(CJR) CAIRO – What is a journalist? In Western media circles these days, the boundaries are blurring between online newspapers like the Christian Science Monitor and Guardian.co.uk, “blogs” such as HuffingtonPost.com, YouTube’s “citizen journalism,” and the rantings of political attack-dogs of all political stripes. [..]

The persistence of myths underscores the need for relentless reporting. Chico Marx once famously asked, "Who you gonna believe, me or your own eyes?" America has become a country filled with people who stubbornly continue to believe what they want to believe, regardless of the facts.(...) It's the job of journalists to sort out such contretemps, to determine where the truth lies. [..]

The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) strongly deplores a decision by the Government of Afghanistan to censor media coverage of violence during elections scheduled to take place in the country tomorrow. [..]

EUOBSERVER / COMMENT - On July 23, a new defamation law went into effect on Ireland. The new legislation has made blasphemous speech illegal, which means that a citizen of the European Union can be punished for making a comment that is determined to be offensive to a substantial number of followers of a religion. [..]

Community radio stations across the United Kingdom are at risk of closure due to highly restrictive funding arrangements and the failure of government to fully implement a public funding mechanism that was established in law in 2003. ARTICLE 19 requests all readers to sign the online petition at: http://petitions.number10.gov. [..]

(RNW) The Estonian coalition government consisting of the Reform Party and Pro Patria/Res Publica Union (IRL) want to cancel the annual licence tax of private channels Kanal2 and TV3, in a move seen by observers as currying their favour prior to the municipal elections. So far, these two channels have paid EEK 25 million (US$2. [..]

The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) joins its affiliate, the Alliance of Independent Journalists (AJI), in expressing alarm about the potential negative impact of Indonesia’s 2008 Information and Electronic Transactions Law on freedom of expression. [..]

(Knight center)The Argentine Journalism Forum (Fopea) condemned the use of a hidden camera by the show 70.20.10 on Buenos Aires-based Channel 13. Last month, the program broadcast the testimonial of a 77-year old woman who had become a prostitute, recorded without her knowing. [..]

( Ijnet) For six months, Benjamín Fernández, Knight International Journalism Fellow in Mexico, has been dedicated to writing a document called “Compromiso para la Libertad de Expresión, México 2009” (Commitment to Freedom of Expression. México 2009), which will be signed this Monday at the National Anthropological Museum in Mexico City. [..]