Media News - Tuesday, July 22, 2008

New law protects journalists

Reporters investigating corruption in Russia are to be protected by a new law. Under new legistlation, they'll be able to apply for special protection like court witnesses. The law will come into effect by the beginning of next year. The law should help reporters like experienced journalist Natalya Novozhilova, who published an article exposing corruption in Russia's central Vladimir region. She accused the local forestry administration of stealing money equivalent to the entire region's budget. The article changed her life. It won journalism awards, but it also earned her threats against her life. A new national plan to fight corruption, which president Dmitry Medvedev is about to release, includes providing state protection for reporters investigating corruption. The head of the National Anti-Corruption Committee, Kirill Kabanov, says a range of measures needs to be put in place for the new law to work. Last year the Committee to Protect Journalists claimed Russia is the third deadliest country in the world for journalists over the past 15 years, behind only Iraq and Algeria. About 50 journalists have been murdered in the country since 1992, with the majority of the cases remaining unsolved. (Russia Today)

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