political and social issues, focusing on the root causes of poverty, and gender equality. In June 2011, while working as a regular columnist for Feteh, a national weekly newspaper, Alemu was arrested and charged under Ethiopia's controversial Anti-Terrorism Proclamation. She is currently serving a five year sentence in Kaliti prison.
Read Alemu's Laureate address
Click here for more about Reeyot Alemu
April 9 is Equal Pay Day
April 8, 2013 -- Tomorrow is Equal Pay Day in the United States: it symbolizes how far into 2013 women must work to earn what men earned in 2012.
According to calculations by the National Women's Law Center, American women who work full time, year round, are paid only 77 cents for every dollar paid to their male counterparts.
As part of its 2011 Global Report on the Status of Women in the News Media, the IWMF surveyed 14 news companies in the United States. Research data suggests that women’s salaries are considerably lower than men’s in top-level management, senior professional and technical professional levels in the U.S. news media.
Read more
Imprisoned journalist denied urgently needed medical care
April 8, 2013 -- In February 2013, imprisoned Ethiopian journalist Reeyot Alemu, winner of the 2012 IWMF Courage in Journalism Award, was diagnosed with a growth in her breast. Doctors recommended immediate treatment, but Alemu has been consistently denied access to care.
Furthermore, officials of Ethiopia's infamous Kaliti prison, where Alemu has been serving the majority of her 5-year prison sentence, accused her of "disrespecting prison policies" and "planning to share information on human rights violations in Kaliti prison with the media". Prison authorities are currently reviewing the accusations and have threatened to punish Alemu with two months solitary confinement.
Get the full story
Theodore J. Boutrous, Jr.
Co-Chair of the IWMF Board of Directors
IWMF Board Co-Chair
among America's
100 Most Influential Lawyers
April 3, 2013 -- Theodore J. Boutrous, Jr., a partner in the law firm of Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP, and Co-Chair of the IWMF's Board of Directors, has been named one of "The 100 Most Influential Lawyers in America" by The National Law Journal.
Boutrous has served on the IWMF's Board and generously supported the IWMF's work since 2007. With pro-bono legal support of Boutrous and Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP, 2009 IWMF Courage in Journalism Award winner Agnès Tailé from Cameroon was able to obtain political asylum in the United States.
A Killer’s Notebook, a Reporter’s Rights
Op-Ed by Theodore J. Boutrous Jr. on NYTimes.com, April 9, 2013
IWMF Board of Directors
2012 IWMF Lifetime Achievement Award winner Zubeida Mustafa
Pakistani newspaper announces
Zubeida Mustafa Award
March 29, 2013 -- In recognition of senior journalist and 2012 IWMF Lifetime Achievement Award winner Zubeida Mustafa, Pakistan's oldest and most widely read English-language newspaper Dawn has announced the inception of the Zubeida Mustafa Award for Journalistic Excellence.
The Award will be given every year to one of Pakistan's growing number of women journalists who is held to have rendered matchless services to the body of public knowledge about the issues facing Pakistan. By recognizing the contributions of women in journalism, the Award seeks to highlight issues and individuals so that a critical mass for change is created.
Read profile of Zubeida Mustafa
Watch Zubeida Mustafa on YouTube
Call for ZM Award Entries
UNESCO Launches Women Make the News 2013
March 7, 2013 -- On the occasion of International Women's Day (IWD), March 8, UNESCO and the IWMF join forces with international and regional partners to launch the annual Women Make the News initiative under the theme "Towards a Global Alliance on Media and Gender".
Launched annually, Women Make the News (WMN) is a global initiative aimed at fixing attention on an issue relating to gender equality in and through the media, driving debate and encouraging action-oriented solutions until global objectives are met.
IWMF Board member Christiane Amanpour speaks about Gender Equality for UNESCO WMN (video)
Visit the official website: Women Make the News 2013
UNESCO's Gender Sensitive Indicators in Media
Join the WMN initiative
Winner announced: 2013 IWMF Women Entrepreneurs in the Digital News Frontier
The International Women's Media Foundation has awarded three $20,000 grants to entrepreneurial women journalists proposing to use digital media in innovative ways to deliver the news:
Read more
Iryna Khalip - Under house arrest in Belarus
In October 2009, IWMF Courage in Journalism Awardee Iryna Khalip, a reporter for Novaya Gazeta, one of the last remaining independent media outlets in Belarus, delivered her acceptance speech in New York. Her freedom to travel and pursue stories of interest, however, has since been revoked. Awaiting trial under strict house arrest, Khalip is kept prisoner on her local reporting grounds. The KGB has been monitoring Khalip's every move – tracking her e-mails, interrupting her Internet connection, and tapping her phone calls.
Read the article