news in brief... Prince albert wins daMages froM ni Prince Albert of Monaco has accepted a high court apology and substantial damages from the Sunday Times over “seriously defamatory allegations” that he had entered a sham marriage with Charlene Wittstock. The prince sued the News International paper following the publication of the article in July 2011 for damages of more than £300,000. huMan rights in JournalisM awards Journalism about human rights will be celebrated again this year with the 22nd Amnesty International awards highlighting injustice around the world. Writers and photographers on newspapers, magazines, television , radio and digital can enter the awards. Details are at www.amnesty.org.uk. world events Magazine launched A new magazine covering world events has been launched. The World Weekly is being distributed free in London and aims to help readers ‘make sense of the world’ by collating articles from titles across the globe. The first issue was targeted at key decision makers with 75,000 copies circulated to hotels, clubs and transport hubs. global ad sPend uP but euroPe falls Advertising spend rose across the world, except for Europe, during the third quarter of 2012, according to Nielsen’s quarterly Global AdView Pulse report. Total spending was up 4.3% to $139bn (£86.8bn) compared to the same three months in 2011. But Europe fell by 4.8% in the quarter and by 3.4% over the nine months. sudan legacy of Mary beilby Member of honour Mary Beilby is being remembered by her Derby and Burton branch of the NUJ with a donation to the CBM charity which distributes medicines to people in South Sudan who suffer from river blindness. Mary, who lost her sight in her 40s, died last year aged 76. 6 | theJournalist
un pressed for action over killings
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ormer NUJ president Jim Boumelha has spearheaded a campaign by the international Federation of Journalists pressing for United Nations action to protect journalists after a year in which 121 were killed. The National Union of Journalists has joined with organisations representing media workers across the world to call for action by the UN “The death toll for 2012 is another indictment of governments which pay lip service to the protection of journalists but have consistently failed to stop their slaughter,” said Jim (pictured) who is iFJ President and a member of the NUJ national executive council.. “it is no wonder that these sky-high numbers of killed journalists have become a constant feature in the last decade during which the usual reaction from governments and the United Nations has been a few words of condemnation, a cursory inquiry and a shrug of indifference.” endorsing the call, NUJ general secretary Michelle Stanistreet said: “Journalists from Britain and ireland have been among the victims of the failure of governments and the United Nations to protect and enforce the basic right to life of our colleagues while going about their work.
“ MARK THOMAS
“For journalists across the world, the deaths of media workers are a deeply felt loss. But it is important that the public – and the governments which are meant to serve the public – will recognise that the killing of journalists is an attack on the decisive role of the work they do and on the free flow of vital information which can help shape a better world.” Figures released by the iFJ show that 121 journalists and media staff lost their lives in targeted attacks, bomb attacks and other crossfire incidents last year, up from 107 in 2011.
For journalists across the world, the deaths of media workers are a deeply felt losss
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Helping HAnd FOr aSpIrInG FIve
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he Journalism Diversity Fund set up by the NCTJ has awarded five bursaries to young people planning a career in journalism.
The fund was set up by the NCTJ to help students from socially and ethnically diverse backgrounds and can assist them with the cost of course fees and living
expenses. Applications for the next round of bursaries are now open, with details at www.journalismdiversityfund. com/apply/
Bomb attacks on athens journalists
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ombs were placed outside the homes of five Greek journalists in January, according to the Vienna-based South east europe Media Organisation (SeeMO). The small homemade devices exploded in front of the Athens homes of the journalists, and a statement from the anarchist group ‘Lovers of Lawlessness’ said the attacks were protests against the supposedly governmentfriendly way in which the five have reported the country’s financial crisis. “This is a new, worrying escalation of violence against media and journalists in
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Greece,” said SeeMO’s secretary general Oliver Vujovic. “SeeMO is alarmed at the number of violent cases and different forms of pressure directed at journalists in Greece over the past 12 months.”