President: Emulate "humanizing" of drug criminals; ex-N.Y. Times "race beat" reporter leaves for CNN; Dori Maynard service scheduled May 4 in D.C.; "60 Minutes," critic of Africa coverage in standoff; Chicago radio hosts apologize for tweets about breasts; John Shurr dies, A.P. bureau chief, FOI hero, Cherokee; Gail Woolley dies, helped finance Newhouse students; blackout on child sex abuse by U.S. troops in Colombia?; newspaper offices sacked, employees kidnapped in Yemen; Nigeria holding two Al Jazeera journalists (3/27/15)President: Emulate "Humanizing" of Drug Criminals
Ex-N.Y. Times "Race Beat" Reporter Leaves for CNN
Dori Maynard Service Scheduled May 4 in D.C.
"60 Minutes," Critic of Africa Coverage in Standoff
Chicago Radio Hosts Apologize for Tweets About Breasts
John Shurr Dies, A.P. Bureau Chief, FOI Hero, Cherokee
Gail Woolley Dies, Helped Finance Newhouse Students
Blackout on Child Sex Abuse by U.S. Troops in Colombia?
"An 800-page independent report commissioned by the US-friendly Colombian government and the radical left rebel group FARC found that US military soldiers and contractors had sexually abused at least 54 children in Colombia between 2003 and 2007 and, in all cases, the rapists were never punished — either in Colombia or stateside — due to American military personnel being immune from prosecution under diplomatic immunity agreements between the two countries,"Adam Johnson reported Thursday for Fairness & Accuracy In Reporting.
Johnson also wrote, "Yet here we are, over 72 hours since the Colombian and foreign press first reported on the allegations, and there’s a virtual media blackout in America over the case. Nothing on CNN, nothing on MSNBC, nothing in the New York Times or Miami Herald. Nothing in Huffington Post. Nothing in Fusion or Vice. Why? . . ."
Newspaper Offices Sacked, Employees Kidnapped in Yemen
"I just got off the phone with Sameer Jubran, editor and co-founder of the independent Yemeni newspaper and website, Al Masdar. According to Jubran, the news organization's headquarters was just sacked by Houthi militants,"Andy Carvin reported Thursday for medium.com.
"'Minutes ago, dozens of militants stormed the building that had the newspaper's headquarters,' he said. 'They kidnapped practically everyone who was there and took away all of our equipment.'
"'For the past weeks, the staff at the paper has been harassed,' Jubran continued. 'I've been harassed and followed to my home.' Because of the threat, Jubran is currently outside of Yemen."
Carvin also wrote, "Al Masdar was not the only news organization targeted. According to Jubran, Houthi militants also sacked independent satellite channel Yemen Shabab, which is located in the same building as Al Masdar. 'The same thing happened to them,' he said. Meanwhile, there are reports that other independent news outlets have been raided, but at the time of this writing, their status cannot be confirmed. . . ."
Nigeria Holding Two Al Jazeera Journalists
"Nigeria's military has detained two Al Jazeera journalists in the northeast city of Maiduguri since Tuesday, the television broadcaster said on Thursday, days ahead of the country's general elections,"Julia Payne reported Thursday for Reuters.
"Al Jazeera said the journalists, Ahmed Idris and Ali Mustafa, were being kept in their hotel rooms until further notice. Their camera equipment has been confiscated.
"It added that the two journalists had been accredited by the electoral authorities with 'clearance to report from anywhere'.
"Northeastern Nigeria was effectively declared off limits to journalists in 2013 after the government imposed emergency rule in Yobe, Adamawa and Borno, the three states worst affected by Islamist jihadists Boko Haram. Maiduguri is the capital of Borno state, the heartland of the insurgency. . . ."
- This Day, Lagos, Nigeria: Nigeria: Al Jazeera Demands Release of Their Journalists