05 May 09 | Uncategorized
Anthony Julius and Julian Petley: a discussion on art, obscenity and the law—Read exclusively free here!
John Ozimek: the technology revolution is redefining the boundaries
Tony Bennett: comic books are not just for kids
Julian Petley on the prospects for free speech online
Read exclusively free here!
Marjorie Heins says the Internet is making the law unworkable
Anne Higonnet on why artists are heading for a collision course
Read exclusively free here!
Elena Martellozzo and Helen Taylor assess the impact of child pornography
Seth Finkelstein on the censoring of obscenity online BBFC film examiner Murray Perkins gives the lowdown
Read exclusively free here!
Also in this issue
INDEX IN IRAQ
Rohan Jayasekera on Iraq’s year of elections
DISPATCHES
Shahvalad Chobanoglu says independent press in Azerbaijan is struggling to survive
Sanjuana Martinez exposes a culture of censorship in Mexico
Sanjana Hattotuwa explains the chilling effect of legislation in Sri Lanka
THE ART OF OFFENCE
Martin Rowson says breaking taboos is the heart of satire
FICTION: CUBA
Ena Lucia Portela ‘The last passenger’
For subscription details and stockists, click here
01 Jan 09
From Ulysses to Last Exit Brooklyn, obscenity trials are a benchmark for the limits of cultural tolerance. As the first prosecution of the written word in more than 30 years takes place in the UK, Index on Censorship assesses the landscape. Are we becomming less permissive than our parents? Is the Obscene Publications Act fit for purpose in a digital age? Should governments control what we see online to protect our children? Leading commentators on the subject give their verdict. With Anthony Julius, Anne Higonnet, Julian Petley, John Ozimek, Seth Finkelstein, Murray Perkins, Marjorie Heins and Tony Bennett.
Anthony Julius and Julian Petley: a discussion on art, obscenity and the law
Read exclusively free here!
John Ozimek: the technology revolution is redefining the boundaries
Tony Bennett: comic books are not just for kids
Julian Petley on the prospects for free speech online
Read exclusively free here!
Marjorie Heins says the Internet is making the law unworkable
Anne Higonnet on why artists are heading for a collision course
Read exclusively free here!
Elena Martellozzo and Helen Taylor assess the impact of child pornography
Seth Finkelstein on the censoring of obscenity online BBFC film examiner Murray Perkins gives the lowdown
Read exclusively free here!
Also in this issue
INDEX IN IRAQ
Rohan Jayasekera on Iraq’s year of elections
DISPATCHES
Shahvalad Chobanoglu says independent press in Azerbaijan is struggling to survive
Sanjuana Martinez exposes a culture of censorship in Mexico
Sanjana Hattotuwa explains the chilling effect of legislation in Sri Lanka
THE ART OF OFFENCE
Martin Rowson says breaking taboos is the heart of satire
FICTION: CUBA
Ena Lucia Portela ‘The last passenger’
For subscription details and stockists, click here
07 May 08 | Comment
The estimated 30,000 journalists expected to converge on Beijing for the 2008 Olympiad need to prepare themselves well in advance before they blunder across one of the world’s least understood and most volatile domestic political stages, writes Rohan Jayasekera
The XXIX Olympiad in Beijing will be covered by an expected 20,000 accredited sports media workers — and another 10,000 unaccredited. That’s more than three journalists for every athlete. How will China react to this influx of independent opinion if the focus comes off sport and on to politics?
January 2008 rules introduced for the Games theoretically allow foreign journalists to report freely on Chinese ‘politics, economy, society, and culture’ until next October.
This promised liberalisation came to a sharp halt following the outbreak of violent protests in the Tibetan capital of Lhasa on 10 March. Beijing responded with a news blackout, expelling foreign reporters from Beijing, Tibet and its neighbouring provinces of Gansu, Qinghai, and Sichuan.
The Foreign Correspondents Club of China has recorded more than 230 abuses of the new rules. Until March things were getting better, BBC World News Editor Jon Williams told a conclave of Chinese and Western journalists and media rights activists in Paris in April. ‘Now they’re as difficult as they’ve been for a long time.’
(more…)
Index on Censorship today announces the shortlist for the 2009 Freedom of Expression Awards.