While it appears that the Twitter photo blackout has been lifted in Venezuela, the same can't be said for television coverage of the largest protests in recent memory. Government leaders have appeared on state television to accuse opposition leaders of fomenting violence, but media have not been significantly covering the protests in which three have died. Press freedom groups believe government intimidation is suppressing the journalism.
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The Verge reports on how journalists in Russia are being muzzled in their attempts to portray Sochi and the Olympics realistically. Russians have been getting a very rosy picture, not the one international audiences are getting about hotels, empty stadiums and poor sanitation.
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WNET, the New York public television broadcaster, has decided to return a $3.5-million grant and put an ambitious series on the economic sustainability of public pensions on hold following a PandoDaily report that identified a possible ethical concern about the activities of a foundation underwriting the project.
The report said hedge fund manager John Arnold, the co-sponsor of the John and Laura Arnold Foundation, had taken a specific position on pension sustainability. WNET initially dismissed the report but has changed its mind in recent days. The station will continue to report on the subject but is looking for another funding source for the larger project, which has been featured since September.
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