Sunday 7 June 2009

The real front line of journalism


The editor on...

Last week, Amnesty International gave Eyneulla Fatullayev, editor of the Azerbaijan Daily, its special annual award for journalism under threat, in recognition of his efforts to pursue impartial, investigative reporting which holds institutions and governments to account 

As Fatullayev is serving an eight-and-a-half-year sentence, John Mulholland, pictured, and editor of The Observer, accepted the award on behalf of Fatullayev, who is of course, unable to collect it himself


Newspapers face considerable challenges as the global economic collapse robs us of advertising revenues and the emergence of vibrant digital media robs us of readers. There isn't an editor in Britain, Europe or America who hasn't spent considerable time over the last few years wrestling with these issues. It can mean having to consider reductions in marketing spend, slimmer editorial resources and so on.

It sounds difficult, but if you're Eynulla Fatullayev, you'd relish working in a journalistic environment where these were the toughest challenges you faced. Because Fatullayev's problems are of a different order altogether

It puts wrestling with budget cuts into perspective


Since Amnesty first highlighted his case, more than 14,000 people from across the world have written letters of support to Fatullayev. To read more about their campaign of support, go to http://tinyurl.com/mrb5de

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