As a result, BBC will delay the lay offs with two weeks (i.e. till November 5) while they talk to the unions:

The unions welcomed the move, saying it was enough to halt the march towards strike action.

“We are pleased the BBC has stepped back from the brink and agreed to union calls for meaningful talks to take place at a national level,” the NUJ general secretary, Jeremy Dear, said.

This comes only a day after BBC director general Mark Thompson confirmed that there will be 1,800 redundancies. This move is part of a six-year cost-saving program aimed at plugging the estimated £2bn funding gap (approved by the BBC Trust).

If news is what you’re interested in (that’s where my exposure to BBC ends), you migh feel the difference pretty soon. The London-based news division will be one of the hardest hit with between 475 and 490 post closures, resulting in between 350 and 370 redundancies.

Tags: BBC, correspondent, free speech, Gaza, journalism, youtube

BBC, correspondent, free speech, Gaza, journalism, youtube

Today, BBC reports that the authorities has unexpectedly released Le Chi Quang, 34, who was convicted in 2002 because he posted online essays (blogged?) that were critical of the government. More from that story:

[Le Chi Quang] was jailed for four years in November 2002 … The Vietnamese foreign ministry said Quang would have to serve out a three-year term of house arrest which was given at the time of his detention.

Rights groups say at least six other cyber dissidents remain in jail.

Vietnam has introduced tough measure to monitor internet use. Internet cafe owners must keep records of all sites visited by their customers, including those deemed containing “bad and poisonous information”, for 30 days.

So much for citizen journalism in Vietnam. Bloggers beware…

Tags: BBC, citizen journalism, correspondent, free speech, Vietnam

BBC, citizen journalism, correspondent, free speech, Vietnam

The BBC came out with a statement as well:

We are studying the video very carefully. We have been working very closely with Alan’s family for the past 81 days. This is a highly distressing time for them and for his friends and his colleagues. We repeat our call for his immediate release.

Tags: BBC, correspondent, free speech, Gaza, journalism, youtube

BBC, correspondent, free speech, Gaza, journalism, youtube

He’s not alone. The Committee to Protect Journalists annual worldwide census found 134 journalists imprisoned on December 1, an increase of nine from the 2005 tally.

As you can see the main offenders are China, Cuba, Eritrea, and Ethiopia. Overall, there are 24 nations that imprison journalists.

Moreover, some of the worst offenders (e.g. Eritrea) have denied imprisoned journalists even the most basic elements of due process. For some, it’s not even clear if they’re alive or dead.

Another bothering statistic: a full third of all imprisoned journalists are Internet bloggers (or citizen journalists).

I’m a bit surprised that these statistics don’t include the number of journalists that have been brutally murdered in Russia or Iraq.

Tags: BBC, citizen journalism, correspondent, death, free speech, Russia

BBC, citizen journalism, correspondent, death, free speech, Russia

Alan Johnston disappeared 19 days ago. There haven’t been any public demands by his abductors but obviously some information has trickled down as BBC has announced he is in good health.

According to the latest BBC article:

There have been numerous international demands for his immediate release.

These include appeals from the Arab League and the European Union and non-government groups such as Amnesty International and Reporters Without Frontiers.

Palestinian officials have said all possible efforts are being made to secure his safe return.

Previous “hotspots” for journalists include Russia and Iraq.

Tags: BBC, correspondent, free speech, Gaza, journalism, youtube

BBC, correspondent, free speech, Gaza, journalism, youtube