An interntional affiliate partnership for TCN on May 13, 2016, as we team up with London-based Index on Censorship to cooperate on the documentation of declining press freedom in Croatia.
It has been quite a ride since we launched Total Croatia News just ten months ago.
Back then, I had no idea in which direction the site would go, and I only have a slightly better idea now, but one thing is for sure – no day is the same.
I had not been planning to get involved in the political side of Croatia, as it is not only complicated, but also rarely positive, and there are much happier things to write about. Events of the last few months since the election, however, have made not covering what is happening unavoidable if we really want to report the news, and the decline in press freedom and firing and harassment of many journalists (about 70 from Croatia Radio Television in the last few months alone), combined with several other incidents, has brought the issue of press freedom very much into the spotlight, both nationally – and increasingly – internationally.
One of the benefits of being the first Google News-affiliated daily news website about Croatia in English is that we have managed to forge good links with the international media all over the world, and the linking and cooperation we have had in under a year has been very encouraging. I am delighted to strengthen that further with the announcement today of an affiliate partnership with Index on Censorship in London, and the TCN logo is now on their website. About Index in their own words:
“Index on Censorship is an international organisation that promotes and defends the right to freedom of expression. The inspiration of poet Stephen Spender, Index was founded in 1972 to publish the untold stories of dissidents behind the Iron Curtain. Today, we fight for free speech around the world, challenging censorship whenever and wherever it occurs.
Index uses a unique combination of journalism, campaigning and advocacy to defend freedom of expression for those facing censorship and repression, including journalists, writers, social media users, bloggers, artists, politicians, scientists, academics, activists and citizens.
Index believes that free expression is the foundation of a free society and endorses Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which states: “Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression”.”
Visit the Index on Censorship website here, or click here to browse their map of documented cases.
You can read the latest quarterly report here.
We sincerely hope that the situation will improve. In the meantime, we will be working with Index on Censorship to document cases where media freedom is being restricted. If you know of any cases, backed up with established fact, please contact us on [email protected]
